I dreamt of a man in the process of adopting a child. I stood in a room with him and glanced at his desk. In plain view was a pamphlet from the adoption agency entitled “The Hesed Way.” I commented that I knew what hesed was (HA, I only thought I knew). To the man I flirted “As long as I get hesed from you, that’s all I care about.” End of dream
This dream was given to me on April 1, 2024. It’s taken me six weeks to gain enough understanding to write about it. “The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, King of Persia to make a proclamation and put it in writing” (Ezra 1:1 ESV). To be stirred in the spirit is to be awakened, aroused, or incited. Spiritual dreams are the very voice of God inciting us to act.
What does the dream mean and what was God saying to me?
This dream incited me to act by researching hesed, recording my findings in a blog post, and making a decision to live out hesed in my daily life. The two main themes are hesed and adoption. Although I had heard the word hesed I had only a vague understanding of it. It’s a Hebrew word meaning many things, most simply ‘acts of unselfish kindness’. It refers to God’s lovingkindness, His unfailing love and mercy expressed through the covenant from God to David, and David’s observation of that covenant. Hesed is not based on our performance, but rather on God’s character. We don’t have to earn it; it comes to us from who God is.
Pastor Tim Franklin of Freedom Christian Center, Melbourne, Florida teaches that hesed also means trust; simultaneously knowing and experiencing security; an ‘all is well with my soul’ feeling. The dream is saying that The Hesed Way is a life of trust and faith, not trusting in what we know, but rather leaving our comfort zone (like Abraham in Genesis 12:1) to do something we’ve never done somewhere we have never been. We act by faith. Obedience is the evidence of our faith.
God addressed me personally in this dream regarding my choice to allow my biological daughter’s adoption at birth four decades ago. Although we were reunited twenty-five years ago and share a vibrant friendship now, the loss still surfaces time and again. I lost twenty years and cannot get them back. This dream told me how God views my action – that adoption is the hesed way. I’ve written before that her relinquishment was followed by years of emotional trauma. This dream message brings deep comfort to my soul, knowing that He considers it an act of unselfish kindness. This knowledge causes healing to my mind and emotions. What a compassionate God He is!
The part of the dream where I’m flirting with the man symbolizes my relationship with Jesus – “As long as I get hesed from you, that’s all I care about.” I look to Him as my main source of love, comfort, joy, and well –everything. My husband loves me deeply and I love him deeply, but God is my main confidant. “For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name …” (Isaiah 54:5 ESV).
Finally, the dream is in part a correction dream because Jesus disciplines those He loves. He’s saying I am not loving consistently and that I need to learn more about how God loves so I can love others that same way. He brought it to my attention not to embarrass or shame me but because He loves all of us enough to bring to the surface what He finds in the depth of our hearts. It gives me no pleasure to share this paragraph with you all, but I’ve learned not to hide my scars or flaws. As we share how Jesus leads us, others find grace and courage to open their hearts to His leadership.
The Concept of Hesed
This dream stirred me to act; to investigate the concept of hesed via Google, leading me to Michael Card’s book Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God’s Lovingkindness https://www.christianbook.com/inexpressible-hesed-the-mystery-gods-lovingkindness/michael-card/9780830845491/pd/845491.
I cannot say enough about this wonderful book. It took me five weeks to read and chew it slowly to absorb its concepts. Card’s beautiful words exemplify both his writing and teaching gifts as well as his hungry heart searching to know the deep nature of God. Card’s words present the reader with knowledge but the Holy Spirit is present as we read to reveal Jesus to us in these pages. Galatians 1:16 tells us “He was pleased to reveal His Son to me …”
Because God is unseen there is no direct access to Him. Therefore, He must reveal (uncover and make visible to us) Himself to us through His son. The Father takes great pleasure and joy in showing us Jesus.
Michael Card unpacks the many dimensions of hesed, often expressed as lovingkindness, covenant faithfulness, or steadfast love. He explores how hesed is used in the Old Testament to reveal God’s character and how he relates to his people. Ultimately, the fullness of hesed is embodied in the incarnation of Jesus. As we follow our God of hesed, we ourselves are transformed to live out the way of hesed, marked by compassion, mercy, and faithfulness.
After Card attempts to define hesed using OT and NT scripture references, he explains hesed in modern Judaism. I learned Gemilut hesed is the practice of hesed, the many ways hesed can be expressed as well as the healing effect that doing hesed has on culture. Card writes that Tikkun olam (repairing the world) is accomplished through acts of hesed or in my words, through acts of unselfish kindness.
Card urges us to take whatever understanding we have of hesed in our heads and allow the Holy Spirit to move it into our hearts. It’s about action and developing “an instinct to do kindness” as Card puts it.
“The love of God radically redefines us … from fallen to beloved, from outcasts to daughters and sons. Hesed resonates in us because … it represents what we are being transformed to be. We must become hasids, not simply those who go about doing good works but men and women who are completely dependent on the hesed of God, conquered by His kindness, reborn to a life of unconditional love” (Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God’s Lovingkindness, page 138).
Categories: Adoption Book Reviews Devotionals dreams Emotional Healing God as a Spiritual Husband God's Love Hearing God's Voice Intimacy with God Spiritual Dreams
Kathryne
Christian author and truth teller whose words make darkness tremble. Author of two non-fiction books at https://www.instagram.com/tattooedking_book/
Kathryne Leach 
I enjoyed this post. Being in Pensacola for 10 years has been a challenge. I’ve made no friends other then my sisters in law who are very different from each other and they argue all the time. I’ve extended myself to them both over the years I thought out of loving kindness or hesed as you wrote about I’ve tried so deeply to keep God and Holy Sprit up front and my main reason for doing acts of service. I question myself where has this all really taken me other then allowing them to take advantage of me and not knowing how to say no when I should. It’s funny I’ve asked the Lord to renew my strength and recapture my relationship with Him. I feel I’ve lost something along my journey here. I’ve been crying out to the Holy Sprit 😭 help me regain my walk with Him.
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