REMEMBER THE DREAM GOD PUT IN YOUR HEART

“Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the Lord your God, who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.” Deuteronomy 1:32-33

Is there a dream God has put on your heart that sometimes you kind of forget about or dismiss because it’s too out there, too hard, or maybe just feels silly because it may not seem like that exciting of a dream to others? What’s the thing, the passion, the stirring, the vision, the dream that God has put into YOUR heart?

The Isrealites had a dream of a promised land and in spite of the word God gave them that this was a dream He put in their hearts, in spite of the fact that God went before them laying the steps for their dream, in spite of the fact that He lead them showing them the way towards that dream…they kind of stopped believing. They kind of gave up and forgot that the living God had given them a word about a dream in their hearts. They were so focused on the obstacles, the problems, the nitty gritty details of daily life, that they forgot the dream that had their hearts pounding with giddiness.

We get excited about a dream God has put on our hearts. And then it gets forgettable as we get entrenched in daily life. We lay aside the dream and kind of wish it well, kind of say “see ya later”, kind of assume it’s too impossible or maybe that it was just a silly notion in our heads.

God uses the Isrealites as an example to us in so many ways because we are so like them. We doubt. We stop believing. We question. We analyze. We lose focus. We lose excitement.

But I believe God wants us to stay stirred up inside for the dream He has put in our hearts. And oh the variety of the dreams He has put in each of our hearts! Some of you are dreaming about dancing professionally, some of you are dreaming about being a great mom, some of you are dreaming about becoming a great (you fill in the blank) or doing this thing or that thing…we all are dreaming about something! But we get caught up in doubt, unbelief, questions, analyzing (hello, me!), we lose focus, we lose excitement, because the dream is long and impossible and the journey and the process feels unfruitful, right?

Today, I want to encourage you to remember the dream God has put in your heart! Let your heart dance a bit today as you remember what God has done in your life, is doing, and what you feel like He has stirred up in your heart to do. Take a moment to remember that God has gone before you, that God has laid out the steps for you, and that God shows you the way you should go. Some days it will feel like the tiniest baby steps towards your dream. Some dreams will take a lifetime. Some will take a decade. Most will take a long time. I think we often give up too soon. Or we forget that small, obscure, unseen work…matters.

A principle ballerina at American Ballet Theater didn’t get there on a whim, out of pure luck, or out of nowhere…she got there one plie, tendu, port de bra at a time, one blister, one injury, one rehearsal, one fall, one performance, one rejection, one role, one pair of pointe shoes, and one ballet class at a time. Our dreams take time. We want them to magically appear tomorrow! So when they don’t, we lose heart. We forget about dreaming. But when we forget about the dreams God puts in our hearts we lose a little light in us. We lose a little pep in our step.

So be encouraged today to remember that dream God has put in your heart because remembering delights God! Remembering is saying, “God I trust Your timing, Your way, and Your process for me.” Remembering says, “Nothing is too big or too small for God.” Remembering the dream God put in your heart lights up your heart.

“What if the dream never happens?” I feel you asking that question…because I ask it too. Here’s the sweet thing…the dream is not the goal. The dreaming, the becoming the woman God created you to be, the character growth that the process requires, the journey of leaning on God and believing Him…that’s the good stuff. So if the dream doesn’t happen, it’s not a failure. It’s just been a sweet dance with God and the lessons learned in the dancing are worth the dreaming. The dream is not the goal. Intimacy with God, giddiness for the things God has uniquely wired us for, a sense of purpose, a growth in character…those are the goals. Believing God is leading, remembering He’s gone before you, knowing He’s lighting your path…that’s the sweetness of dreaming and that’s living with heart and soul.

Ooooooo….I want to live with heart and soul. I know you do too.