Disturbing Dreams

This morning, I woke early from disturbing dreams. It took forever to fall asleep last night. I had taken my daughters on a road trip, and we were spending the night in a cabin. It was a snug little rental, but my brain struggles to rest whenever I am out of my routine.

Do you ever have bad dreams which you find difficult to shake off the next day? It happens less frequently to me lately. I attribute this to the routines I have established to prepare myself for sleep.

Suffered in Dreams

I’ve known other people who suffered in dreams. For some, it’s revisiting painful moments from the past. For others, it’s envisioning terrible outcomes in their future.

I am often the bad guy in my own dreams. I experience the first-person betrayal of my values. Usually, in the dream state, I know what I’m doing is wrong. But, I can’t stop it from happening. It is miserable.

A therapist once explained to me that, when you are deeply invested in a situation that, it can be traumatic to observe elements that are outside your control as they move against your direction.

I don’t care much for the word trauma in this scenario. Do these even qualify as nightmares? I STILL recall a few of the nightmares I had as a child. Those horrors were quite different and more direct. But, these dreams are difficult to experience, nonetheless.

Dreaming of Sinful Behavior

Last night, I was the bad guy. I was dreaming of sinful behavior–doing things that were beyond the pale. Yet, despite this being a dream, I awoke feeling immense shame for having done these things. It took a few minutes for me to realize that it wasn’t real.

Then, it clicked. I was alone in a sleeping bag, on a road trip through Virginia. I sighed in gratitude as relief flooded through me. Lamentations 3:22-23 comes to mind in moments of gratitude like that:

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.”

Maybe that seems an odd one to dwell on, after waking from disturbing dreams. But, the mercy and faithfulness of God have pulled me through more trials and temptations than I can count.

How to Stop Disturbing Dreams

If you’re like me, you have tried to figure out how to stop disturbing dreams from happening. I don’t know that it is possible to achieve total success. We are human. But, this is what has worked for me.

Accept that your mind is a battlefield. We are instructed in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to take every thought captive to obey Christ. When you’re awake, put on your spiritual armor and stand firm.

Fight when you’re awake. We must actively resist temptation. This also means we must surrender the situations that are outside our control to Him. Root yourself in the word, and spend time pursuing Him through prayer and worship.

James 4:7-8 tells us “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

If you let the enemy fill your mind with negativity and temptations while awake, how can you hope to have peace while sleeping?

Prepare your mind for sleep. Give God the last moments of your day. It can be tempting to skip this step. But, taking even a few minutes to center yourself in your faith–to allow him to fill your mind–helps immensely with unwelcome dreams.

Thank God for the gift of rest, and pray that he would keep you safe until the morning. Pray specifically for protection in Jesus’ name.

When You Have a Disturbing Dreams

Despite my efforts, I still have bad dreams occasionally. So, how should we respond in that moment when we have disturbing dreams?

Give thanks. It wasn’t real. Pray to God, but don’t focus on the details of your dream. Focus on the attributes in His nature which oppose your dream (e.g. if you’re afraid, bring scriptures to mind which speak of his strength, his control, and his promises).

I know all too well that it can be hard to shake off the memories that linger. A particularly vivid dream can bring unwelcome thoughts for days afterward. But every time I face those moments, the first step is to remind myself–it wasn’t real.

Satan wants you to feel ashamed. Don’t let him. Don’t allow him to change the way you view yourself through a dreamed experience. The joy which comes from our knowledge of being reconciled with God is what makes us strong.

Prayer for Today

My prayer for today is that God would guard my rest tonight. That I would have peaceful dreams. I pray that today I would prepare myself by doing the things that I know to be right.

I am resolved to practice my routines even in unfamiliar environments. Last night, I didn’t want to disturb my daughters as we were all sleeping in the same room. Now, I reflect on that decision and see a missed opportunity to model the behaviors I most want them to adopt.

Verses about Disturbing Dreams

There are many verses about disturbing dreams. Here are the ones that I find especially relevant today:

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” 1 peter 5:8-9 (ESV)

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV)

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 (ESV)