Does understanding and interpreting dreams seem to you like a giant maze with no apparent end in sight? If so, take comfort! Oth- ers throughout the ages have felt the same way! But the Lord, the Mas- ter Dream Weaver, has a word of encouragement for you (and for all of us):“I will be your Helper!”
God loves to help the helpless. And, when it comes to spiritual mat- ters, we are all helpless without Him. Without the grace, love, and mercy of God there would be no repentance, no forgiveness, no salvation, and no revelation. We would be lost and completely without hope. God knows we are helpless. That is why He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, and why He sent the Holy Spirit to abide in the heart of every believer. The Spirit will guide us into all the truth and into all the things of God. The Gospel of John affirms this over and over:
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you
know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.111
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name,He will teach you all things,and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.112
When the Helper comes,whom I will send to you from the Father,that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.113
But I tell you the truth,it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away,the Helper will not come to you; but if I go,I will send Him to you.114
Because the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, we each have our own per- sonal Tutor in the ways and the mind and the heart of God:
But when He,the Spirit of truth,comes,He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me,for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.115
I have had many wonderful teachers and mentors through the years—precious people every one—but none can match the Holy Spirit Himself. He is also my personal friend. He is with me wherever I go. He speaks the wisdom ways of God to me and opens the Word of God to my understanding. He convicts me of sin yet loves me deeply. He always speaks the truth to me, and He never gives up.
In my book, The Beginner’s Guide to Hearing God, I wrote:
The Holy Spirit is our counselor and our teacher, yet He is more than a teacher—more like a tutor. But He is not just any tutor; He’s the kind who truly loves to spend individual, per- sonal time with each of His students. He is like that rare kind of guidance counselor who actually becomes a friend. He is like the teacher who becomes a personal mentor. …As a personal Tutor, He is also a personal coach to help us win out on the playing field of life.
In addition—great news!—He’s not like an ordinary tutor or teacher who clocks in and out. As we graduate from one level of spiritual development to the next, He remains our lifelong per- sonal Tutor. We start with the best and we end with the best. As we end our days here on Earth, He even prepares us for our post- graduate course in life hereafter! All along, He individually
instructs us as to what life lessons we need to learn, and even in what order to take them.116
The Holy Spirit is our Guide through the maze of dream types and categories, and He is our Instructor in dream language. Since He is always with us, He is available all the time, at any time day or night. When we have questions or need wisdom or knowledge, all we have to do is ask. James said,“You do not have because you do not ask,”117 and,“But if
any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”118 This echoes Jesus’ own
words, “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him
who knocks it will be opened.”119
In the discussion that follows, we will trust the Holy Spirit to give us illumination as we examine some of the most common dreams that peo- ple experience and seek to understand the meanings behind common dream elements.
“Holy Spirit, we stand ready to learn and eager to understand. Please teach us!”