I was speaking to one of my cousins recently and she was telling me about how she had received two calls on two separate occasions from close friends of hers about a dream they had about her. Her friends had dreamt that she had died or was going to die.
Upon hearing these dreams my cousin was respectfully frightened. Not only because of the dreams themselves but also the fact that her friends, who were also believers, said that ‘the dreams were from God.’
My cousins’ friends thought they were doing her a favour by telling her about their dream. One even told my cousin that now she should start praying for herself, so that the dream doesn’t become reality. But instead of this ‘warning’ being a gift to my cousin it seemed more like a curse. Because even though my cousin did pray, she became afraid of everything. Thinking that anything could take her from this life at any moment.
As my cousin was telling me all this, I thought to myself ‘Would God do this to His child?’, ‘Why would He give people this kind of dream just to inflict fear onto his daughter?’. It didn’t make sense to me.
Is it true that God can speak to people through dreams? Yes. Is it true that He can give people visions and help people prophesy? Yes. But I couldn’t recall anywhere in the bible where God told someone they were going to die without a valid reason or opportunity for repentance. My cousins’ friends had dreamt that my cousin would die but there was no warning or reason from God Himself in the dreams. I believe that’s why the Bible warns us to ‘not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world’ (1 John 4:1).
As we kept speaking, I realised that these dreams and this whole situation didn’t align with God’s character at all. It clearly says in the Bible that, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” - 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
And somehow these three characteristics were not present in my cousin upon her hearing these dreams. In addition, because she was so consumed by the fear of these dreams, she lost focus in life and started to feel like her whole world was in a state of chaos and confusion. Now there is only one person I know who thrives off confusion and fear, and that is Satan. Not my God.
‘For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.’ - 1 Corinthians 14:33 NKJV
As my cousin finished telling her story, I concluded that none of this could have been from God, because everything seemed contrary to His character. But my cousin didn’t see that, she had seemingly forgotten God’s true character in the midst of this chaos. Just like the Israelites in the wilderness, as soon as they started forgetting God’s character they started to fear and complain. They forgot the blessings He had given them and what He had brought them through. So, just like the Israelites needed a reminder of who God was, so did my cousin.
Here are just a few characteristics of God’s nature:
He Is Eternally Good
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin… - Exodus 34:6-7 NIV
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” – Psalm 34:8 NIV
He Doesn’t Change
“I the Lord do not change. So, you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” - Malachi 3:6 NIV
‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’ - Hebrews 13:8 NIV
He Is Always With Us
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” - Psalm 139:7-10 NIV
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9 NIV
He Is Loving
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ - John 3:16 NIV
He Is Our Protector
‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’ - Isaiah 41:10 NIV
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord.’ - Isaiah 54:17 NKJV
Even though this is just touching the tip of the iceberg that is God’s character, I now understand why the Devil’s first ever attack was on God’s character (Genesis 3). Because there is power in knowing who God truly is. The moment we forget is the moment we become the perfect pray for the Devil to pounce on, like my cousin was. However, we can be reassured that God ‘will always be for us and never against us’.
Thankfully my cousin has reached out to others who have been able to remind her of the true nature of God.
A constant reminder of who God is can and will help you win every battle against the enemy.
*Satan = adversary, accuser
*Devil = one who separates
About the Author
Ke Besa is the social media coordinator for the Australian Adventist young adult's magazine,
My Edge Mag. She also runs her own podcast called, Bible Lessons with Ke, on SoundCloud.
