Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Friday, May 22, 2015

"Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions."¹

Dreams not only give valuable personal insights but also have given many creative insights. Some inventors, for example, have received profound ideas from dreams. I recall reading how the inventor, Elias Howe, designed the first sewing machine. He was having great difficulty in conceiving a workable needle. When he was close to running out of money, he had an unusual dream. He dreamt that he was about to be executed because he failed to design a sewing machine for the king of a strange country.

In his dream he was surrounded by guards, all of whom held spears that had been pierced with holes near the tip. Howe woke up and immediately rushed to his workshop. The perfect concept for the sewing machine needle came to him in this dream. Within a few hours the first sewing machine design was well on the way to being completed.

I have heard it said that the theory of relativity came to Einstein in either a dream or a vision. Apparently he saw it on a beam of light. I have also read that the design for the first radio tube came to the inventor in a dream.

Was it time for these discoveries to come into the world and did God give them to the persons who were trained to understand them and put them to use? Or did they just happen by chance? I prefer to think the former.

So whatever we think about dreams, as we said yesterday, they are a God-given gift in that He gave us the ability to dream. Whether we repress them as many do, ignore them as most do, or use them for creative purposes as some do is entirely up to each individual.

If you want to remember your dreams, keep a pen and pad at your bedside and record any dream that makes a strong impression on your mind. Speaking personally, dreams have given me some valuable insights for growth and recovery.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank You for the God-given ability to dream. Whenever I have a dream that is meant to help me grow, resolve an issue, do a good deed, help someone in need, or gain a valuable insight, please help me to interpret it correctly and use it for the purpose for which it was given. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."

1. Joel 2:28 (NKJV).

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