Big Dreams

I had a conversation with a friend at church this morning about my lack of ability to dream. I don’t do a lot of dreaming these days. I used to. I used to have a dream job and a dream about what my life might look like in 3-5 years.

But, God had different dreams for me.

He revealed to me options that I never would have thought existed and led me along paths that I would never have taken on my own. When I got to those temporary destinations, I was able to look back and see the bigger picture of how each step led me to where I was in a perfect, deliberate way that only God himself could ordain.

I see this experience reflected in the way that I “dream” now. I don’t look too far ahead. I’ll get too overwhelmed or assume that those big dreams could never happen. Because so many of mine in the past have not.

God knows this about me. Instead, he gently, and slowly reveals small steps and little opportunities that lead me to where he wants me (or doesn’t want me) to go next. He might give me a small glimpse of the future but knows better than to reveal it all to me at once.

When I am staying faithful in prayer about the things that he has placed on my heart, he moves. He knows I am listening and knows that he has His door to begin his work in me. It might seem slow, but I know that I won’t lose sight of Him and His big dream.

I don’t believe that God needs me to be on board. If he wanted something to happen – he would make it happen with or without me. But throughout history, we have evidence of God choosing to use broken, unprepared people, and I believe that he wants me to be on board.

Now, I dream under God’s direction. What I truly dream and desire is to follow Jesus, and do God’s will by the help of the Holy Spirit. I want nothing apart from that. I might not always know what that looks like in the long run. I might not always look like I have it together or have a direction, but God is my guidepost and I trust in Him to reveal each step to me along the way.