Do you remember, as a child, how everything seemed big? Your house? Your neighborhood? Your school? Your church? Your playground? Do you remember having big dreams? Whether it was being a teacher, a doctor, an astronaut, a scientist, a movie star or an athlete, those dreams seemed so big and so far away. The excitement was in the adventure of conquering the dreams.
A few years ago, my husband and I took our kids down to Florida for Thanksgiving. It was the first time that I had been back to my old stomping grounds. My husband was driving, and I was trying to direct him to my old neighborhood. So much had changed; we almost missed the subdivision because I no longer recognized it. As we drove into the neighborhood, I stared, with bewilderment, at my childhood home; the home that held some of my fondest memories. There stood my home that was smaller than I remembered, in a tiny yard. A yard that once had beautiful gardens, where my parents planted with exotic plants and flowers, sat bare. I sat in my car, in amazement, at how small my house was in comparison to my memory of it. Isn’t it amazing at the things that seemed so big to us as a child doesn’t seem as big anymore? Or how the “impossible” dreams we dreamt as a child, are now our reality? That’s the beauty of growing up, we get to live out our dreams and walk in the things we always dreamt of. The sad reality is that as we grow and mature, many times we fail to dream big dreams. Or we claim that we are “dreaming big” but what we really are doing is “dreaming realistically.” As I look into the eyes of my children, as they tell me their dreams, there isn’t the slightest hint of doubt. They believe that all of their dreams will become a reality.
With the disappointments that life brings, our faith tends to dwindle. There are so many people walking around dreamless because they have settled for the ordinary, dull and mundane. They never really experience the passion that comes from walking in the fullness of their purpose because they let their dream die. Many times, fear of failure or fear of man stops us dead in our tracks. The only “fear” that matters is the fear of the Lord. Knowing that God has a plan and a purpose for me to fulfill propels me to take small steps of faith that lead me further down the path of my destiny. This morning, I was reading Numbers 13-14. Prompted by God, Moses sent twelve men to scout out the land that God had promised the Israelites. Of the twelve men, only two came back believing the dream that God had placed in front of them. The other ten said it was impossible; they saw giant people, and felt there was no way the Israelites could defeat them to take ownership of the land that God promised them. In the message version, Numbers 14:11 states, “‘God said to Moses, ‘How long will these people treat me like dirt? How long refuse to trust me? And with all these signs I’ve done among them!’” God knows our dreams and our desires because he handcrafted us intricately to have those specific dreams and desires. What is your dream? The dream that is tucked away in the depths of your heart that you dare not share with anyone let alone allow yourself to ponder? The dream that tugs at you…
God desires for His children to trust him. As children, we need to stand in the “bigness” of our dream and be ready to conquer it. It is time to dream again! It is time to have the childlike faith that believes the impossible will happen. It is time to trust in God to know that His Word is true and that He’s faithful to do what He promised. It’s time to follow the prompting of the Lord and take the steps of faith to fulfill the purposes and passions He placed within you. It’s time to be in the position that everything looks BIG but have the surety to know that with God it’s accomplishable! It’s time to stand in the reality of a fulfilled dream. It’s time to walk in our dreams, and dream newer and even bigger dreams!
