The Problem with a God-given Dream, part 2

Several months ago, I wrote a post entitled “The Problem with a God-given Dream.” To make a long story short, it went viral, with over 3 million views the first week. Just kidding. That’s not even close to true.

However, it did resonate with a number of readers, and spurred on some great conversation. My basic premise was simple.

“No matter how certain you are that God inspired your dream, you have to hand it back to him. Without this kind of surrender, our dream becomes the thing we hope and long for, while God slips to the background.”

In today’s part 2, the question to answer is “So what comes after the surrender of our dream?” For this, I’m assuming you’ve wrestled with your own selfish ambitions and begun to delight in God rather than delighting in your dream. (which is a huge assumption!)

So what’s next?

3 things, and lucky for you, they all start with the letter “P”

1. Patience

“Why wouldn’t God want to make this happen for me? I’m doing it for Him!” I asked this plenty of times as I watched my own plans get delayed. No one likes to be patient, but if you want to live out your God-given dream, you will accept the gift of patience as a valuable part of life. You will trust that while you wait on God, He is refining your own heart to handle the future success and/or fullness that is on the horizon. Be patient. Trust God and his timing.

2. Perseverance

If you’re like me, then you can look at the hardest seasons of your life and find that the best seasons usually followed soon after. If you are going to accomplish your dream, you must persevere through trials and cling to God as the only unshakeable foundation to stand on. Just because things get hard doesn’t mean God is calling you to stop pursuing the dream. In fact, it is often a good indicator that you need to keep going!

3. Peace

This is what you can expect if you choose to be patient and persevere through the challenges of chasing your God-given dream. Paul said it like this, “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation…For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

Paul tapped into a level of peace that went beyond any situation or circumstance. He found the secret. He had the peace that passes understanding. This contentment is supernatural. If you want it, you can have it. But you will have to learn it through patience and perseverance.

Finally, I want to leave you with a well-known proverb in the Bible:

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (prov. 16:9)

If we are truly following Jesus, then I believe we can trust that God’s heart is to bring our plans and dreams to fruition. It might not look exactly how we envision it, but in many cases it could. However, I’d argue that the road to get there will certainly be different than we planned.

The question is “Will you continue toward your God-given dream, with patience and perseverance, even when the steps to get there are different than you imagined?

I hope you will! The world needs the light you will shine living out your God-given dream!

-How have you had to be patient in order to achieve a goal or dream?

-What are you persevering through to see the bigger plans come to fruition? 

We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below – thanks!