God's Long-range Plans

Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.” Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. (Daniel 2:24–30)

The king wanted his dream interpreted, but he refused to tell his wise men what the dream was so he told one of his men to kill all of them. Daniel intervened. God gave him the content and the meaning, thus saving the wise men from death. Did he know what the descendants of these men would do? Not likely. But God did.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1–2)

Most theologians believe these wise men were descendants of those that lived in Babylon many centuries prior to the birth of Christ and it was very likely that Daniel told them that a Jewish messiah would come and the sign would be a star that would take them to His birthplace. Knowing the power and plan of God from this side of those events, it is easy to agree. That ancient group had to live on and be told, therefore God revealed the meaning of the king’s dream and kept them alive.

When unusual events happen, realizing God has an agenda for good helps me agree with this understanding. As my mother often said, “We must need it or we would not be getting it.” This applies to ‘good’ events as well as those that alarm us or make us shake our heads in wonder. He has a plan that we do not know about.

For instance, my hubby ‘lost’ something valuable, but after nearly two years of wondering what happened, he found it again because his luggage got left in a faraway airport and forced him to fully examine it to make certain nothing had been removed. He then found his missing items. I thought later how upset travelers get when their luggage goes missing, but as my mom said…! And God says:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)

Those “all things” may not feel good, but sometimes God is showing us the wonder of His grace with surprises that reveal His goodness, and it is gazing into His glory that changes our lives. 

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Spending time with Jesus in His Word is one way. Talking with Him all day long is another. Seeing Him in the lives of Spirit-filled believers is another. We may not see Him as we look in the mirror unless that helps us confess our shortfall, but it is His amazing goal that we be like Him.

Jesus, there are times that You are so real and visible, and times where I feel abandoned, yet all the time You are active and working in my life, even in my dreams. For that, I am grateful. And I love Your surprises!

God uses dreams… or not…

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:7–11)

Last night a woman from Africa described how her culture sees God in all of life’s events and also is aware of how evil spirits try to ruin them. She also said that God often speaks to His people in dreams.

Most who heard her didn’t seem convinced. One mentioned superstitions. However, years ago the man involved in outdoor theater productions, specifically The Passion Play, shared that God gave him many ideas for his work through dreams. Those who heard him were also skeptical.

I’m not. God has encouraged me in dreams and often gives me ideas and answers to problems in my dreams, answers that do not have a chapter and verse that specifically tell me what to do.

Therefore, I did a word search this morning. Yes, God uses dreams to speak to His people, even to those who are not believers. Most of it is in the OT for those without the Scriptures. Some of it is encouragement. Some is warnings, including warnings to not listen to those with false dreams. Some verses say that only God can interpret dreams. This means I must be really careful not to assume that every dream is God telling me something. It could be a product of wishful thinking, or simply being too busy.

For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words. (Ecclesiastes 5:3) 
Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:28)

Warnings: 

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” (Genesis 20:3)
For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, (Jeremiah 29:8)
For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. (Zechariah 10:2)

Instructions:

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. (Genesis 41:25)
As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.” (Judges 7:15)
And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” (Matthew 2:12-13)

Answers prayer (or not):

And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. (1 Samuel 28:6)

Predicts future:

Then (Joseph) dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” (Genesis 37:9)
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. (Joel 2:28)

Again, discernment is vital. My “I wants” could seem fulfilled in a dream or are revealed for confession. My dad said dreams can depend on what he had for supper. 

Too much focus on spiritual enemies can have them talking to me in my sleep. If what I dream is contrary to the instruction or I hold attitudes contrary to Scripture, confession is needed. “Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.” (Jude 8)

Lord Jesus, when a dream seems to be You speaking, grant me insight. What I hear needs to fit with who You are and with how Your Word tells me what to focus on and obey. Otherwise, something else is playing with my thinking.

Trust God's plan…

At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 
And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” 
It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” 
And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants. (1 Kings 3:5–15)

My dreams are usually stories that make little sense. However, several times I’ve gone to bed with something on my mind and had a dream that made sense of it. Lately I’m trying to get more order in my life and have had amazing ideas pop up in dreams to show me how.
Solomon’s dream was awesome. He was given far more than his humble request and became famous as well as wise and wealthy. His prayer is instruction for my prayers.

First, acknowledge what God has already done — and that I do not deserve any of it. Then ask for wisdom for the day. Simple. Why this request? Because I don’t know what the day will bring.

