“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.” – T.E. Lawrence
As we considered God’s will in making our recent decision to move to Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads church, we reflected on where our journey started: with a dream. For many years now, Mary and I have dreamed of serving God as unpaid full-time ministry workers and in helping small churches.
What is your dream in life? Do you have a dream for doing God’s will?
The Bible is full of dreamers and those who had great visions of what God could do. Some examples:
- Joseph (Genesis 37) dreamed he would rule over his brothers, and did later as second-in-command in Egypt – it allowed him to save his family during a great famine,
- Daniel (Daniel 2) interpreted the dreams of the king Nebuchadnezzar and the king went on to later believe in God and God’s power, and
- Paul (Acts 16) had visions of a man of Macedonia, which led him to go to Philippi, a Roman colony in Macedonia where they later baptized a jailer and his family.
All these dreamers saw a vision from God but didn’t fully know how it revealed God’s will or what it meant for their lives or he lives of others. Though we may have dreams for God, only He knows fully what they mean for our lives. We need to consider dreams then make decisions about them (next post) then do what we’ve decided (the post after that).
Though you need a dream for doing great things for God, beware: being a dreamer is dangerous! Those who don’t dream for God always try to kill the dream or the dreamer:
- Joseph’s brothers wanted to kill him but then sold him into slavery,
- Daniel was was sent by the king into the lion’s den, and
- Paul’s persecutors put him in jail, then in the next city he visited, Thessalonica, the people rioted and he had to leave town.
Another problem with being a dreamer is that God may take a long time to call you to fulfil the dream. Abraham was over 100 when God fulfilled the promise of a son, and Moses was 80 when God called him to his mission of delivering Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land. While we need to have a dream, we also need to patiently wait for God to call us to fulfil it.
When I was a young disciple in the Boston church, I attended a midweek class on the character of an elder from Titus 2 and 1 Timothy 3, taught by Jim Blough, a young minister in the church. Jim’s class inspired me to dream of serving as an elder someday. Years later when we moved to the DC area, Jim was serving as an elder and I sought him out for advice a few times about pursuing my dream of serving God. He encouraged me (and his wife Donna encouraged Mary) to continue to be examples in living the life of a disciple. When I was appointed an elder in 2011, about 25 years after sitting in his class, I was in Boston for a conference and sought Jim out to thank him for his inspiration and encouragement. God plants seeds that can take years to bloom and grow – be patient as you look for God’s fulfilment of your dreams.
Finally, make sure your dream aligns with God’s dream. God has a dream? Of course He does, and it’s a big one:
1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV)
3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
God wants all to know the truth and to be saved so that they can know His love and be with Him. So, what is your dream for doing God’s will? For some it’s to become a true disciple of Jesus. For others, it’s a dream for others in their neighborhood, work, family to become disciples. For some it’s a dream to lead a Bible Talk, family group or in some other way serve God’s people.
Discussion Questions:
- What is your dream for serving God and His people?
- Is your dream dangerous? What could get in the way of your dream? Who might try to stop you from reaching your dream?
- How does your dream align with Gods dream (for all to be saved and know the truth)?
- Share your dream with your closest friends and advisors and pray about it.
In the next post, we’ll discuss how to decide what to do about your dream. For now, think about your dream and listen for God to reveal it to you.