The Bible contains many accounts of people with dreams, both literal and otherwise.

Today, let’s look at five of them for lessons we can glean, starting with perhaps the most famous dreamer of the lot – Joseph.

1. God’s timing for Joseph

 Joseph’s first two dreams came to him while he lived in his father’s house with his eleven brothers (Genesis 37:5-11).

In the first dream, Joseph and his brothers gathered grain into sheaves. However, Joseph’s sheaf rose and stood straight, but his brother’s bundles of grains bowed down to Joseph’s sheaf.

The second dream was similar: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to Joseph.

Of course, his family was annoyed by these two dreams, refusing to believe they would have to obey Joseph. The preferential treatment shown to Joseph didn’t help; his brothers let their jealousy turn into hatred, and sold him into slavery.

The impressive thing about Joseph is that he lived with these dreams for decades, yet he never tried to force them into fulfilment. Joseph knew that God would bring about these dreams in His own time, and it was not his place to make it happen. 

Similarly, we need to remember that God has a dream and a purpose for our lives. While we might dream of big things for His kingdom, ultimately, God is the one who establishes our paths (Proverbs 16:19). 

At the end of Joseph’s story, he reminds his brothers that he is not “in the place of God” (Genesis 50:18), highlighting that God is the one who is sovereign over all. 

Whose dreams are you holding on to? Today, let our dreams align with the will of God! 

2. Solomon’s blank cheque

As recorded in 1 Kings 3:5-15, God appeared to Solomon in a dream. In that dream, God offered Solomon anything he wanted. Imagine being granted a wish like that!

Contrary to what we might expect or ask for, Solomon did not ask for riches or fame. Instead, he modestly asked for wisdom and the ability to discern right from wrong.

With wisdom from God, Solomon was able to write some 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:29-34). More importantly, as a king, he was able to rule with a discerning and wise heart.

When we walk in God’s wisdom, we can navigate any rocky terrain of life. Whether it’s relationship issues or learning to talk to a pre-believing friend about the Gospel, wisdom from God assures and guides us in the words we speak and the things we do.

Are you having difficulty navigating through the twisting paths of life? Wisdom from God is there if we ask for it.

3. Jacob and the ladder

After stealing Esau’s blessing, Jacob ran away to escape from his brother’s wrath. When Jacob laid on the ground to sleep, he had a dream.

The dream consisted of a ladder resting on the earth, with its top reaching heaven. Jacob saw the angels of God ascending and descending the ladder.

Most Bible scholars agree that the ladder symbolises Jesus and His work on earth. Jesus came down to earth and became that ladder for us to reconcile with God because our relationship with God was severed by sin (Romans 5:1-2).

Another interpretation of the dream is this: there are those who try to make their own ladder to reach heaven. They try to save themselves based on their works, just like the people at the Tower of Babel tried.

They live, work and strive off their own power – much like Jacob did until much later on in his life.

But this is not how our relationship with God is meant to be. Our access to heaven is based solely on God’s grace. Jesus was our ideal and perfect “ladder”, redeeming us so that we can receive eternal life.

Are you striving in life like Jacob did? God is the answer.

4. Moses and the Promised Land

This isn’t a literal dream, but very early on in Exodus we do see that Moses had a strong desire to free his fellow Israelites from their oppression.

However, he went about it the wrong way by killing an Egyptian in secret, which eventually resulted in him having to flee to Midian (Exodus 2).

Yet, God still had a dream for Moses, which was to bring His people out of Egypt into a land flowing with milk and honey. Yet this could only happen when Moses was eighty, after he had been humbled in the desert.

This dream would eventually come to pass in the later chapters of Exodus and in the book of Deuteronomy.

By serving God faithfully during the remaining years of his life, Moses would eventually bring the Israelites out of slavery and into the Promised Land (though he himself did not cross over into it).

Moses’ life shows us that while our dreams may seem to be after God’s heart, there is a time and place for everything. We need to follow God’s plan and timing, to the letter.

As such, we need to seek God in the waiting and patiently align our dreams with His will. 

5. Paul’s zeal

Upon Paul’s conversion, God revealed His will for Paul’s life. From Acts 26:16-18, we see that God makes it clear that Paul would preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth, to Jews and Gentiles. This was God’s dream for Paul.

Despite the persecution and suffering Paul would go on to face as a result of chasing this dream, the admirable thing about him was his unwavering faith and zeal for God regardless of his situation.

Knowing what God intended for his life, Paul wasted no time to fulfil God’s dream for his life.

If there is anything we can learn from Paul, it would be obedience.

Though it would have been easier to ignore the encounter in Damascus, Paul chose to surrender his life for the purposes of the kingdom.

When God places something on our hearts, will we run away or go where God is calling us to?

Looking at the bigger picture, we can see that the common thread within the lives of these five dreamers and their dreams is their heart for God. They had hearts that beat for Him, which longed to do His will. 

Though their dreams might have been a mixture of literal and figurative ones, they undeniably heeded God’s will for their lives. 

Now, how about us? While the dreams we have late at night may not always be God speaking to us, have we stopped to take a look at the dreams God has placed on our hearts?

Will we trust and obey, and work on these dreams according to His timing? The world will change for the glory of God when we do so!