Here’s the misguided idea we need to reconsider about dreams. Many of us talk about God’s calling or the dream He has for us as if it’s some distant, yet-to-be-attained thing. It is perpetually in the future, not the present. It is ever before us, just beyond reach. It will be realized only on some magical day in the future when all the stars align, our circumstances are rosy, and everything feels perfect.
Until that day, the longing for our dream stalks us, nags at us, all the while reminding us that we aren’t quite there yet. We might try to make sense of this by imagining that God is testing us. We reason that when we pass the test, then — and only then — will God open this elusive door to our dreams and let us in. Or we might reason instead that God is actively blocking our progress because it somehow isn’t godly to dream big dreams. We imagine that God will be satisfied only when we set our dreams aside and walk in “humility” by keeping our head down and our passions hidden.
I sometimes refer to these ways of thinking as the dreamer’s roller coaster. We soar up on the momentum of faith, passion, and adrenaline. Then we plummet down the slope of doubt, fear, disappointment, and shame. We might make some minor adjustments, but then we repeat the same thing all over again. Up and down on a mental, emotional, and spiritual rollercoaster that leaves us some combination of nauseous and nowhere.
It’s time to exit that crazy ride. It’s time to trade in the misguided ideas for something better — for Someone better. So here’s my pep talk for you.
I believe in you. I believe in your dream. I believe in your calling. I believe you are fully equipped to start walking toward your dream today. Because your calling is happening right now. Your dreams, talents, and skills are to be walked in and walked toward today.
Your dream isn’t only for future you, it’s for current you. The now you.
Let me take another guess at what you might be thinking. How can you say that, Ryan? We don’t even know each other. How can you say you believe in me?
You’re right! I don’t know you. I don’t know all your baggage and history. I don’t know where you live or where you came from. I don’t know how many Instagram followers you have or what you did last summer.
But here’s what I do know, which is the foundation for this book: I believe in the Dream Giver.
God is the momentum shifter and vision caster for your life.
I don’t need to know you to know that God is the source of every worthwhile dream you have. That’s how I can say with full confidence that I believe in you, I believe in your dream, and I believe in your calling. Because your calling is at the intersection of your dream and God’s power. And as you walk in that calling, you realize that God saw those things first. He is the one who dreamed your dream for you. He is the one who planted that dream-seed deep in your heart in the first place. He is the owner and originator of every worthwhile dream. That means your role as a dreamer is not so much about taking ownership of your dream as it is taking stewardship of your dream. Your job is to take responsibility for the dream that ultimately belongs to God but is entrusted to you.
This is so important: before you take the first step to get your dream off the ground, you must understand who you are relative to who God is. You must see yourself through His lens. You must see your dreams, gifts, and calling through His eyes. You must exit the dreamer’s roller coaster and anchor yourself to the Dream Giver’s firm foundation.
Build your hope on the Dream Giver so you can pursue your dream with confidence.
It’s something every dreamer needs to be reminded of — daily. Especially when we face dream killers such as the Critic, the Noise, and the Setback. To survive in a dog-eat-dog world and among enemies trying to take down our dreams, we must continually set our sights on God. Doing so is a habit of the heart that helps us put our confidence where it belongs — in the unchanging character of the Dream Giver.
God is the one who created you. He fashioned you in your mother’s womb. He chased after you when you were lost. He knows everything about you — the person He made you to be. He never does anything without purpose, including creating you. He knows the true you. The you that is buried under guilt and mistakes. The you that is buried under the person you think you should be. The you that is buried under the careless words of friends or family that hurt you when you were young. The guilt, mistakes, and careless words aren’t you. They’re piles of dirt that have been shoveled over you, shoveled over the person God sees when He looks at you.
You are God’s work of art.
It says so in the Bible:
We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
— Ephesians 2:10 ESV
God has recreated you through Jesus to be the true you—who you were always destined to be. He made good plans and dreamed good dreams for you before you were born. He longs to see you — His child — walk in those plans and realize those dreams. Jesus didn’t save you just so you would go to Heaven; He saved you to reveal the you who you were always meant to be. He wants to unearth the real you, the one liberated from the shackles of the world and the fear of others’ opinions.
The you that is truly free.
The moment you believe this — a deep-down, feel-it-in-your-bones sort of believing — your life will begin to change.
And the key to believing is to consistently keep your mindset on the character of the Dream Giver. He is your source of all confidence and your greatest friend. So bring Him into this process. Invite His insight. Ask for His help. He won’t fail you.
Excerpted with permission from Head in the Clouds, Feet on the Ground by Ryan Romeo, copyright Ryan Romeo.
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Your Turn
Do you have a dream? Is it something you’re pursuing, or have you let it stay put in the future for some magical date when it suddenly looks like the right time? God created you for a purpose! Trust Him, lean into Him, ask Him for help, and go for it! Come share your thoughts with us on our blog. We want to hear from you about dreaming and doing! ~Devotionals Daily
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