Have you ever had a word just stick in your head and you couldn't shake it? You run across it all the time, in multiple contexts, and it just forces you to confront the word before you constantly? I can't tell you how many times I've encountered the word "dream" lately. Some quotes I keep wandering across...
Ephesians 3:20 (the Message)
And now, tonight...I just read one of the coolest verses I've read in a long time."God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame." -Elizabeth Barrett Browing (my favorite!!)"You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling." -Inception"If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough." -Anonymous
Ephesians 3:20 (the Message)
20 "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us."
How many times do we throw around the phrase "beyond my wildest dreams"? There was even a whole song about it in the musical I just did last weekend. Yet, do we stop and think about the implications of that? We all have dreams. Every one of us. Dreams are what motivate us and give us hope each day to keep moving forward. Some dreams we tell people all about, and other dreams we hold close to our heart, but we all have dreams...probably lots of dreams. What just blew my mind today was thinking about how big my dreams already are- and God's dreams for me are BIGGER! What?? And what's even more mind-blowing is that He has a perfect plan for accomplishing that dream, the one I can't even imagine yet.
Here's the key, and this is what I just realized with the verse I read today...the plan is all about us listening to his Spirit. When we are sensitive to what He wants for our lives, His big dreams actually become our dreams, and He gives us the little steps we need to take to walk toward His plan for our lives. That sounds so simple. Just listen to Him. Be obedient when he says to go...or stay...or whatever He tells you to do. But I guess what has kept jingling around in my brain is the OTHER theme in those quotes- the part about fear. Fear of big dreams. And fear of dreams coming true. And fear of dreams NOT coming true. So then this other giant issue comes into play...trust. I don't fear change if I initiate it...a new job or a new house or any other scenario in which I feel like I'm holding all the cards. That means I'm trying to accomplish MY dreams, and I feel like I have some control over what happens. But it seems that the really scary, ground-shaking changes for me are sometimes the ones God initiates- the ones that are a means toward HIS dreams for me. And why on earth would that scare me? Because it means I'm NOT in control. Yet, even now as I sit here and keep pondering my dreams...and God's dreams...He gently and graciously reminds me that He is for me, He is faithful, and He is always worthy of my trust, especially when I feel afraid. Psalm 56:3 (ESV) says "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." I put my trust in His dreams for me, not my own, and have no reason to be afraid.
What a gift when He gently works within us to show us the obvious! No need to run away...He found me and loves me and has bigger dreams for me than I can ever imagine. I can't wait to see how he "puts my dreams to shame"!
