He Wrote Down The Dream

Daniel 7:1
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.

Daniel 7 is known for certain messages. In limiting Daniel 7 to only certain main messages, we limit ourselves from benefitting from what else God-inspired and let it be written in this passage. No message from God is too small to be ignored. That small message can make a difference. Today we will focus on what some may wrongly consider a small message from this chapter.

Daniel 7 is known for Daniel’s dream of four beasts. The beasts that Daniel saw represent four nations that ruled the then world from the time of Babylonians to the time of Romans. Each beast represents a kingdom that reigned. First Babylon, second Medo-Persia, third Greece and fourth is Rome. It is under Rome that Jesus was born and crucified and the early church persecuted. That is why Rome is represented by an indescribably terrible beast, Daniel 7:7. Out of Rome came another kingdom that was known as the little horn, Daniel 7:8. This little horn is the religious Rome that reigned after the collapse of secular Rome.

The religious Rome or little horn kingdom seriously persecuted the church of God even though it too claimed to be the church. This harsh period necessitated the interruption of the story by a vision of God’s judgment, Daniel 7:9-10. That when the worst happens to God’s people, there is a God seated in judgment ready to punish the evildoer and vindicate His people. The good news is that, at the end of Daniel 7, God’s people are forever victorious and all the earthly kingdoms are destroyed permanently, Daniel 7:26-27. That is what is considered the major message of Daniel 7. But there is a small but very important message hidden in our text today.

That when God gave Daniel the dream of the four beasts, he wrote it down. He wrote down the substance of his dream. This is a secret of life that we need to embrace today. Write it down. He wrote down the dream!

Dreams are a very clear perception of the future that occurs to you by God’s grace. Unfortunately, dreams and their contents can disappear. Before you lose a dream, arrest it on paper. Write it down. We also get busy and only what is written down will be prioritized. We get crowded with many things and writing down, will help us focus on our work and on the dream. To avoid having dreams that will never come true, write them down. He wrote down the dream!

Daniel 5:11 and Daniel 7:1 tells us that Daniel had these dreams while serving as a civil servant in Babylon under Belteshazzar. Daniel was a busy man. To work as a civil servant and full-time prophet required some management of the work. Daniel wrote down as a way of making his work manageable. He wrote down the dream so that he can come back to it after civil service hours so that he can address it when he sets the time for it. Daniel served successfully because he managed his work well. He wrote down the dream!

Are you busy? Busier than Daniel? Amidst your busyness, God will keep giving you flashes of dreams. A dream book to write. A dream investment. A dream invention. A dream message to preach. Those flashes of good dreams of what you must do can easily be forgotten unless you write them down. He wrote down the dream!

Put your daily plans on paper. Keep checking what you have done and what you have not done. Create time for all your plans. When you allocate time to each plan, you will concentrate on what you are doing and give it your best. There is nothing as bad as while in the middle of something else, you remember another thing that requires your attention. Your attention and concentration are totally corrupted and your productivity goes down. There is also a risk that you may leave what you were doing and start what you just remembered. In the process, you will have lots of half-done work and none that is complete. The secret is from Daniel, write down, plan, allocate time, and give each job, your best. He wrote down the dream!

After telling us that Daniel wrote the dream, the Bible goes straight to narrate the dream from Daniel’s lips, Daniel 7:2. That means that Daniel acted immediately on the dream. If we wait too long, even a good idea loses its attractiveness and it’s no longer doable. Whatever it is, start now, do it now, put it in the plans for today. Do not plan anything for too far in the future because time will kill your appetite for it. Write down and act as soon as interest still exists. Any decision you delay to make, you may never make. It is good to delay decisions that are an emotional and sheer reaction to temptation. But ideas of progress, outside of relationships and pleasure-seeking, must be acted upon. Relationships require the right age and time. Other than that, write down and act on it immediately. He wrote down the dream!

Anytime you write something down, you make a commitment to it. Therefore write it down. Wake up in the middle of the night and write it down. Park your car while driving and write it down. If you wait to wake up or to arrive, you will forget and feel bad. The idea will be gone for good. Write it down. He wrote down the dream!

Dear God, I begin the habit today, make it my way of life to always write down the dreams you give me randomly. Make me an organized person with plans for each day and the gusto to achieve them. Save me from procrastination. Make me an effective, organized achiever in the multiple assignments you give me, in Jesus’ name, Amen!