Don’t Stop Dreaming!  Hello Hump Day Readers. My devotion on dreaming came from a couple in the campground who told us “Our dream for retirement is to do what you guys do, being campground hosts.” This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that and this couple, only in their mid-40’s reminded us of ourselves, because that’s exactly the dream we had for our retirement at that age!

One of my favorite authors and bible scholars is Christine Caine. The other day she sent me her new book, Permission to Dream, and wanted me to read it and give her my thoughts. It is a very powerful book and I recommend it to anyone. With her permission, here is a short script from her book; I hope it encourages you to never stop dreaming!

“When it comes to having a life dream or plan, I was never the type of kid who had one. I never thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up. Having experienced a lot of traumas in my childhood, I was too busy trying to survive to have any energy left to dream about the future. But the good news is that even when I didn’t have a dream for my life, God always did. He created me on purpose and for a purpose. As I grew closer to God in my early adult years, I discovered those dreams, and I have spent the past four decades working them into my life.

I believe that all of the things I do, like rescuing the victims of human trafficking through our A21 anti-Trafficking Foundation, empowering women through Propel, reaching the lost, and building up the Church through Equip & Empower, are the good works God had prepared for me before I ever arrived on Earth!”

After reading her book, I thought about a lot of things, especially why—when we get older, we discard our youthful dreams and often we stop dreaming altogether. Christine is right, God had a dream for you and me before we ever got here and there is a lot in God’s dreams throughout our entire life. Here’s a reminder from the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:7-10 using the Message translation:

“Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

So, I have five ideas that we can use to continue dreaming and doing life God’s way:

  • We need to be strong in the face of challenges. If we are not strong, we easily get defeated and the dreams we hope for never come to fruition.
  • We have to tune into God’s calling on our lives. It is the only way we are able to overcome previous pain and ongoing pain.
  • Many of us are struggling to overcome feelings of unworthiness. If you want to dash your dream, feeling unworthy will do it in a fast second.
  • We can’t manage disappointment on our own. God wired us to come to him first, because that management part belongs to God’s power, not ours.
  • One of the hardest things in life is maintaining our hope. Sadly, when we do lose hope, again our dreams are dashed and it’s hard to move forward. Hope in life is vital!

In closing, my idea of dreaming is a gift from God. In fact, God gives us the dreams we need and what a gift that is! God wants us to enjoy our lives. God wants us to dream big dreams because God is the only one who can make them possible! So don’t stop dreaming. Instead, be filled with anticipation of the dreams God has for you now and in your future. AMEN.