A Daily Devotion for Monday, November4
- ontrakk
- Nov 4, 2024
- 1 min read
Job 33:14-18
“For God does speak—now one way, now another—though no one perceives it.
In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings,
to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride,
to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.”
The speaker here is Elihu, not Job, not one of the three “friends” of Job. He is described as a prophet. For me, the problem with this whole passage and what follows is his assumption that God is also communicating with people through their afflictions. So, to me there are large flaws in his message. But, the concept that God does speak to us, “now one way, now another”, seems much more likely accurate and true. And dreams seem to be a reasonable way for God to communicate. But we never know what exactly the dreams mean. What could God possibly be telling me through the mixed up jumble of feelings and images I dreamt last night?
Holy Lord, I will listen for you, and try to be ready to hear you, wherever and whenever you speak to me. Help me to be aware and open to your wisdom and direction. Amen
Becky, transforming
Pic by Kay
Job 33:14-18
God speaks to us in many ways and God cares. I find it his messages can be very subtle and sometimes I may not notice.
Dear Father, help me to understand your messaging and recognize your direction. Amen.
Monday, November 4th, 2024
Job 33:14-18
For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds, then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings, that he may turn man aside from his deed and conceal pride from a man; he keeps back his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.
Let us suppose that God were to speak to someone in a dream. How would we know that this dream was in fact from God, rather our brain doing what it naturally does when we are…
Job 33:14-18
I remember a time when my oldest daughter was 12 or 13 and she got into serious trouble following a friend and stealing. While it all worked out, I was very worried that she might get depressed thinking we didn’t love her because we were quite angry and disappointed. For about a month, before I went to bed, I would sneak into her bedroom, be sure she was asleep, and whisper in her ear that we loved her. I hoped, probably the same way God hopes, that her subconscious would feel our love.
Prayer: Gracious God, I hope I have made the right decisions that you planted in my mind as I slept. I am not sure…
Job 33:14-18
Many years ago I remember to the day I woke from a sound sleep and bells were ringing really ringing and light yes even light, granted the sun was shining through the curtains with the morning sunshine it was the light that was beaming from the sky and clouds! A beautiful morning much like those captured recently on Facebook! This is the day the Lord has made! Who am I to judge! Be glad in it, I know God was trying to talk to me through all of that and to this day I analyze it I go over and over in my mind I see the light and I hear the bells. So as I tell you…
Job 33:14-18
It seems perception is the elusive but essential issue when it comes to dreams. Elihu’s words are not encouraging; “no one perceives it.” It would be going out on a dangerous limb to try and interpret our dreams ourselves in the tiny vacuum of our own knowledge. On the other hand, what human is qualified to translate our dreams into the message God may be imparting to us? I suspect all we can do is try to be as open as possible to God’s voice, diligent as possible to discern the voice of the anti-Christ and rely on Scripture as the guide for action plans based on the messages we recieve in dreams.
Prayer - Lord, my dreams…