Are you big enough for the dream God has given you?

I like to imagine how things might have happened …

Two disciples trudged back up the road towards Jesus, a frown bigger than Mt Sinai staining their visage.

Jesus had sent them to the next Samaritan village to prepare for his team.

“They said they didn’t want any dirty Jews passing through their town!” the men reported.

John and his brother James stood next to Jesus. John’s face flamed as red as a thermometer–and thermometers hadn’t even been invented yet.

“Lord!” he spat. “Do you want us to call down fire from heaven and burn them up?”

John had dreams and visions of doing great things for God. So here he is, with John,  getting ready to act like the great prophet Elijah, who called down fire on his enemies. John had faith too. He could do powerful things. Just watch!

Jesus wasn’t too surprised at his reaction. After all He had nicknamed John and his tempestuous brother, “the Sons of Thunder.”

In my imagination I see John warming up his “calling-down-fire-from-heaven” voice when Jesus stops and rebukes him. “You do not know of what sort of spirit you are, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them…” (Luke 9:55, 56 Amplified).

These brothers dreamed of doing great things for God. If they would have been in charge, though, Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem would probably have been marked by a lot of burning villages filled with crispy people!

Grow To Your Dream

Yet, John became the apostle of love. His writings are full of God’s command to love each other.

What happened to the old John? He had to grow to achieve the vision that God placed in His heart. God often gives the vision and we want to charge out and accomplish it in the next five minutes.

But to get there we must grow to become the people who accomplish the vision.

We dream of doing great things for the Lord this year. Super! But, our goal should also be, by His grace and power, to become great men and women in the Lord–to grow to the vision.

Here’s something you need to remember: If you can easily reach your dream for this year, you’re dreaming too small.

God’s dream is beyond us.

A vision that comes from God causes us to change as much as it changes the world. If we try to achieve the vision while staying like we are there will be burned villages and crispy people all over the place.

That’s why we see ‘Joseph the slave’ and ‘Joseph the prisoner’ before we see ‘Joseph the Prime Minister.’ Before his trials Joseph would have been dangerous in that high position. He grew to his dreams.

Growing Lessons

How do we do that?

–Serve. Maybe you’re not growing because you don’t feel the need. You’ve got enough for where you’re at so you don’t have to seek more of God. Are you comfortable in your misery? You need to get a dream.

–We stay faithful in tough times.

-We never lose the dream (even when it hurts to think about it).

-We accept that the dream is from God and it’s not ours. The dream fulfilled can look different than what we had imagined. God’s way of accomplishing the vision might be different than what we had imagined, too.

-We realize that God’s timing will often be different from ours. An apple picked too soon isn’t ready to eat. God’s time is as important as the vision itself.

It’s a major waste when we grow in our job, grow in our knowledge of our favorite sports team, etc. but we don’t grow in the Lord, in our marriage, or in what God has put into our heart to do.

Got a dream? Get ready to grow.
_______________________

Hmmm …

Who you hang out with determines what you dream about and what you collide with. And the collisions and the dreams lead to your changes. And the changes are what you become. Seth Godin

Images: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Flickr creative commons  Neil MoraleeSnoring in the sunshine