By Not Known
Daniel 2 records one of many dreams mentioned in the Bible. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which he used to test all his wise men, asking them to tell him his dream and interpret it, or else all the wise men in Babylon were to be put to death. The patriach Joseph was sold into slavery because he shared his dream of his family bowing down to him in worship. In Acts 10, Peter has a great vision of God instructing him to kill and eat all kinds of animals prohibited in Jewish dietary laws, ushering in the sharing of the gospel to Gentiles as part of God’s sovereign plan of salvation.
In history, there have been famous dreams as well, one being Martin Luther King’s famous speech “I have a dream” in Washington 53 years ago, calling for an end to racism in the United States, in the height of the American civil rights movement. It has also been recorded in many of Albert Einstein’s biographies that his famous theory of relativity was formulated through a series of dreams he had. Closer to home, it was primarily through the dream of one of our founding fathers, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and the vision of a modern, successful and independent Singapore, that propelled the birthing and development of the nation we call home for the past 50+ years.
Do you have a vision or dream from the Lord? Here we are not talking about prophetic visions in the same vein as recorded in the Book of Daniel, nor modern entanglements and abuses of prophetic or sign-gift ministries, primarily marked by the rise of charismatic church movements around the globe. Through our lives as Christians, dare we ask God to grant us a clear vision for our lives and families, for our church and ministries, even for our nation and perhaps the world? Proverbs 29:18 reads, “Where there is no revelation (vision in KJV), the people cast off restraint (or perish); but blessed is he who keeps the law.”
In your daily reflection and meditation on God’s Word, does God continue to speak to you and direct your paths according to His ways and purposes? Do we serve the Lord in various ministries out of clear God-given convictions, knowing what God wants us to do, and where He is leading us? Do we go about our daily lives with a sense of practicing God’s presence and being sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s prompting and guidance? May our faithfulness and obedience to His Word lead to God’s name being lifted high and exalted, as in the case of the king after Daniel interpreted his dream with God’s help, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.” (Dan. 2:47)
Timothy Pang