At times, it seems He just plays with us, speaks in puns, riddles and puzzles. He speaks in ways that "bounce off" natural circumstances to teach you spiritual principles.
If you follow the Lord, you might as well learn to like puzzles, because He's got a gazillion for each of us.
Take, for instance, Matthew 16:6-12. Those scriptures tell a story about Jesus and the disciples crossing the Sea Of Galilee, and the guys had forgotten to bring bread. Sensing their thoughts, Jesus "bounced off" those thoughts and said, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
The disciples responded in their normal way (which we all do) and thought He was talking about yeast, because they had forgotten to bring bread. It likely didn't make a lot of sense to them at the time because He was always talking in puzzles.
He still uses this same "bouncing off" principle, using our natural daily thoughts and heart intentions to tell us a spiritual principle.
He does this all the time, in dreams.
For example, say you pass someone who reminds you of an old high-school friend, and then you have a dream of your old friend that night. We tend to think we're dreaming of our old friend because we saw someone who looked like them that day. Wrong answer; He didn't give you that dream because you forgot to bring bread, Disciple. He's telling you something spiritual and bouncing off your natural circumstances. That old friend is symbolic for something going on in your life now.
What about those times you watch a movie about someone drowning, go to bed and dream you're being swept away in a tidal wave? We tend to respond exactly like the disciples and think in natural terms, like I had that dream because I just saw a movie about drowning, but that's not the way it works. He's giving us a puzzle to solve, using our thoughts and circumstances.
The Lord's ways are puzzling, but understanding this way He works will give you a clue to a dream's correct interpretation.
If you haven't read previous posts, here are a few resources to help get you caught up:
What People in Your Dreams Mean
Symbols in Dreams
How to Interpret Your Dreams
And, as always, feel welcome to buy our book - it gives a step-by-step guide for how to break down your dream, interpret the symbols, and learn to quickly understand what the Lord is talking to you about in the night.
Sweet dreams!