Yesterday could not have been predicted. A server in an eating place tell me her struggles and ask me to pray for her. Another person told me she was losing her sight and God gave me words to encourage her. After that, a new friend came to chat and it felt like she was someone I have known forever. Then a stranger approached and told me of losing her Christian son a few months ago and how she had not accepted it and was not grieving. I affirmed that he was not dead, that he just moved to a different address. She joyfully agreed. God put a sparkle in her eyes and amazement in my heart.

When I came home, I knew all that was God's doing, and beyond anything I could have asked for or imagined. Nothing was planned. It just happened and I was watching it happen and being blessed as I watched Him bless those ladies.

Jesus, we talk about being used, or pray for this or that, but I like Solomon’s prayer. I just need Your wisdom and trust You to make Your plan happen without making any plans of my own.

I cannot blame God. . . .

 

Last night a terrible dream combined the actions of two people I once trusted. Both harmed me and in the dream, my anger and desire to retaliate was loud and violent. I woke feeling as if I’d been clobbered. Why did friends betray me? Why was my anger so savage? Where was God?
In reading Charnock’s wonderful book about the attributes of God, I’m in a section on His holiness, particularly what happens when his people sin. Has God abandoned them?

Charnock points out that God is not the author of sin. He uses Scripture and an illustration to explain… If a man is riding a horse that loves to run and gives it the reins, or a huntsman takes all restraint off his hunting dog, both animals with go into motion and do what natural instinct drives them to do. They will run free.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:13–15)

Grace provides a new nature that can say NO to temptation, but the test is: will His people say NO as well? I’ve at times felt that God withheld grace so I would realize the danger of saying YES to forbidden things.

As for those who do not have this new nature, Charnock illustrates by pointing to Exodus and how at times He is said to “harden Pharaoh’s heart” and also Pharaoh is said to “harden himself” yet in both, God leaves the man to his natural passion instead of influencing him to a different response. In either terminology, this man’s heart was hard by nature and God left him to it.

This author goes on to say that God is first deserted by man before man is deserted by God. This was true of Pharaoh who mocked God and His people even though the NT says: “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:9) Pharaoh rejected what light he had and God left him to his own passions.

Charnock also says this:

Man’s not receiving or not improving what God gives, is the cause of God’s not giving further, or taking away his own, which before he had bestowed; this is so far from being repugnant to the holiness and righteousness of God, that it is rather a commendable act of his holiness and righteousness, as the rector of the world, not to let those gifts continue in the hand of a man who abuses them contrary to his glory.

And he goes on to point out that “who will blame the physician for deserting the patient, who rejects his counsel, will not follow his prescriptions” but tosses it off as nothing. The doctor cannot be blamed if that patient dies because the results are from the man’s own obstinacy.

I could never justly blame God for the consequences of my sin if I deny the supplies of grace He offers. At the same time, even if grace is withheld because of my bad attitude and refusal to trust Him, He winds up using even the consequences for good. This is amazing grace and to His glory! Nor can I charge Him with unholiness for that temporary withdrawing of grace because I never was due it in the first place.

How does this apply to my dream? First, I could see that my friends needed to become aware of the horrors of their old nature, as do i. I’m reminded of a time when the Lord said to me, “Would you rather have this happen in real life than in a dream?” And by that dream I could see the junk I would be living if I was not obedient and filled with His Spirit.

This dream also made me see that I’d brushed off their betrayals without grieving. The psalmists lamented their ugly situations before they praised God, praise that came from a settled heart. My dream brought back deeply hurtful situations, and for a while, I let myself again feel the horror of them. Then the Lord let me experience again the grace of being able to forgive the two others, and rejoice that I too am totally forgiven, not just for my reactions but also all that I have ever done against His will.

PRAY: What else is there to say but thank You, Jesus? You know how to humble and hug at the same time, and to help me say Hallelujah to Your holiness. If I got what I deserve, it would not be evil for You to leave me in my sin, but You give grace and mercy. For that, I am grateful and deeply desire to respond with love and obedience to all that You are and all that You are revealing to me.

His strength perfected in weakness

 

Everyone knows what it is like to have a person’s name slip from memory, or fumble to find a word for something that is known but hiding somewhere in the back of their head. Some say this is old age, or dementia, but whatever it is, God is there to help.

This week I ordered a quilt pattern and downloaded the file. Since it was only a lap size, and I wanted a queen-size, I printed only the front page photo and redesigned it on a quilter’s app that does that sort of thing. I knew this pattern directions would not work for the changes I made. I had no idea what to do with it, so I prayed.

