Awhile ago I spent a week with God and a small group of ministry leaders. This was our tenth year meeting together. One of the messages, given by Christin Ditchfield Lazo (www.ChristinDitchfield.com), touched me deeply and I want to share a couple of her points (in black) along with how they impacted me (in a brown font).
- Embracing God’s dream–His calling, His plans and purposes for us–is always an invitation to “come forth and know Him better.” It’s an invitation to greater intimacy with Him.
Because of all the Scriptures that encourage us to pour out our hearts to God, come to Him, and ask Him for what we need, we know God cares about the dreams and desires of our hearts and He wants us to bring them to Him. We see examples of this when God tells Solomon to ask for anything and when Jesus asks a blind man, “What do you want me to do for you?” (1 Kings 3, Mark 10:51).
God invites us to search our hearts and articulate our needs, wishes, and dreams. Although He already knows them, it helps us as He teaches us and draws us deeper in relationship with Him. In Psalm 27:8 NLT we read: “My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord I am coming.'”
I have tucked one dream deeply in my heart for more than 20 years. It is to have a script written for a film, or maybe a movie for television. As Christin spoke at our gathering of ministry leaders, it was as if God was inviting me to explore this dream once more. Immediately I wanted to discount that dream. It is impossible. It will never happen. It will take too much work, and I have no idea where to begin. But last week for the first time since 2012, I had enough hope and courage to go back and reread the scripted notes I had written years ago. I wept as I read, realizing how much it is not my story but God’s. Who am I not to share it?
When I spoke to Christin the next morning at breakfast about my reaction to her message, she suggested that sometimes Jesus invites us to dance with Him. While I’m definitely an awkward dancer, there is no way I want to miss out on Jesus’ invitation. Like following our dreams, dancing is a very intimate experience with our Lord.
- Embracing God’s dream doesn’t always mean success as we define it–or as we expect it. God may even say no to our dreams, but that doesn’t mean we missed Him somehow or that we were wrong to dream as we did. Our dreams may have served another purpose.
In 2 Chronicles 6:8, God says of David–who was not allowed to build the temple even though that was his heart’s desire– “It was good that it was in your heart to do it.” God is pleased when our dreams honor Him, even if He says no. And David’s dream propelled him to lay a firm foundation (supplies, plans, prep) for Solomon to later build the temple. Sometimes we’re laying a foundation for those who come after us. We’re inspiring or mentoring or encouraging those who will go on to accomplish what we’ve dreamed of.
I had to ponder and ask myself if I am willing to follow my dream even if it will not come to fruition. My answer is yes. As Christin shared, “Sometimes the end of one dream is the beginning of another, a whole different dream, a different life.” A new experience.
Now here are my questions for you. Are you willing to verbalize the dream you have tucked deep in your heart? Are you willing to accept Jesus’ invitation, even if it does not turn out the way you expect?
