How difficult is it to dream? Obviously, I’m not talking about dreams you have when you sleep. No, more difficult dreams are the ones we conjure up while we are awake. See, dreams are a fickle thing. They are difficult to come up with and even more difficult to follow through with. However, something I’ve experienced and have given much thought to is the fact that many people cease to dream when they grow up or leave them simply as that, a dream. I found myself in this same position this last year and leading into the Race. Many times on my race I’ve asked people that I have encountered “what are your dreams?” And many times it leads to silence. It breaks my heart to see people who through poverty, regular struggles of life, or unforeseen circumstances have their dreams killed and sometimes the ability to dream altogether as well.
I have little life experience; I know that. However, one thing I do know is that dreaming is dangerous and terrifying. Oftentimes, dreams are so large and so out of the box that they only stay as that; a dream. Dreams are often killed by expectations, little plausibility, or the simple fact that it poses difficulty. Something God has been teaching me lately–I’ve also been talking about dreams with a lot of my teammates and squad mates too–is to go out and dare and dream. That sounds like a great idea and all, but honestly, I wouldn’t be where I am right now if I didn’t dream of something bigger. I won’t be in my next season of life without dreaming. God gave us the ability to dream and frankly, we don’t do it enough. Whether a dream comes true or not is not the point. The point is even trying to dream at all.
God has been showing me how to dream through different stories. When Moses was leading his people to the Promised Land, he sent spies to go scout out the land. When they came back, they told all the people of Israel about the difficulties of going into the land. But God said to go into the land and that He would be with them. Not only would they have to dream bigger than a desert, but more importantly they would have to trust and rely on God. I could bring up so many other examples. Noah, any number of the Israelites in slavery, and literally anytime in history when people are forced into positions of difficulty where something greater can be obtained.
What are some dreams you have? Actual dreams. Ones that scare you when you think about them. It sounds like such a simple concept, but I believe it’s an essential part of life. Life loses so much color when you can’t think out of the box and dream. I want to challenge you today to actually dream more. That doesn’t mean you should waste time on fantasies that won’t ever go anywhere, but genuinely dream and seek for more of what God has for your life. I’ve just recently started to do this again and have found so much fruit from it. I used to believe dreams were a waste of time. I thought that something so difficult and almost impossible to attain was ridiculous. However, something I rediscovered these past few months is the fact that God gave us this ability to dream and that many of these dreams—though make us uncomfortable—are something we need to actually do. I have began to dream again and I hope you can do the same. When was the last time you took a shot, put your comfort on the line, and dreamed?
