Started with a Dream

It is so clear to me that God speaks to us in a variety of ways.  His primary mode of communication is through His Word - He shows us His truth and His desires for us through Scripture.  And, in partnership with the Holy Spirit, we can personalize what Scripture has to say - perhaps even the Spirit will give us specific direction, but never in contradiction to His Word.  God will also speak to us through other people, even through circumstances, and...at night, through dreams, as we sleep.  This is perhaps the experience of the Psalmist, as we find in Psalm 16 (ESV):
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.

Know this: God wants to communicate His heart to His people - He doesn't leave us out there somewhere to fend for ourselves.  He wants to bring His message to us, and we see that throughout Scripture.

A young influencer named Bryce Crawford has experienced that.  A CBN.com article relates:

“I had a dream at night in May of 2023,” he told CBN News. “In real life, I was wrestling with, ‘What’s my thing for you, God? God, what am I doing?'”

In the dream, the late Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With A Mission, was present — a man who traveled the world for Christ. The imagery had a big impact on Crawford.

“I woke up from the dream profusely crying,” Crawford said. “It was in that dream God revealed to me to record these conversations that we were already having with people just to encourage believers to be bold for their faith. And it was from the very first video that we posted that God used it, and, wow — continued to use it.”

Bryce grew up in a Christian home, but he developed a hostility toward God.  He relates, “I had depression and anxiety for years,” adding, “And, when I was 17, I planned on taking my life because I thought it was the only way to get the pain to go away, and that night I had a supernatural encounter with Jesus where God revealed to me — maybe the reason I don’t know that He loves me is because I haven’t given myself a chance to love Him back.”

Crawford called on God to set him free from what he terms, "crippling anxiety and depression," and five years later, he has had peace.   He's been traveling the country on the "I Love Jesus" Tour, which has been quite popular, with a number of dates selling out.  And, through His ministry, he has seen God set people free.  

But, it goes back to a dream - and steps of obedience.  CBN said that, "With a massive, viral ministry today, Crawford pondered what life might have looked like if he hadn’t taken the time to heed the Lord’s calling on his life."

That's something great to think about, as we thank God for what He has done in our lives, perhaps considering how He has led us.  That can give us great hope and confidence for the future.  

And, we recognize the way that God leads us - it more than likely won't be with an audible voice; it might be through something a bit, more extraordinary - even through a dream or vision.  Or, it may just come as we train ourselves by God's Word to think Biblically, to activate our conscience within so that we can recognize the promptings of the Spirit.

The Bible tells us to be still and know that He is God - we can learn to listen to His still, small voice, as it's been referred to, so that we can then rely on Him to empower us to do His will.  When we discern the voice of the Spirit, our next step, as Bryce Crawford can demonstrate for us, is to be obedient.