I went to bed wondering how I would assemble this project. It seemed a large challenge. Even though I’ve made more than 300 quilts, this one had me stumped. I prayed for guidance — and then fell asleep. And then I had a vivid dream. In that dream, I was shown precise instructions for putting that quilt together, totally different than anything I’ve ever done before! I shake my head in amazement at how God answers prayer when I cry for help.

Then to top it off, today’s devotional reading was short and about God helping the helpless. It included three references that were like exclamation marks for that dream:

He loves to be God for the weak and childlike, who look to him for all they need. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:4)
But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 147:11)
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

How could I doubt Him? Or turn to google for answers? Or try to find a Youtube? His answer is so perfect — a testimony to His ingenuity and goodness. The One who made the universe with a word has no trouble with how to assemble a mere quilt.

PRAY: What can I say to You? Thank You seems so small — even if this quilt is not an earth-shattering project, You knew exact instructions will save time and eliminate stress. What a blessing You are, my ingenious God!

Truth in bad dreams?

 

My nighttime dreams are vivid and often humorous. Yet sometimes they are dark and confusing, even seeming like attempts to divert me from trusting the Lord. Last night, my dreams were filled with selfish actions, several odd funerals, and the confusion of being lost in a building and not able to find what I was looking for. I woke up feeling numb and distracted.

Christians who are filled with God’s Spirit feel love, joy and peace, so instead of dwelling on the dream and trying to rewrite it to make sense, I began saying and singing the truth about Jesus and what He has done for me. After that, I read this, the first line in my devotional book: “Our liberty must come from an understanding of the mind and thoughts of God toward us.”

The author continued to focus on who I am in Jesus and what He has called me to be. I am not in bondage to the dictates of my old life, nor the ‘rules’ of being a servant, nor the power of dreams. I am a child of God and being transformed into the image of Christ. The Bible tells me that as I live and walk in the Spirit, “against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:23). This means putting away all rules driven by self-effort and trusting the Lord to make of me what He wants of me. I’m to confess known sin and humbly recognize that just as I could not save myself, I also cannot be sanctified and set myself apart to serve Him alone, not even in my dreams.

However, as I follow Jesus and see amazing answers to prayer and am excited about His work in me and in others, the conflict begins. I’m not to trust the world’s ideas, nor the lies of Satan, but I’m also not to trust myself. Those dreams hit me with, “If you had a real faith, you would not have dreams like that.”

However, Jesus is my Savior from every sin, and every weakness, even from an imperfect faith, and I can do nothing else but trust it all to Him. For example, I’m learning more about prayer for others. A major lesson is to leave out my personal ideas of what is needed and start telling God what to do. As one writer says, my approach to God is possible because of what Jesus did, not about what I think:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19–22)

Walking in faith means praying in faith, but if my faith is in my I-wants or my I-thinks, then I my faith is in myself and not in the wisdom or the power of God — the kind of praying that the Lord answers, the kind of praying that comes from experiencing my own weakness and from having awful dreams that show me how useless and foolish I am at the core of my being.

PRAY: This is Your Word for me today, Lord. I must trust You like a lost and confused child in utter ignorance, weakness, foolishness, and blindness with nothing that I can do but throw myself on You to meet the needs You place before me. You are the Savior of the lost, and I am lost without you. Keep me trusting you moment by moment! As the devotional writer says, if I look at my feelings, or at my experiences, and at what seem to be the practical results of my trusting, I could despair. But when I look only at You and Your faithfulness to lead me — in darkness or in light because Your blood was shed to redeem me and it is sufficient to cleanse and sanctify even me. Help me remember that effective intercession means substituting my ideas with Your desires for our godliness. It is so easy to pray in sympathy for human discomfort than praying for Your will to be done — in my own life and in the lives of others. Thank You for revealing truth even in bad dreams.

Shut the door on doubts…

Occasionally I pray this from the Bible, always expecting an answer yet dreading it:

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23–24)

One way God answers is by dreams. In them, I’m doing something that shocks me and makes me feel shame when I wake up. If I question God about it, He usually replies with something like, “Would you rather find out your sinfulness in real life?”

I had a dream like that last night. It repeats in various forms and this time I woke up doubting that God would ever purify my selfishness to the point that this dream would never again happen. However, today’s devotional took a bull’s eye shot at that notion. It was about the selfishness of doubting, saying that to some people doubting God is a luxury, a ‘poor me’ attitude that is just as hard to give up as any self-centered indulgence.

The author says, “Do not your doubts come trooping to your door like a company of sympathizing friends who appreciate your hard case and have come to console you? Is it no luxury to sit down with them, entertain them, listen to their arguments, and join in with their condolences? Wouldn’t it be real self-denial to turn from them and refuse to hear a word they have to say? Try it and see.”

This author gives the example of brooding over someone’s unkindness that produces that ‘poor me, how I have suffered’ focus that turns love for God into a ‘God has forsaken me, does not love me, and I am too sinful for Him to care for and transform.’ All that self-pity is actually easier to live with than the sinfulness He exposes and the obedience He is asking for!

This brings to mind the faith of Abraham when he was commanded by God to slay his son, the one through whom God's promise depended on. How could God bless this patriarch as the father of nations if his son was dead? But not a shred of self-pity in this man. He took his boy up a mountain and laid him on an altar. Only then did God intervene and provide a substitute sacrifice.

My selfishness in this dream is about being willing to sacrifice everything I want and serve the Lord alone. No other gods, no idols, no ‘I wants’ that go against what He wants. I know the importance of obedience. The OT puts it this way:

“If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. Whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God. And as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you… but the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you… (Deuteronomy 28:58–67)

In contrast, the NT considers the obedience of Christ as being the offering to God that His people have never been able to make. In other words, my sins and selfishness are covered by the sacrifice of Christ and my response is to be like His…

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:2)
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

Walk in love, worshiping and praising God, obeying as He gives the will and the ability to do so. Stop that ‘poor me’ which can be an excuse to not say no to something that He shows me as a sinful attitude. Of course I cannot rid myself of it, but I can confess it rather than make excuses for it.

PRAY: Jesus, the flesh is always trying to rise from the dead. Again, I need Your saving power to not only put the old nature in its grave, but also replace it with love for others and praise to You.

Reasons to confess . . .

 

The phrase ‘keeping short accounts’ refers to debts paid off as soon as possible after they incur. While the company or person I owe money to might give me thirty days to settle my bill, this does not work well when it comes to confessing sin.

Last night I had a vivid dream that showed a document much like a calendar. Every time I or others around me did something, our motivations showed up in a box. If we asked God to guide us and followed His will, the box was blank. If we didn’t do that, the box was filled with sinful thoughts and plans.

This dream was timely as I look at the link between confession and prayer. Daniel is the example:

I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments . . . . While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision. (Daniel 9:4; 20–23)

Had Daniel not humbled himself and acknowledged that God had every right to chasten sin, Gabriel must first address that rather than give him the insight he needed.

Sometimes people say that was the OT, but the NT shows the loving and gracious side of God. While He only chastened the religious leaders and not the tax collectors and prostitutes, there is a difference between these two groups. The religious leaders did not acknowledge their sin and the ‘sinners’ of those days contrasted them by not being smugly self-righteous. Proverbs 3:34 says, “Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.”

We who know the Lord can forget that He hates sin. We need to often hear the gospel. God takes sin seriously; He became a man and died for it. If I am in sin and praying for the needs of others, God will deal with my sin before He answers my prayers — something like the little child with muddy hands asking for a cookie — and dad tells her to go wash first.

As MacArthur points out, confessing sin acknowledges that God has every right to punish or chasten sin. What kind of reputation would it give God if He merely looked the other way when His people are disobedient and refuse to repent? He is not like a human father too occupied with other things to pay attention to the disobedient behavior of his own children (see Hebrews 12:5-13).

Besides that, obeying Him is for our good — that we might have the abundant life Jesus promised:

And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us. (Deuteronomy 6:24–25)

I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. (Jeremiah 32:39)

Faith believes God is good, even that His chastening is good. The NT says, “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) Confession therefore serves a dual purpose: it brings forgiveness, and it frees God to chasten us without bringing accusations of unfairness or injustice upon Himself. He is not a poor Father.

While some sin is ugly and repulsive, some sin appears lovely and desirable. My view of God’s reasons for instructing me is important, especially  when it comes to resisting the ‘lovely’ temptations that seem okay, desirable, even good for me. He can see the outcome of sin. It “leads to death” and His love most certainly does not want an untimely end for His children. Confession of sin and turning another way puts me on a better path!

Lord Jesus, I’ve always had vivid dreams, sometimes long and complex, sometimes distressing. I’ve been asking You to instruct me in my dreams and am amazed how You tie a dream to the next morning’s devotional reading. Thank You for wanting the best for me and for giving me ammunition to fight those seemingly harmless temptations. You are a most marvelous Savior!

MORE: Read about David’s sin in 2 Samuel 11:1–12:25 and his confession in Psalm 51. What are the similarities and differences between David’s confession and Daniel’s?