For the last month or so, a common theme has been ringing in
my ears. I have been studying I and II Kings, reading Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick, and following my former Church
home in Virginia on Twitter. Over and over again, I sense the Spirit of God
calling me to believe upon Him for big things. Audacious things. Things I can’t
dream or imagine. If that is true, the things I am talking about believing God
for must be really big because I have quite the active imagination!
For those of you that know me well, you know that I, by
nature, am a dreamer. When I was a little girl, I lived in a world of
make-believe. My toys were props in elaborate play, and people were players in
my imaginary world. I have always been captivated and moved by epic stories. My
dream world was adventurous, and bold. I would put my Lion King cassette tape
in my Walkman and color in my Looney Toons coloring book while daydreaming
about a grey horse being in my backyard, waiting to take me on another
adventure through fields of wildflowers. I would spend hours swinging in a tire
swing singing at the top of my lungs just dreaming of the big things that life
would hold.
That little girl still lives in my soul. I have graduated
from my Walkman to itunes, and my Looney Toons coloring book has been replaced
with my personal journal and a good cup of coffee, but I still dream big. I
still cry at the end of epic movies like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of
the Rings, and others because the idea of reckless abandon for the sake of a
greater cause speaks to my core.
God is moving in my heart to not just dream, but to believe
Him. No, I’m not suggesting that God is going to grant me everything that I
ever wanted. He’s not my genie in a bottle that I can simply use for my own
personal gain. But I do believe that God is wild, and invites us into daring
adventure with Him. Like Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, He is not safe, but
He is good, and He is the author of adventure and dreams. God knows that we
will only be satisfied by a life running hard after Him for the things that
matter eternally, and He invites us into that with Him.
Many of us have read the Bible verse that says, “Delight yourself
in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). It
is really tempting to read this and think, “Ok, so if I delight myself in God,
He will give me everything I want!” However, when we view this properly, what
we see is that if we draw near to the heart of God, our desires will transform
to align with His heart. His dreams become our dreams. His passions become our
passions. When we truly encounter God’s presence, we cannot help but be
changed. Our motives and dreams are a reflection of those things we love. As we
grow in love with God---His person and presence---our dreams are changed to
reflect that love.
So where do we start? I had the privilege to know and learn
under the late Dr. Jerry Falwell. Jerry often told students, “Nothing of
eternal significance is ever accomplished apart from prayer.” We begin on our
knees, humbly acknowledging that our biggest dreams can only be accomplished by
God; we are vessels surrendered to the hands of the Master. We ask God for eyes
to see what He sees, to love what He loves, and to dream what He dreams. We
obey what God has already revealed in His Word, and we wait expectantly for
that which is to come. We work diligently and faithfully with what God has
already given us, knowing that God cannot bless what we do not do, and that the
work we have today ultimately matters along the journey. We learn to be faithful
and fruitful where we are planted, and not waste today for the sake of dreaming
about tomorrow. Today’s work is the foundation of tomorrow’s dream, and we are
to be responsible for that.
So what is it that you are boldly asking God for?
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