The young man entered hesitantly into the throne room and fell on his face before the Glorious One seated there. His heart filled with worship and praise and overflowed with love.
Suddenly, he felt the presence of someone lifting him up, then hugging him close. “I love you so much,” the young man responded. “What can I give you Lord Jesus? I don’t have money or possessions but I want you to know how much I love you.”
God responded, “You have one thing, that thing that’s most precious to you—your dreams! That’s the gift that I ask for.”
The young man stepped away in surprise and looked up into that loving face. He wanted to give everything. But his dreams? They were worth more than millions of dollars to him. All he hoped to accomplish. The person he hoped to marry. The place in life he hoped to attain.
His dreams? How could he give that?
Ah, his dreams. He accomplished great things in them. He’s admired by others in them. And yes, he made money in his dreams. They filled him with joy and hope, even when the present seemed monotone or painful.
Could he turn his, “what I’m going to be and what I’m going to do,” over to God?
“Lord, I’ll have absolutely nothing left for myself! My dreams are me!”
“Would you give them to me?” the voice echoed in his soul. “Do you love me that much?”
The young man hesitated. A fear gripped him. “If I give them to God, He might command me to do something I don’t want to. My life would be miserable. But …” and he looked again into that face …
And with tears, he began to pull them out, one by one. They weren’t stored in his pockets but somewhere in his chest. “Lord, here’s my ‘accomplishing great things in my profession.’ And, and…” he hesitated. “And here’s the ‘person I’ll marry dream.’ You may as well have the ‘plenty of money’ dream too and the ‘being admired by everyone’ vision.”
He took them all out and one by one handed them to the Lord. It was one of the hardest things he ever did but one of the sweetest things. Hot tears anointed his gift.
“Lord, I love you even more than I love my dreams. Take my life …”
Flash forward nearly forty years. The young man is sixty now. It would be nice to say that God had taken his dreams and given them back to him and now he was president of the world, admired by all, with tons and tons of money.
It isn’t exactly like that. He never stopped dreaming; he simply tried to let God dream through him. In some areas those dreams had come true beyond his wildest imagination. Most of them, though, were still in front of him and he wonders if he’ll ever see them accomplished.
No regrets though. Not one single one. He would rather feel a bit unfulfilled trying to reach God’s dream for him, than to be tremendously fulfilled by attaining his own tiny dreams. Every life touched, even a little was worth millions to him.
By the way, the fellow’s name was David. Still is.
“The word of the LORD came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart … (Jeremiah 1: 4, 5)
Have you dared to give God your dreams?
____________________________________________
“It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure-hearted, if you never realize the call of God. But if once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad; you will no longer be able to work for Him on the common-sense basis.” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest