We all dream. All of us. And I'm not talking about our nighttime dreams. I believe that in every human heart is a longing for something great. Something big. It's obvious to see what the unconverted heart has done with this desire. They want something great for themselves. The consuming interest becomes "my clothes, my boyfriend/girlfriend, my friends, my stuff, my career, my money." The dreams all begin and end with something big for "me." But God asks us to give those dreams to Him and trade them for something better. Most of us know that. Many of us have done that. Instead we dream of a life of active service for the One we love. And as we come to love Him more, we come to love His children. And then we dream of a life serving not only Him, but them too. We no longer want something big for us, but we long to do something big for Him and His suffering children. We make our plans of how we will serve Him, the degrees we'll get, the mission fields we'll run to. The dirty little faces we'll clean. The broken hearts we will comfort. The souls we'll save. Sounds better, right? But then sometimes, right when we think we're in reach of our dreams, He asks us to give them up. We think we've misunderstood. We question Him. Wasn't it His will for us to give our life for Him and others? I'm not just theorizing. I've been here. And recently. But we forget that He is the dream-Fullfiller. He's not out to smash our cherished hopes, only to enrich them, or give us altogether new and better ones. We forget too, that He is the dream-Holder. When He asks us to surrender our dreams, He does not ask us to throw them down, but to give them up. Up to Him. If you've ever watched a careful parent guiding their little child up the stairs, you might notice that they ask their child to hand them their toys so that the child can hold the parent's hand instead of trying to climb with hands full. When they reach the top of the stairs, the parent will give the toys back. Our Father does the same. He asks us to give our dreams up to Him, so that we can grasp His hand instead. He carefully holds them for us as He leads us up the ascent. Then, when He sees we have learned to hold His hand and climb with Him, He gives us the dreams back. He is the dream-Giver, the dream-Holder, and the dream-Fullfiller. If He asks for your tightly prized dreams, and you find yourself with empty hands, reach up and grasp His. He will lead you safely up the ascent. And when you reach the top of this little "staircase" you will be stronger. When He sees that you are just as content to walk with nothing in your hands but His touch, He will give you your dreams back. They may not be quite the same as when you gave them to Him, but only changed for the better.
Because everything His hand touches is transformed and made perfect. That's just the way my Jesus is.
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Hannah Rayne20. Lover of Jesus. Daughter. Sister. Friend. Servant. Fan of the kitchen. Graduate of Masters of Biblical Counseling.
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