”If you shoot for the moon, you will land on the stars”. Growing up, I heard that a lot. I was a dreamer. I dreamed as a small child of playing in the NBA. I wanted to be like Michael Jordan, or Allen Iverson. I even watched old games of Spudd Webb, gaining a massive desire to play professional basketball. Did it happen?? No. BUT something I want us to take away from this, is that God longs for us dream big. He wants us to trust Him with our lives, but also give our dreams to Him. What does that even mean? Let me explain.
In scripture, we are called to, “Cast your cares (dreams and even anxieties) on the Lord, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Literally telling God our desires and fears is what we are encouraged to do. I am a firm believer that God wants us to dream big again. No longer are we to be hindered by our limited perspectives, but rather we would gain the heart of the Masterful Creator, and dream dreams for God to work wonders with. Scripture also calls us forward by telling us, “Now glory be to God, by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of — infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.” (Ephesians 3:20).
I had a moment with God today. I was driving to work, listening to music. To be honest, it wasn’t even praise and worship. As I listened, I began to zone out. I prayed in that very moment, and asked God to revive my dreams, that they would glorify Him, and that people would see the gospel of Jesus through my life. Then it hit me. I desire to write a faith based publication and win the Pulitzer Prize. You may say, “Ryan that is a crazy dream that will never happen, and it’s selfish to want that” to those remarks, I would respond with saying that yes it could be selfish. However, through my writing, I want people to see Christ as more than a feel good tale. I want people to experience Him like never before. The key is that if I don’t get the Pulitzer, I know God has ordained an audience to hear His voice from me. So whether all MY dreams get fufilled, I know that His dreams for me will come to fruition.
Again, I admonish you all to dream big again. Dare to dream the impossible, and watch God pull off something you’d never imagine He would. Be careful, though, to align your heart with His, so that you dream with clarity. Also on that, dream with continuous action. For example, I want to work towards being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Right now, all I know is that it’s a very distinguished award for a writer. If I have that dream, I have to hone my craft of writing. I also need to write a book or a piece of publication. With that comes research and perfecting what I want to submit. I don’t know the dreams everyone has, but I challenge you all to put in the work. Don’t get lazy or complacent with your grind. A good friend of mine, Ike, talked to me about development. You can’t grow without intentionality. He says, “Grow or die” if we aren’t growing and dreaming, our lives will be wasted and we will live an unfulfilled life.
Overall, God so desires for us to dream big again. He wants to come through for us. Our lives are so much bigger than ourselves. Our lives need to be to show a light for Christ. Read the story of Joseph. He dreamed outlandish dreams, but God saw him through to see the fruition of those dreams. I believe that God will do the same thing for us. Keep dreaming. Dream big, and do not let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.
Much Love,
Ryan W.
