The Bible verifies that God often spoke to His People in dreams. He continues to speak through dreams today. Perhaps we hear best when our conscious thoughts are silenced. What was just a hope by day sometimes become real in our dreams. It seems to be happening in real time and place!
But if we allow those dreams to remain under cover of darkness and never act on them in our waking hours, they quickly dissolve. Paul tells us in Hebrews 11:1 that “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Faith is essential to building a dream. However, James bluntly tells us, “faith without action is dead.” (James 2:17) How do we put the action with faith?
Speak Up!
We take the first step to action by speaking our dreams out loud in present tense. If you stay, with “I had a dream” and you never move to “I have a dream,” your dream will stay behind.
Martin Luther King’s famous speech that ignited the civil rights movement was spoken in his present tense, “I have a dream!” He spoke out into the universe the powerful words that had taken root in his heart. Others heard it and his dream resonated with the dream they had held secretly inside them. The words of his dream called to the dreams of others. And the dream began to grow into reality!
See It In The Daylight! Embrace Your Dream as Something Real!
As noted in the last blog post, Jesus asked the blind men what they wanted Him to do for them. Their need might seem obvious, so we wonder why He would ask them. He wanted them to see themselves seeing. He wanted them to speak and bring the longing of their heart into the open.
Sometimes when one is bold enough to speak about their dream, others see it even more clearly than the dreamer does. They become the catalyst for activating the dreams of others. When I was in high school, I had a teacher, who taught both English and Drama. One of the English assignments was to write a play. I had already developed a passion for writing.
I wrote about characters I saw clearly in my mind. I delighted in describing them and writing about their thoughts, feelings and actions in a way that others could see them too. Playwriting opened a whole new world to explore my characters.
One day in drama class, our teacher announced that we were going to perform at the state drama festival. She had selected the play she wanted us to perform. Much to my amazement, it was the play I had written in her English class!
She had heard my soft spoken dream of being a writer one day. She affirmed in me that the dream was not for “one day.” It was already happening in real present time. One of the most remarkable experiences of my life was to sit in a packed auditorium and see my classmates act out the play I had written. The characters who had once lived only in my dreams came to life. And other people could actually see them!
I was excited to win the award for the best play writing in the state of South Carolina that year, but the best gift was the one of seeing that my dreams could come to life!
Let God Work Through You to Bring His Plan for You to Life!
God has given us another amazing Gift if we but recognize it and claim it. He has given us the Power of His Name. When Moses asked God who he should say had sent him, God told Moses His Name. God’s Name is “I AM.” (Exodus 3:14)
When our dreams line up with God’s Plan for our lives, and we put our dream behind the Power of God’s Name, it becomes true in His Time and in His Way. When we put anything behind God’s Name that does not line up with God, it will not be true and will get us nowhere.
If we say, “I am a thief,” does that line up with Who God is? No! If we say, “I am peaceful,” does that line up with what God wants for us? Yes!
Ask God if your dream came from Him. If the answer is yes, speak it out. “I am a writer” became true for me. God knew it all along. But He wanted me to know it too. I now see God was saying to me, “Carolyn, what do you want Me to do for you?”
As I turned in my English assignment, I spoke shyly, “I want to be a writer.”
“Speak it with My Name,” He said.
I imagine I cleared my throat and said, “I AM a writer.” Then He said, “Good. Now write!”
God is Not An ATM! What Happens When the Fulfillment of a Dream is Delayed?
Sometimes after learning about the Power of God’s Name, we may be tempted to think, “Great. I will use God’s Name before what I want to do, and He should work instantly for me.” We think if we enter just the right password, we get what we requested instantly.
So, let’s say, you ask God about your dream and you sense He is saying, “Yes, that lines up with My Will for you. Use My Name in confidence.”
“Perfect,” you might think. “Everything is a go. I am a gymnast!”
Would you instantly be a gymnast? No. Certain things would have to happen before you become a gymnast. Is the dream valid if it does not happen instantly? Yes! At the same time, you ask God about whether your dream came from Him or not, ask Him what you need to do to activate the dream. Almost always, the activation involves waiting and trusting God when there seems to be no moving forward with the dream.
Standing on the Promises!
Paul says, after having done all to stand, we should therefore, stand. (Ephesians 6:13) In other words, do all God tells you to do, moment to moment, and trust that your dream will blossom in God’s Timing.
If you have done all the steps up to now to make your dream come true, and you miss this crucial step, your dream may fizzle. Satan loves it when we fail to believe in God’s Perfect Timing. Satan knows that even good Christians will give up during a wait.
Even if we trust God, satan will tempt us to believe we heard God wrong. Satan is famous for whispering in our ear, “You must have heard Him wrong. Don’t waste any more of your time on this. You’ve got better things to do.”
How do we handle satan’s little barbs? Quote the Word of God to him, the same way Jesus did in the desert when He was tempted. Then know satan will go away (temporarily). The Bible tells us, “Resist the devil and he will flee.”
Will satan go away for good? Sorry. No. Even with Jesus, the Bible records, satan went away until a more opportune time. When he returns, handle him the same way. Quote the Word of God and don’t give up!
Wait for it! Expect it!
We plant seeds in the ground and expect that somehow they will become beautiful flowers in the spring. We watch caterpillars disappear into cocoons and believe we will soon see butterflies. We watch a mother’s expanding waist and expect to see a baby soon. We know how to expect a miracle!
There was once an impatient prophet named Habakkuk, who freely expressed his frustrations to God. God let him complain. Then God answered him. His Words are for us, as well, as we wait for the appearance of our full grown dreams.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come and will not delay!
Habakkuk 2:3
