I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places plains, and the crooked places will be made straight, and before the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope.

Martin Luther King, August 28, 1963

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.

Proverbs 13:12

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.”

Genesis 41:15

Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.

Ecclesiastes 5:3

“Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike.

Joel 2:28-29

Dreams. Do you have them? Dreams of a preferred future, like Martin Luther King? Dreams that have deep meaning, foretelling future events, like Joseph, Pharaoh and countless others mentioned in scripture? Dreams that reveal a busy lifestyle, filled with stress and anxiety, like the wise teacher wrote about in Ecclesiastes? Dreams inspired by the Holy Spirit as promised in Joel and fulfilled in Acts?

Some people never dream, like my husband. Others, like me, dream often. I don’t even pretend to know what all dreams mean but they fascinate me. God often used dreams to convey warning, instruction and blessing to individuals. He said he would continue to use them when he poured out the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

As I said, I am not a dream expert, but I invite you to join me this week as I look at dreams from scripture. How did God use them to direct his people? Does he still do that today?