In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him. – Genesis 41:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 10, 2012): Genesis 41

I dream a lot. And unlike a lot of my friends, not only do I dream, but I often remember what I have dreamed about. And while my dreams are most definitely weird, I can’t say that I really struggle with the meaning. Often my dreams are tied to my emotional state. And frequently I need to be reminded of the things that are bothering me, and my dreams do the work of making me aware of my emotional state.

One of the recurring dreams that I have had is a dream where I am standing on the floor in a cabin of some sort. In dreams, the floor often seems to symbolize my support system. So often dreaming about a floor is a good thing, it is the place where I feel that I am secure. But in my dream, the floor gives way and I begin to fall. And again the symbolism is that my support system is giving way – it isn’t there anymore. Falling is often a sign of insecurity. When combined with the floor giving way, it is a really all about the fear that I might be losing the support system. And so I fall into the basement of the building. I am unhurt, but I find myself on a train track – and as I look up I see the single light of an oncoming train. Again, in a dream the oncoming train, one that is about to hit you, is a symbol that you might be on the wrong path (any path where a train is going to hit you has to be the one to be on.)

So the easy interpretation of the dream is that I felt that my security was giving way. That raised an unusual level of fear in me, including the fear that I might be on the wrong life or career path. And people that know me might look at my life in the past few years and say ‘that makes sense.’ But the problem is that this vivid dream that I remember as clearly as if I just dreamed it last night, was actually one of the recurring dreams from my early childhood. Maybe so early that none of the interpretation of the dream really makes any sense. But the other thing to notice about the interpretation is that it is built on my own emotional outlook on the world as I see it.

Pharaoh had a dream. The assumption was that there was a meaning beneath the images of the dream. The question is this – was this a direct message from God, or was it something that Pharaoh already sensed – and feared? I have a feeling it was a little of both. And Pharaoh’s fear was the one thing that God could use to get through to him.

And it is probably the one thing that God can use to get through to us. I don’t think that every dream is a message from God, but I have to admit that there have been a few times in the past year that I think God has spoken to me through the fears revealed in – my dream. And maybe I need to make sure that I am listening to what my dreams – and God – are trying to tell me.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 42