Dream Revelation in Times of Despair
by Deborah Jenkins
Three names in Christian history stand, above all, for the great emancipation of the oppressed. Chronologically they are: Moses, known as the Emancipator of Israel; Jesus Christ, Savior of the world; and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., known as a Liberator of the oppressed bodies of Black Americans post-slavery and post-Jim Crow. No other names have been as enduring, nor has anyone had their stories retold as often as theirs. They are mentioned by the marginalized, the ostracized, the victimized, the vilified, and the oppressed. Often, those who mention them have either hit or are approaching an overwhelming sense of despair in their lives or the lives of those with whom they are connected. These connections can be familial, work-related, or based in faith communities or cultural identity. Whatever is the case, we are hard-pressed to resolve the challenge on our own. We often retreat within, into a meditation upon the stages necessary to acquire a level of liberty passionately pursued. To be sure, the converse is also true: we find ourselves pulling away and begin to imagine what newfound liberties will mean for us and for those we care about.
Having recently commemorated the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we see renewed resistance, even in times of despair. When nearly 200 Central Americans sought political asylum, our nation declared that border crossing was at capacity and once again failed those desperately in need of protection. We live in one of the most advanced countries in the world, yet gun violence is so out of control that we can no longer distinguish between good guys and bad, and many perceive the government to sanction law enforcement’s attack on Black bodies, a violence which gave birth to movements such as the now globally-known Black Lives Matter Movement. Adding to the sentiments surrounding government-sanctioned gun violence, in the first 14 weeks of this year, there had already been 20 school shootings. Specifically, the Parkland School shooting sparked a new movement amongst teens vowing to do what their elected officials will not: bring an end to the violence, even as they deal with the memories of lives lost and the reality of long-term trauma. All these things and more must lead to an admission that whenever we are in despair, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will always bring revelation. That revelation will often manifest in the form of a dream.
There is a biblical dream culture which, for many Jews and Christians, provides the narrative of our greatest hope in a God who doesn’t leave His created in situations of despair, but instead provides guidelines for the emergence of His people from the grips of oppression. Much has been written about the dream culture of the Bible, the Ancient Near East and the Greek world. However, in order to understand dream interpretation in the 21st century in relation to what we encounter in both the First and Second Testaments, we must embrace the once-premier method of God’s communicated instructions for liberation as it pertains to one’s current challenges.
Dreams have long been a gateway to communication and even relationship with the Almighty God. For the believer, dreams mean little if there is no assurance that God is the Proprietor of all outcomes in our lives. The prophet Isaiah declares that the Lord will keep in perfect peace those who keep their minds on him, because they trust him (Is 26:3 NIV). It is now, as one might assume it was then, an essential element to dream revelation that one put their whole trust in God in order to experience God’s presence. The first recorded theophany was that of Moses’ encounter with God and the burning bush (Ex 3:3, 6 NIV). There was no doubt for Moses, nor for those of us who are devotees to the Word of God, that he had had a visual experience with God.
Jesus’ very birth, life, and death left those of the first century assured of visual experience with God. Like them, we who believe today believe that Jesus is ever-present in our everyday life. Because we are recipients of God’s grace, we believe that, through our ability to dream beyond our current circumstances, tangible change will occur. Dreams preceded the brave families who risked life and limb for themselves and their children seeking asylum in the United States. They considered the cost and found it not prohibitive to make the journey anyway. They were sure, through all of their suffering, that God had heard their cry (Ps 61:1 NIV), that He was in the midst of their troubles. This assurance, belief, and confidence is an indispensable part of being the recipient of a fulfilled dream.
Even as we continue to hear and read about disheartening stories of police brutality against Black bodies, we are reminded of the lynching tree about which Nina Simone sang and about which Dr. James Cone wrote. Nevertheless, as believers, we find communion with Jesus Christ and the cross that ultimately led to our salvation. We find it difficult to not see Dr. King’s assassination as a lynching, especially as many of the last half-century’s dreams have been both delayed and denied for our collective body of believers. However, for those whose hope is in the Lord, He directs our attention away from our immediate despair and raises a new standard against our enemies (Is 59:19 NIV)—that standard is the youth of today.
We haven’t always put much stock in the foreshadowing prophetic wisdom of Joel, who declared that in the latter days the Lord would “pour out his spirit on all men…and your young men will see visions.” (Joel 2:28 NIV) And while justice is far from perfect, hope remains in the new leaders of the anti-gun violence movement created by the students of Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Not only are these young people advocating on behalf of themselves and their immediate community, but they are taking on injustice, inequality, and oppression throughout our nation. They have experienced God, and God has caused us all to experience him on a different level, through his children. God is reassuring those who were on the brink of giving up that he is ever-present, that there will be divine revelation through the medium of dreams. We must promise ourselves to never stop believing, never stop dreaming, to never stop looking for the hand of God, the voice of God, or the face of God in places unforeseen.
