(12.) Our Accommodating God: Dreams and Visions
(12.) Our Accommodating God: Dreams and Visions.
“Who is able to understand the mind of Lord Yahweh? Who is able to be His teacher? We, however, have the mind of Christ!” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
An Accommodating Person is one who graciously changes plans for another’s benefit; who is willing to adjust in order to meet another’s needs; is open to adapting to changing circumstances; who is able to make concessions if needed; who makes allowances for others; who choose to oblige other and give them favors in order to be helpful; who is able to creatively shift from Plan A to Plan B if needed; who makes space for others to learn and grow; who welcomes others to fit into his own space; who makes reasonable exceptions to a general rule; who is comfortable in doing whatever it takes to be understood or to communicate effectively; who is willing to adjust expectations in light of reality; who is able to place limits on himself if it help others to flourish; who is able to step back in order to enable others to step forward.
Qualities of An Accommodating Person: Gracious; Humble; Sacrificial; Flexible; Observant; Farsighted; Insightful; Adaptable; Reasonable; Forgiving; Hospitable; Patient; Self-Effacing; Shrewd.
Our Accommodating God is willing, in His wisdom, to do everything described above, and then some. It seems to be in His nature to be an accommodating Soul, a part of His character since before Day One. God has been making concessions from before the creation of the universe, since creation itself was accomplished in the spirit of accommodation. God has also condescended to reveal His glory, agreed to His presence in the wilderness Tabernacle, made concessions to cultural realities in His Law, communicated in human language to produce holy Scripture, accommodated His word through His messengers, made Himself available through the Church’s sacraments, humbly revealed Himself with dreams and visions, and offered to us the ultimate accommodation… the Incarnation of His infinite Being to finite planet earth. God’s accommodations began before the beginning, during that eternal time before Day One, when Creator God filled everything, had always been present everywhere at the same time, and yet decided to make room for the universe. And the Lord has continued making concessions with His creation, with human beings, ever since. And that is the divine pattern to be found in our lives as well… to accommodate, to make space in our lives for God and for each other.
Contemporary Dreams and Visions. “Call this number if you have seen Jesus!” This sign on a city bus in Egypt reveals the common miracles taking place around the world. Wherever it is risky to follow Jesus, He simply does a workaround and doesn’t even flinch at reaching out through dreams and visions. God loves us too much to let His opponents have their way in limiting access to Him. Our accommodating God will do whatever it takes to tell of His love and salvation. God will stop at nothing to reveal Himself and to offer the hope we all need for this life and the next. The Lord makes a way where there is no way, including dreams and visions. Appearances of Jesus in dreams is so common now that they have even become a special area of academic study and research, and the term used in scholarly circles is “Christic Visions.” God has chosen and continues to choose dreams to woo us to Him, to warn, instruct and guide, to reveal the reality of His life and presence, and to encourage those who have no other way to have access to Him.
Dreams in the Bible. “That night God came to king Abimelech in a dream…” (Genesis 20:3); “As Jacob slept, he dreamed of a stairway…” (Gen. 28:12); “In my dream, the Angel of the Lord said to me, ‘Jacob!” (Gen. 31:11); “One night, Joseph had a dream…” (Gen. 37:5); “The previous night, God had appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream…” (Gen. 31:24); “Interpreting dreams is God’s business, so go ahead and tell me your dreams,’ said Joseph.”(Gen. 40:8); “Two years later, Pharaoh dreamed… (Gen. 41:1);“When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord.” (Judges 7:15); “That night, Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream.” (1 Kings 3:5, and 9:2); “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means,’ said King Nebuchadnezzar. He sent for Daniel at once.” (Daniel 2:3, 14); “An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream…” (Matthew 1:20, also in 2:19 and 2:22); “God had warned the Magi in a dream.” (Matt. 2:12); “Pilate’s wife sent him a message, saying ‘Let that innocent man alone! I suffered through a terrible nightmare about Him last night!” (Matt. 27:19).
Why Would God Accommodate Us by Appearing in Dreams and Visions? Why would God, who has every means of revelation at His disposal, choose dreams as a way to contact a person and convey vital guidance? Dreams tend to be unreliable, unpredictable, illogical, and poorly remembered if at all. Many if not most dreams don’t seem like a very trustworthy vehicle for divine communication. They can be mistranslated so easily, and sometimes are so bizarre it’s hard to take them seriously. And we know now that dreams can be affected by external things like room temperature, what we ate or drank before bedtime, the events of the day, or even if there are any lingering aromas in the house. And because dreamers are in an unconscious state, dreams are outside of our control as the unfettered imagination runs wild.
Valid Reasons for Jesus-Dreams: Nonetheless, God speaking through dreams didn’t seem to raise any eyebrows in Scripture. Everyone from pagan kings to heroic saints were not surprised by this strategy of God to reach them. We now realize that after decades of so-called dream science, the whole topic of dreams is just as mysterious now as in ancient times. Dreams remain a fascinating frontier when it comes to scientific research, and we still simply cannot confirm why we have this ability to mentally experience vivid pictures, stories and images while in an unconscious state. God in His wisdom knows when to approach someone with divine intervention while a person is in a dream state. He knows a likely prospect for His appearance in a dream. Perhaps some people are more receptive to God’s guidance when in an unconscious state. Perhaps it is only during a dream that a person doesn’t have much of a choice of whether to listen or not, knowing that dreamers are captive audiences. Maybe God waits for when a certain person’s resistance is down. Perhaps a person’s imagination might be more picturesque and creative during a dream, able to manage an other-worldly, heavenly message. Or, perhaps because of religious restrictions, dreams are the best way possible to see the risen Christ.
Modern Phenomenon. We are living in biblical times right now as we see a well-documented return to God using dreams and visions. This is especially true in those countries around the world which limit access to Christ, to Scripture, to worship. The wonderful truth is that in those countries of persecution, or where following Jesus is illegal, Jesus is reaching out through His appearances in dreams and visions. There are literally hundreds of thousands of personal reports of Jesus appearing in this way to individuals, whether these people are seekers, believers, or those who have never even considered the truth of Christ. One’s personal dreams, of course, are well outside of secular influence or political power, and are untouched by opponents. Wherever it is risky to follow Jesus, He simply does a workaround and doesn’t even flinch at reaching out through dreams and visions. This is a strategy of the thin place, in which God is using the dream state to woo people to Him, to reveal Himself for the first time, to encourage followers to keep the faith.
The Hound of Heaven. God loves us too much to let His opponents have their way in limiting access to Him. God will do whatever it takes to tell of His love and salvation. God will stop at nothing to reveal Himself and to offer the hope we all need for this life and the next. The Lord makes a way where there is no way, including dreams and visions. God’s very presence in dreams is a mystery as He somehow travels back and forth between spiritual, material and imaginative realities. But we do know that God often chooses to work in mysterious ways even when we can be in an unconscious state. God loves us so much that He will make Himself known, whether we are awake, or asleep, or everything in between.
Internationally, there are many, many scholars, missionaries and pastors that confirm the appearances of Jesus in dreams and visions, including Dr. Justin Bass, Rev. Tom Doyle, Uncharted Ministries and Transform Iran. With a little research, one can find literally thousands of firsthand testimonies.
How Deep the Father’s Love For Us — Celtic Worship (youtube.com)