YOUNG VISIONARIES AND OLD DREAMERS
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and… your old and ancient shall dream dreams and your young shall see visions: ~ Joel 2:28
When the prophet Joel wrote those words he understood something about the old and young that still holds true today. With a few exceptions, old people don’t dream, but young people do. Also, again, with few exceptions, the young don’t have clear, focused vision, but the ancient ones do. Let me explain. The outpouring of God’s Spirit upon ALL flesh will produce supernatural results. In other words, the Holy Spirit will produce things that are beyond the natural and normal. SUPER-natural is to become the new norm. Dreaming is not a natural occurrence of those that are old. Just as having a clear vision is not a natural occurrence for the young. But in these last of the last days, God has clearly promised that He’s going to flip-flop the natural order of things!
A bit about the original Hebrew. When Joel wrote the word “Old” he meant old. The word “men” used in Joel 2:28 is actually half true for the Hebrew word here is simply the word “OLD” or “elder” and even “ancient”! More importantly, this Hebrew word, זָקֵן Zâqên, refers to both old men and old women. Likewise the phrase, “your young men” means “selected or chosen youth” and is collective in its meaning, implying a group of young, both male and female. Thus the idea of this promise applying to only men is simply not true. Now that you know the more complete rendition of this scripture, let’s continue.
THE DREAMER; THE YOUNG
When we were young we dreamed of going places, of becoming something and accomplishing great and awesome things. This is the natural course of the young. Young people dream. I know I did. In fact, I found it hard to concentrate on my school work because I had such an active day-dreaming life! This is the beauty and wonder of the young; that they are actually incapable of accomplishing their big, giant dreams while they are young, but this doesn’t impede them from dreaming! I recently asked my 10-year-old Grandson if he has had any dreams lately. Thinking I was referring to sleeping or night-time dreams he responded that he couldn’t remember any. So I clarified my question and told him that I meant “day-dreams”. With a smile on his face, he responded: “I day-dream all the time Nana!” As young minds begin to understand how wondrous the world is and how vast the possibilities are, they begin to dream of going and doing and being!
THE VISIONARY-THE OLD
The old or elder is the person whose eyes have been seeing for a lifetime. By the time we reach our elder years we have seen and done this and that and almost everything there is to see and do. We have gazed upon years and decades of life, this world, our family and God’s Kingdom. When, as believers, we finally approach those golden years our vision has actually or should be narrowed down to what is truly important; Jesus Christ and His kingdom. As we draw closer to when we will depart this world, we begin to see heaven and eternal things more clearly. The reality of the Spirit realm is more clearly seen and the Kingdom of Heaven has become more real to us than the earthly realm.
By the time most of us hit 60 plus years we are done dreaming and have moved into remembering and cherishing. And if we truly love the Lord we will come to realize that this world and all the glitz, glamour, fame and fortune is fleeting and our eyes have become more clearly focused and fixed upon what is of true value and eternal. Our vision of God is clearer than it has ever been. Visions of God naturally belong to the aged (or mature) in the Lord.
So you see, dreaming is not a natural occurrence of those that are old. Just as having a clear vision is not a natural occurrence for the young. But in these last of the last days, God has clearly promised that He’s going to flip-flop the natural order of things! Read this promise God has given to you with new eyes:
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and… your old and ancient shall dream dreams your young shall see visions: ~ Joel 2:28
I love this promise; even in your old age, God will cause this supernatural phenomenon to become a reality. This promise also joins divergent and different generations where old and young, black and white, male and female will walk together in God’s visions and dreams.
Since youth is not a criterion for dreaming, I’m dreaming with Jesus. Dream with Jesus. Dream with me.