In dreams and visions, the type of room in which we find ourselves, often gives insight about our life, because in parabolic language, Jesus described man as being like a house (Matthew 12:43-44). For example, a bathroom relates to cleansing activities, such as repentance, deliverance or forgiveness. A kitchen is a place where spiritual food, teaching, or knowledge is prepared or acquired. A living room or den is where a family spends a lot of time and may represent ways in which we interact with other people or how we pass time. A bedroom is a place for spiritual rest or intimacy. An attic stores memories or things not being used, whereas a basement points to foundational issues such as our belief system. In different seasons of dreams, we may find ourselves spending more time in one type of room than others.
The Bible relates our heart and mind to tablets, on which words can be written or images engraved that affect our thoughts and behaviors (Jeremiah 17:1, Hebrews 10:16). Fears, doubts, unbelief and traumatic memories can leave imprints or scars which influence our thought life and choices and behaviors. Our eyes remember things we have seen, and our ears remember things we have heard as easily as our tongues discern taste. We can try to hide images from our eyes, or stop listening to words we do not like, but these are temporary fixes at best. God gives us self-condition dreams to reveal our deepest fears, harmful habits, or the negative emotions or buried desires we prefer not to address or may be completely unaware of. If we ignore these issues, the dreams will recur until we cannot help but take notice.
These imprints or memories must be permanently removed to allow us to change. Symbolically, this is like deleting unwanted files from a computer memory. According to computer experts, deleted files only become permanently irretrievable when overwritten, often with programs designed for this purpose. The more times you overwrite those deleted files, the more permanent the changes and less likely someone will be able to restore them. Similarly, when God forgives our sins and delivers us from evil (and demons), He removes the ugly images and overwrites the walls of our heart and mind with His Words and His Thoughts about us. We can become so changed that even when exposed to old stressors, behaviors or addictions, they no longer affect us in a negative way.
After their Exodus from Egypt, Israel had difficulty separating from the land they had called home for 430 years. Moses’ patience was tested by their criticisms and complaints! “Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?” (Exodus 14:11, NKJV).
The behavior continued after they entered the Promised Land (some 40 years later). Over several generations, Israel adopted the very practices of the former inhabitants that God had strictly forbidden. God recognized the propensity of His people to return to their sin. It was as if the sin was engraved in their hearts and minds. “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with the point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts…” (Jeremiah 17:1).
So, God spoke through His prophet Jeremiah that He would make a new covenant with Israel and Judah. “…I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts…. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34)
In dreams or visions, you might see a wall being painted or a floor scrubbed clean, or old furnishings being thrown out and replaced with the new. These are symbolic of the “overwriting” work that the Holy Spirit does in hearts where Jesus is welcomed. Take note of the color of the paint and the type of room to help you to understand the changes God is making.
I once dreamed of seeing the inner walls of a building made bare and completely repainted in a color along the spectrum of magenta – violet. I understood this to mean that the Lord was going to bring the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord to those who dwelt there so they would not depart from Him (Jeremiah 32:40).
In another dream, I saw someone with his back turned towards me using a washcloth to erase handwritten words from the inside of my bedroom door. Though I could not read it in the dream, I knew the handwriting was tracking all the rules and laws that I failed to uphold while assigning me blame and accusations. The Scripture that came to mind when I awoke was “[Christ having] wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:14).
How wonderful that through His Eternal Sacrifice, the Blood of Christ has the power to erase fears, wounds and transform even our thoughts and desires! It cleanses our conscience leading to behavior changes (Hebrews 9:14). Essentially, Lord Jesus through the cross, has “underwritten” (taken on the liability for) all our sins and then at our invitation, He “overwrites” every memory or trace of those sins with His Love, His Thoughts about us, and His Words. This new year is the perfect time to commit to spending more time with the Lord in Prayer and in His Word so that He can do His transforming work. Amen!
Resource: Parables, Dreams & Encounters www.chozehconnections.com