Beautiful Storm Dream

Kathy H. - United States

Dream retell:

A huge storm was coming. I was at church, but the building was large like a temple.  I looked out a huge open door and saw a friend, Jodi, pointing up at the sky.  She looked tiny in the distance.  The sky was filled with clouds swirling, churning, like hurricane clouds as seen on weather radar.  The colors were beautiful pastels, a great sight to see.  So I stepped out of the door to look at it with my daughter, at about age 5, beside me. As I turned (left) to go back into the building, I saw a funnel cloud, a shiny, golden, spiral funnel (like spun glass) touching down to the ground in a desert wasteland, sandy with sparse scattered plants.  I thought it was a tornado until it stopped, broke off at the bottom, and fell over.  When I saw it fall, I realized it was a glass funnel made by lightning hitting the sand.  I started toward it, excited to get a piece of it, but realized it meant the storm was dangerous so I started back into the building with my daughter.  Inside, my daughter was hanging on my shoulders. I was squatting down and the pressure hurt my back.  I told her so in a testy voice.  Then realizing my tone, I softened my voice telling her to get way up on (or not at all).  With a determined look on her face, she made a decided jump up on my back.  I came some steps into the “foyer.”  There were two terrorists there, one ahead of me, one a distance to my right.

Dream Interpretation:

While storms can be dangerous, this storm was beautiful and did not harm anyone.  I was drawn to it, leaving a “safe” place, stepping into the storm.  It was powerful, but looked like beautiful, colorful, swirling cotton.  The following describes the storm; which represents God’s presence.  In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, the children were apprehensive about meeting Aslan (a Christ symbol) when they found out he was a lion.  “Isn’t he dangerous?” one of them asked.  The beaver answered, “Of course he’s dangerous, but he’s good.”  In the dream, I was aware of possible danger, but I was drawn to the good things, His essence.

Psalm 104:1-3  … Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper. (NIV)

Habbakkuk 3:4 His brilliance is like light; rays are flashing from His hand. This is where His power is hidden.  (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

My friend’s presence in the dream (enjoying the storm’s wonder without trepidation) represented her attribute of boldness, to step out unafraid.  I, on the other hand, was being careful stepping only a bit from the “shelter” – a contrast in responses to the storm.                                                                                                           

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (NLT)

My young daughter was with me representing my childish fears and self-protection. I still struggle with this, and am working on it.  This dream reminds me that I need to let go completely so that I can experience more of God and His wonders.

1 Corinthians 14:20 … don't be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind. (NLT)

The dry, wasteland to my left shows my spiritual condition of “thirsting” for more of God.  A powerful move of God (tornado) came into my arid condition and made something beautiful by transforming the dry sand into a golden funnel.  I wanted to get a piece of it, but remembered the lightning.  Awareness of its “danger” made me pull away from the “goodness,” awe, and beauty of it.

Psalm 63:1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. (NIV)

Naham 1:3 His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. (NIV)

Revelation 21:21 … the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. (KJB)

I returned to safety.  This fear weighed heavily on me (as symbolized by my daughter pulling on me) and hurt me spiritually.  Realizing how it affected me, I tried to bear it by carrying it with me.  Right away I ran into more danger, terrorists. There will always be opportunities to fear; anywhere I go. I cannot manage it.  My dream shows that I am missing out on experiences of God’s glory and wonder because of fear.  My desire is to completely cast off fear.  To do that, I am in a process of spending more time in God’s presence.  I have a quiet, set apart, spot to sit and relax in His presence, to pour my heart out, question, and then listen to God.                          

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (NIV)

Job 33:7 No fear of me [man] should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy on you. (NIV)

As a Christ follower, I need to be willing to take a risk, to take a leap of faith in obedience to God.  Fear is one of the enemy’s debilitating tactics.  What am I doing to change the situation shown in my dream?

A)  Recognizing that fear is not of God, but is a tactic of Satan.                                  

2 Corinthians 2:11 … in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. (NIV)

B)  Taking my thoughts captive and lining them up with God’s thinking.

2 Corinthians 10: 3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (NIV)

In any situation, as God reminds me to take my thoughts captive, I can consciously change my thinking, replacing fearful thoughts and standing on God’s promises, as stated in the verses above.  I may need to meditate on God’s Words to fully internalize them and let go of negative thinking.  But, as I practice changing my thinking, it becomes easier and more natural.

Thumbnail photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash