Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. (Daniel 2:19)

King Nebuchadnezzar had a bad night. He slept, dreamt, and then couldn’t stop thinking about the dream he had: “his sleep left him.” (2:11) We all have nights like that.

King Nebuchadnezzar was bothered enough that he had to have an interpretation. Ever been there?

Enter Daniel! He doesn’t know the dream or the interpretation anymore than anyone else. However, he knows the God of mysteries. In the night God reveals both the dream the king had, as well as its interpretation. Was it in a vision? Was it a dream? Most likely it was a dream as the Bible calls it “a vision of the night.”

God is the one who reveals mysteries. Those mysteries might come in the form of a dream. The interpretation might come right in the dream. It might also come through wisdom and understanding of those who interpret.

Daniel had a special gift of dream interpretation. This does not mean that he was more spiritual than the rest of us, but it does mean that he devoted his life to God and to the interpretation of dreams and visions. It is not by accident that Daniel ended up where he did.

Every dream God gives us is not immediately obvious. That is because He wants to draw us into a closer relationship with Him. As we are motivated to seek understanding for the revelation we have received from Him, we seek the One who gave us the revelation in the first place. It may be His means of drawing us into a closer relationship with Him.

Sometimes we have a dream that makes absolutely no sense at all. It is a mystery.

It is not God’s purpose to leave us confused. God is also the revealer of mysteries. The revelation of the mystery does not always come the way we want. It doesn’t always come on our timetable. It does not always come the way we expect. Sometimes it comes at a time and in a way we least expect.

God is Three in One, the Trinity. That itself is a mystery.

Don’t be discouraged when you receive a mysterious dream. God loves mysteries. God loves to reveal mysteries and God loves the process of you discovering the mysteries He holds out for you.

By Ralph Veenstra