I stretched and leaned back into my chair, the chair I sit in when I want to get quiet and still and just be with Jesus. It’s not a bad chair. At least not until the footrest is extended. Then it leans to the left like someone whose had too much to drink.
I scratched my cat behind the ears. She almost always joins me for time with Father. Soft purring accompanies His voice. I’m pretty sure she’s Spirit filled, whatever that means for a cat. Maybe all of the hair stuck to me is some kind of anointing. But she randomly attacks my daughter so…sanctification is a process right?
But let’s get to the point shall we. I looked out across the room and didn’t see carpet, walls, or furniture. I saw trees and grass and sunlight fighting through the canopy. I heard the sounds of wildlife. It was the land we hope to buy someday. The land we dream about. It’s in a non-specific location but wherever it is we know it’s beautiful.
And then I heard the Lord say, Dream but don’t scheme.
Dreaming
I think dreaming has gotten a bad rap. I’m not talking about the dreams we have at night but rather our hopes and goals. What we want for our lives. Land and homes and families and jobs and whatever else.
I think self-help material and independent motivation have tainted dreaming some. Often reaching goals and brings dreams into reality are the subjects of books telling us our own strength or power or focus is all we need to make it happen. All we need is ourselves.
As people who love Jesus and claim dependence upon Him, we reject that (we should anyway). And as a people who have a tendency to throw the baby out with the bathwater, we decided that it’s not okay to dream.
Sometimes we grow up with wounds of rejection, abandonment, and others. They birth the belief in us that God doesn’t care about our dreams. That he won’t be ‘bothered’ by them. It’s a reality formed by the perversion of this world and it’s ruler. It’s a lie. So hear this:
It’s okay to dream and dream big!
I appeal to Perfect Love, to relationship, to intimacy, to the perfect father, the good shepherd and more. God. Loves. Us. We are God’s delight, the apple of his eye (Zeph 3:17, Zech 2:8). It would be unreasonable to take the desire for us to be successful and full and happy out of that truth.
God is intensely concerned with every part of our lives. He is in all and through all (Col 1:17). He is passionate about our passions. He dances at our excitement. He laughs at our joy. He feels our longings. He gives us visions of what our passions could look like if we lived them. He nudges us forward because he wants the best for us. He came to bring us abundant life (John 10:10). This statement doesn’t end at the cross it begins there.
The Psalmist tells us to delight in the Lord and he will give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). We were created with the ability and freedom to experience this world with God. The desires of our hearts flow out of whom we are, how he made and formed us. We are unique and he adores us. We are precious to him and so are our dreams. We are free to dream!
Don’t Scheme
Tell me about your dreams and then trust me with them. That’s what God said to me. The best way to kill a dream is to pursue it without God. We may reach our goal but it will be empty and lifeless.
We cannot have an abundant life without him. Dreams without God become nightmares. Sadly, we kill a lot of dreams. We set out and start building a life on sand. The storms come and leave us broken, devastated. The reigns we wanted so badly becomes our noose. The control we fought to have chokes us.
Sometimes we acknowledge dreams come from God but then exclude him from the picture. We become independent, leaning on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). We make our own plans but don’t let God establish our steps (Proverbs 16:9). And we fail.
Often this leads us to question the dream itself. It didn’t happen so it must’ve not been from God. It’s possible that statement is correct. But it’s also possible the dream is from God but we tried to scheme it into existence.
Releasing something important is extremely hard. Especially something we’re passionate about. We don’t think anyone cares about what we want more than us so no one will work as hard to bring it into reality. But let me remind us all of something. God. Loves. Us.
The same Perfect Father who delights and adores us, who is passionate about our passions, will work harder than we can imagine to make our dreams a reality. But we must get out of the way. We must trust that God loves us and let him drive.
“A dream doesn't drive you; it draws you. It is like a big magnet that pulls you toward itself. I don't believe that there is a man or woman without a dream, because God designed every member of the human race to have dreams. Without a dream, a person will be frustrated in the present and will miss his or her future.
Your dream did not even originate with you. It resides within you, but God put it there. He is the source of your dream. When people dream without God, they find it hollow and unsatisfying. Every person must come to Jesus for his or her dream to make sense. In fact, without Jesus, you might follow a dream for your life that God never put in your heart.”
Apart from Jesus we can do nothing (John 15:5). Dream but don’t Scheme.
Jesse and Kara Birkey
http://www.facebook.com/jesse.birkey
http://www.amazon.com/author/jessebirkey
Jesse and Kara Birkey are committed lovers of Jesus who seek to show others the extraordinary life of Jesus is available for everyone. They have authored two books, been featured in films and seek to serve the Lord in whatever ways they can. Follow their blog here.
Bring Jesse and Kara to your venue. Find more information here.
Get a sneak preview of Jesse’s upcoming fiction, Finding Home.
Life Resurrected, Extraordinary Miracles through Ordinary People has been endorsed by Sid Roth and Mark Virkler and is a collection of inspiring stories making it clear that the extraordinary life of Jesus is available to all who love Him. It’s also the testimony of Jesse’s life, the road he travelled bringing him into the arms of Jesus. Get the paperback here. Get the Kindle Version Here. View the trailer here.
Marriage What’s the Point? One couple finds meaning in a crazy mess is the story of their marriage—The tragedy and the restoration. They bear their hearts in an attempt to get others to bear theirs and finally receive the freedom they’ve longed for. Get the paperback here. Get the Kindle Version Here.
Jesse is also featured in the film DeadRaiser, a movie shining the spotlight on resurrection testimonies across the nation. Find more information here.
Add new comment