Have you ever had a dream? You know, a perfect picture of everything you’ve ever hoped to accomplish. Maybe yours is helping children out of human trafficking. Or maybe it’s becoming a mom, or owning your own business. Mine is looking out into a crowd of people singing words I wrote to connect with Jesus.
Ever since I picked up a guitar at 12, and started writing songs, I’ve gotten little glimpses of this dream. I didn’t get the whole picture all at once, but God began to plant little seeds here and there, guiding me in the direction He designed for me. I low-key think of it as that scene from Monsters Inc. where Sully is leading Boo around the house with cheerios. Haha.
Since the tender and oh so awkward age of 12, I have experienced pain, rejection, heart break, and have had some doors shut in my face.
I imagine you have too.
But something the Holy Spirit reminded me tonight, was that stops, shut doors, and rejections actually help you get where you’re going.
Yeah, you heard me.
God is not shutting doors, laughing at you while dangling your dreams in front of your face. That’s what the enemy wants you to think, but we must remind ourselves that he is the father of lies. The accuser.
When you hop in the car and plug that destination into your GPS, you are going to hit red lights. You are going to stop at stop signs. There is an order to our road systems that allow you to get from point A to point B. If you speed through traffic, ignore the signals you need that tell you when to go, slow down, or stop, you will get in a car accident.
How foolish would it be if you were to hit a red light and assume the light would never change? Or your car would immediately shut off and never turn on again?
Yes, they can be frustrating. You may not get to where you want as fast as you’d like, but delays do not mean you are never reaching your destination. They are not denials. They are not punishments.
They are a product of God carefully orchestrating the details because the bible says that He delights in the details of your life (Psalm 37:23). That His plans are not to harm us but to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
Delays are not denials
And maybe you’re like me. Maybe you have Disney Princess syndrome. No matter how ugly, dark, or bleak circumstances may seem, you can’t help but be optimistic and dream. This has definitely gotten me hurt more than once, not gonna lie. But we can’t let life harden our hearts and steal our joy.
Being optimistic in the face of darkness means that you have a tender heart and you want to believe the best in others. That is how God wants our hearts! Hardened hearts cannot stir up faith. They cannot be moved, touched, or hear the sensitive whispers of Holy Spirit.
It is no secret that the world can be a dark place, and the enemy longs to destroy every ray of light and purity in it. If he can manage to surround you with toxic people who belittle and put down your dreams, feed you lies, and incite fear, it is the most effective way to abort your dreams—while they are still in seed form. It is much easier to remove a plant when it has not sprouted roots and begun to grow.
The bible says that satan prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for anything and anyone to devour. He hates you with a burning passion, because whenever he sees you, he is reminded of his future and everything he could never be.
You see, up in heaven, he used to be a beautiful angel. Lucifer wanted to be like God—he wanted to be worshipped. This allowed sin into his heart, and he rebelled soon after and was thrown from the heavens.
Fast-forward to the creation of man. The word says that we were made in His likeness! In the imageof God! They very thing the enemy desired and was punished for, God freely gave to us. Not only that, but He lavished His love upon us freely without any expectation. You see why he hates you? Your calling and purpose threaten him and his agenda. When we are called out and purposed by God, the enemy tries everything in his power from keeping our destinies from manifesting because he knows as God’s final plan unfolds, it will be the end of his reign here on earth.
Now that we know fear is just a liar and the enemy wants to abort our dreams because he is afraid of God’s purpose on our lives, we can guard our hearts more effectively.
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23
Guarding that hope, faith, and trust in the Lord is what will guide you as you walk along the path He has planned for you.
If you are struggling with faith and believing the promises and dreams in your heart, I would encourage you to read Hebrews 11. This whole chapter lists out biblical legends and accounts for many of the crazy faith stories in scripture. How the saints believed in the words God spoke, even though their miracle was literally impossible.
I also want to stir your faith a little bit before I close out this post. Last Tuesday, my friend Hannah and I were praying, and as I was praying for her, The Lord showed me a picture of her on a stage, facing rows of women. She was speaking to them and teaching them the word of God. I described the scene in more detail as we prayed, and afterwards she told me that she had seen that exact same picture in her mind ever since she was a little girl, and always found herself going back to this vision. She had told me that the past couple years had been hard for her in this area, and she felt as though she had lost her ability to dream.
What good news it is that the God we serve is not dependent on the possible and circumstances in the natural. He is not bound by time, is infinite and abounding in wisdom and knowledge of the past, present, future, and is love.
He showed me on Tuesday that He goes out of His way to make sure His children feel loved and are able to open up their hearts and dream again.
And finally, remember that everything you need is found in Him. Those dreams and goals and things we pray for—those wonderful desires He placed in us—they’re just the icing on the cake.
The real peace and fulfillment doesn’t come from temporal and earthy achievements, but from intimately knowing the living God and having a deep relationship with Him.
“BLESSED IS SHE WHO HAS BELIEVED THAT THE LORD WOULD FULFILL HIS PROMISES TO HER!“ LUKE 1:45
Prayer:
God, thank you for placing these desires and dreams into my heart. I thank you that you are not man that you should lie, but instead a promise keeper and a way-maker. Even though I may not see my dream or my miracle right now, I thank you that you are bringing it in Your perfect timing. Teach me to lean into you when I hit these stops in the road. Holy Spirit, I ask that you would minister and speak to me in the wait. That you would refine me, teach me, and hone me so that when I get where need to be, I will be ready. Lord, I give you my fears, my doubts, and pain and ask that you replace my heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh. A heart that beats only for you that is full of faith, hope, love, joy, and optimism. Holy Spirit I invite you into every area of my heart and life, and ask that You have your way in me, Lord. In Jesus name, amen.