It’s time for dreamers to dream! You recognize that voice, whether it’s loud or faint, telling you that you have something to give that could change the world. God wants each of us to dream with Him. Why? Because He is a dreamer. The idea of family and communion led to Him creating each of us – He literally wrapped our bodies around His dream. It’s in our nature to dream. It’s in our very being to partner with the ideas of heaven and walk out our individuality to change the world.
The Three Dream Killers
I was preaching at a church once and I began to ask this question out loud to the adults, “What is your dream?” To my surprise, no one said a word. I brought the children up to the front and asked about 10 of them what their dreams were. One by one they shouted out “I want to be an Astronaut,” “I want to be a professional soccer player,” “I want to be in the Hall of Fame.” These massive dreams just poured out of their hearts and they shouted them as if they had already accomplished their dream!
The reality of the situation was that the adults had dead dreams in their lives. I began to find out that the adults had fallen victim to these three things: disappointment, discouragement, and distraction. Today, I want to talk about what keeps us from dreaming with God and encourage you to begin dreaming!
Disappointment
Many of us have dreamed dreams before, and like all of us (including myself) we have been disappointed. That’s why many of us settle for survival. We dare not to dream bigger than what’s achievable because of safety. I’ve seen so many people let down and disappointed by their dreams. So what do they do? They lower their dreams or stop dreaming completely. They are just surviving. God doesn’t want you to lower your expectations. He doesn’t want you to live in disappointment. He wants you to keep dreaming! I heard it said once, “Disappointment is like cold water to a burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.” If you choose to overcome disappointment, God will continue to give you dreams for your life that will come to pass.
Discouragement
Discouragement is another issue that I see many of us fall into. As dreamers we put so much time, energy, and hope into an idea and if someone questions it, brings doubt into our hearts or mind, our dream begins to fade away. Proverbs 13:12 says “hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” We need to counteract our discouragement. To counteract this discouragement we need to be surrounding ourselves with the right people. Dream with the people who believe in you and want you to succeed. Dream from a place of identity, intimacy, and family. If you do this, you will understand that we all win. Heaven, family, and you yourself will be benefiting from a partnership of like-minded people.
Distraction
The last thing that keeps us from dreaming with God is distraction. This is the most difficult one to balance because of the ebbs and flows of life. Responsibilities, jobs, careers, and people come and go distracting us from the dream God has given us. You must receive the dream and then become the dream. Do not become distracted and do not forget the idea from heaven that could change your environment, circumstances, and the world around you. Please hear me – there is nothing wrong with getting a job, wanting to be successful, and climbing the ladder. I just want you to recognize that when you get to the top of the ladder, you can be confident that you are leaning against the right wall and not the wrong one! God says, “if you delight in me, I will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). We need to understand that we are valuable to God. We each have potential and He is just waiting for His sons and daughters to tap into their unique fullness.
Takeaway
I hope this helps you pinpoint some things that have been hindering your dreams. There is power in dreaming and I love to dream yet I have experienced these challenges many times.
I invite you to share the dreams you are dreaming now or the dreams you have been dreaming about – please share in the comments!