We all need a sense that we exist for a reason. We need the clarity that a dream brings. Where there is no dream, there is no order to life, no reason to live. We perish by confusion and disorder; we make a mess of everything.
If you are bored and beginning to experiment with behavior you know will harm you, or even just cultivating pastimes you know are a waste of time, you have lost sight of your dream.
Disappointment. Sometimes you have a dream, and that dream is shattered. The experience creates a deep wound in your heart that gets filled with disappointment, like a bitter well. You approach each new opportunity with melancholy and doubt stored up inside you.
The waters from the well blur your vision and obscure your dream, and the disappointment grows more potent the longer you hang on to it. It stops being a well and becomes a wide river separating you from your dream.
Moses endured one of the greatest disappointments in the Bible. He spent 40 years leading the children of Israel through the desert, doing everything well, obeying God when the others were worshiping a golden calf. He didn’t grumble as they did or doubt God, but because he disobeyed God on one occasion when his anger got the better of him, the Lord forbade him from going into the Promised Land.
The Lord took him to a mountaintop where He allowed Moses to see the magnificent reality of the Promised Land (see Deut. 34:1). But He consigned him to living with the stunning reality that he would never set foot in it.
Nothing hurts quite like disappointment. The word implies that we believed we had an appointment, but when we got there, things didn’t happen the way we wanted them to. We were “dis-appointed.”
Our momentary assessment of a situation is always affected by human limitations. We cannot always see what God sees, and much more may be happening than we are aware of.
The Bible says we see through a veil; our knowledge is imperfect. At some point, you have to give your disappointment to God and trust His judgment, which is perfect.
What seems like a disappointment may have been the best thing to happen in your life. That relationship that ended, that business opportunity you passed by, that investment you didn’t make–God may have been sparing you.
Even if you believe you have good reason to be disappointed, you should have a better reason for letting disappointment go. That reason is your dreams.
You will experience bitter disappointments in life. People will drop the ball, lead you astray, abandon you and worse. You will be disappointed with God. But if you want to reach your dreams, you must become an expert at releasing disappointment when it comes.
Oversatisfaction. Satisfaction is also the enemy of a dream. Some people look at their lives and pronounce them good enough. They hit the cruise control button and lean back instead of forging ahead. They become satisfied with slow, incremental progress.
Instead of being drawn by a dream, they are drawn to enjoy the abundance God gave them. They spend time planning vacations, buying recreational equipment and turning a blind eye to their higher calling. They trade their dreams for the pleasantness of present circumstances. Some ride this satisfaction to the very end of their lives.
Fear of the battles. Some people fear the battle so much that they abandon their dreams before they ever reach the battlefield. They never even try, or they give up quickly.
I’ll be the first one to say that following your dream is agonizing, especially in the beginning. But fear of the battle causes some people to stay stuck at the starting gate forever. They are waiting for some mystical wave of emotional energy to propel them effortlessly through difficulties, problems and crises.
But that approach just doesn’t square with reality. Life is full of battles, no matter which course we take. It is no different when we follow our dreams.
The battle itself is always less frightening than the days leading up to it. Anticipation will kill you quicker than the fighting!
When I face battles, I feel weakest before the battle starts. I know God will see me through the battle, but sometimes I wonder if He will see me to the battle.
I rarely have peace beforehand. Rather, I feel overwhelmed, powerless and ineffective.
Maybe you know what I mean. You have gone through surgery and were afraid up until the moment they wheeled you into the operating room. Or you competed in a contest and dreaded every second until you stepped up to take your turn. Or perhaps you started a business and laid yourself on the line, wondering if it would pay off.
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