Dreaming a Better Dream
Dreaming a Better Dream
Just like you, he started out with a dream for his life. He loved to write – he’d received his first award for writing excellence in second grade – and, being a big sports fan, knew he wanted to be a sportswriter.
He pursued his dream with passion, winning the honor for “Best Sports News” story in his state as a high school senior while editor of his campus newspaper. In college, he began writing for the university paper within months of starting his freshman year, placing him far ahead of his peers. By the time he was a sophomore, he’d served as assistant sports editor before he’d even enrolled in his first journalism course. He was on his way to someday covering major sports events for a big city newspaper or national magazine…the NCAA basketball tournament, the World Series, even the Super Bowl!
Or so he thought. He’d ridden an academic scholarship into college, but ultimately fell short at the close of his first two semesters of meeting the required grade point average. Therefore, he applied for financial aid and grants going into his sophomore year – routine, in that he still lived with his parents in a low-income household. He easily qualified for assistance. But just three months into the next academic year, he received the shocking news…all financial requests were rejected. He was broke, couldn’t pay for his classes, and had to drop out of college. Without a journalism degree, he’d be going nowhere as a writer. His dream was finished.
But he was also a Christian, and had developed a firm trust in Jesus Christ. Back home, on his knees in the small room where he’d grown up, he prayed…and asked God a simple question: “What is it you want me to do?” That’s when the Lord spoke – just as the good shepherd talks to His sheep that know His voice (John 10:1-15) – and said, “I am going to use you in Christian radio, television and newspaper.” His dream to write had just become better because it had been infused with the Lord’s purpose and desire…with His dream.
Today, that man has seen God’s words to him fulfilled beyond his expectations. He wrote and edited a regional Christian newspaper for over a decade. He helped write and produce several video productions for ministries. And he did all that while working for two Christian radio communications companies in a career that spanned nearly 20 years. God has allowed his writing and editing to impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of people – to His glory! All without a journalism degree.
I chose to share his story – that of just an everyday person as opposed to someone well-known or famous – quite intentionally. God specializes in taking the dreams of ordinary folks and making them something greater! Your Heavenly Father absolutely delights in doing that!
What is your dream? You do have one, you know. Acts 2:17 declares that God will give His people, young and old, visions and dreams:
“ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams’.”
Perhaps your dream is to take a gifting you’ve been given and use it for the Lord. Maybe you want more than anything to raise children that will make a difference in the lives of others.
Or your passion could be to see your marriage become more than it is now, one where you and your spouse live in Biblical oneness and experience true affection and closeness.
Allow me to introduce to you some more ordinary people – all women of the Bible you’ve likely never heard of before – and as I do, bring to life four powerful principles that’ll help you build a better dream in your life…and start your journey toward that brighter horizon, or as I say, a “better” dream…
“She said to her mistress, ‘If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy’.” 2 Kings 5:3
In 2 Kings 5 you meet a young girl whose name was not even given, yet whose account is infinitely inspiring. She was a slave, held prisoner as a servant in the home of an army com mander named Naaman. He had it all – power, stature, wealth – but was afflicted with one glaring flaw: leprosy.
The girl, cruelly taken from her family, had every reason not to care about her master’s plight. She was just a spoil of war to be used in Naaman’s service, with no individual rights, nothing to look forward to. But she possessed something far superior to physical freedom…she had a liberated heart. She harbored no anger or bitterness about her life or her captors. She had long since forgiven Naaman and his wife, and loved them so much that she boldly and willingly told of the prophet Elisha and his ability to heal. Her faith not only enabled her to dream of a brighter future, it awakened her spiritual imagination beyond her own cares and experience. Naaman wisely responded to her (2 Kings 5:4-18) and was never the same again.
Such miracles can happen to others as a result of your life, too! But it’s unlikely if you’re a slave to unforgiveness. Think of those who’ve hurt or offended you…and forgive. It’ll free you to dream like never before.
“Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.” Numbers 27:4
Women the world over should erect a monument to honor Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah – the daughters of Zelophehad. So should every attorney. Why? These five young women successfully filed one of the earliest reported lawsuits on record, and won an incredible victory for women’s rights. And it all started with a dream that seemed far out of the reach of their ability.
Zelophehad had died in the desert, and since he had not joined in the rebellion against Moses, his family had a right to his inheritance. Problem was he did not have a son to claim it…so his daughters boldly declared they were clearly entitled to what he had left. Their action in approaching Moses and Eleazar was unprecedented – an act of great courage and conviction. Moses took their case before the Lord (Numbers 27:5-7), and the ultimate Judge quickly rendered His decision…in favor of the daughters. The law was rewritten, and women gained legal property rights for the very first time.
What courageous act is God asking of you? Is it to step out and follow His dream for your life, even though it appears to be something you feel you could never accomplish? Whatever it is, obey by faith! Anything truly worth having will require risk. But you serve a God who is more than able to accomplish what you perceive to be impossible (Matthew 17:20).
“The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.” Exodus 1:17
Hebrew midwives Shiprah and Puah lived under the authority of the Egyptian pharaoh. The king ordered the midwives to kill all boy babies – but by their disobedience, they saved countless lives and made way for the birth of Moses. They were ordinary women living in horrific times, yet their brave and selfless actions reshaped history.
In today’s world where people generally look out only for themselves, it takes boldness and strength to sacrifice your life for others. Yet there is no higher endeavor in God’s eyes (John 15:13). Do you have a dream that requires you to give up your own aspirations and give of yourself for others? Any dream worth its salt will mandate just that – and is worth pursuing. Mary Slessor was a Scottish missionary to the lost tribes of Africa back when it was known as the dangerous Dark Continent. She said, “Lord, the task is impossible for me but not for Thee. Lead the way and I will follow. Why should I fear? I am on a royal mission.”
“I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice.” 2 Timothy 1:5a
You can just imagine the conversation between Eunice and her husband as they planned for their mother Lois to move in. Chances are they talked about their living quarters, the change in the family unit, and the pros and cons of the situation. Some things would become easier, while others would likely get tougher. Yet Scripture records that Lois and Eunice had a tremendous impact on Eunice’s son, a boy named Timothy. By living their life for God and demonstrating their love for Him, they left a true family legacy…one that would touch untold generations through Timothy’s ministry and writing.
Has God given you a dream to raise children that will make a difference in the lives of others? If so, be genuinely excited…because it’s all part of the bigger plan He has in store. There’s no telling how many people your son or daughter could positively impact for Jesus Christ! But consider the actual time you spend with your children and what you do during those moments. If you were swept into the arms of the Lord today, what will be your influence on their lives? Is it all that it could be? Ask the Lord to take the skills and gifts He’s given you as a parent and help you better plant seeds in the lives of your children that will blossom (Proverbs 22:6), all the while knowing He’s working through you to bring about His purposes for them.
Without a dream life is frustratingly mundane and routine, lacking passion and purpose. Why exist that way? Go before the Lord this month in prayer, and ask Him to speak to you in answer to the question, “What is it you want me to do?” A far better life awaits your response to His direction!