What you accomplished or did not accomplish in the past is forever recorded in the history of your life. You have the future ahead of you and God has given you another opportunity to fill in the blank pages of the book of the rest of your life.
I encourage you to revive the dreams that might have been in your heart for years. God’s thoughts and plans for you are embedded or wrapped up in your dreams and desires. When I was a child, I dreamed of being a nurse and ministering to people. Anything that had anything to do with medicine impressed me. That dream was very important to me because I knew my destiny was wrapped up in that dream. I was so consumed with the dream of becoming a nurse to the point that all I thought about was nursing. I never allowed myself to become comfortable in doing anything else. Everything else I did was a byproduct of what I knew I was destined to do. I remained focused on the dream of becoming a nurse until it became a reality in my life.
Do you have any dreams that have not been fulfilled? Whatever God given dreams you have; it is time to visit or revisit them. God want you to stir up those dreams and give birth to the visions He has place in you. Don’t let the enemy tell you it is too late to do what God Himself has destine you to do. In 2 Tim 1:6 Paul reminds Timothy to “stir up the gift of God that is in you”.
In Genesis chapters 37-50 is the story of one of the greatest dreamers recorded in the Bible. Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. The Bible said that “Jacob Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. (Genesis 37:3-5 NIV).
To make matters worse, Joseph kept having dreams he shared with his brothers which made them hate him even more. Joseph’s brothers were already upset that their father loved Joseph more than them. Joseph added fuel to the fire by telling his brothers what he dreamed. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. (Genesis 37:6-11 NIV) and what the dreams meant.
As you read about Joseph’s life, you will find that many things happened to him, both good and bad, before his dreams became a reality. While following your dreams and desires, be careful who you share them with because everyone is not for you. It would have been in Joseph’s best interest not to share his dreams with his brothers, but instead allow God to manifest them. Joseph had no idea what he was getting ready to go through at the hands of his own brothers. Joseph would have been wiser to have kept his dreams to himself.
God may put a dream or desire in your heart, but often times He does not reveal to you all the details of how the dream will come to pass. Nor the things you are going to experience along the way.
My dreams have not always come to pass as I expected they would or when I would have preferred them to. Although I knew I was going to become a nurse one day, I had no idea what great plans God had in store for me. I never thought or imagined becoming a Surgical Nurse or being a part of an Open Heart Team nor working as a Psychiatric nurse and certainly not being an Army nurse. I did not expect that I would eventually fly around the world and meet people from all walks of life. Those thoughts would have frightened me. It was better that God allowed me to simply walk out the journey one step at a time.
As you follow God’s dreams for you, there will be times the road will get bumpy, there are going to be toads along the way. The dream may not manifest the way you think it should. I am reminded of a story an old slave woman told a young man who had just been beaten for no reason. The young man asks the old woman why she always song the song about climbing up the rough side of the mountain. The salve woman replied “son, if the mountain is smooth, you cannot climb it, if you expect to make it to the top or get to the other side, the mountain has to have rough, rocky and bumpy spots on it. There has to be a place to plant your feet on if you want to make it to the other side”.
You may have experienced one rough place after another on your way to fulfilling your dreams. And those rough places have cause your very insides to literally shake. But as you go over every rough place, the most important thing you can do is to hold on to the hands of your Heavenly Father. God said in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (NIV). Know that once you make it to the other side of the mountain, the end of the trail, the path will become smooth.
I know that God has placed dreams in every one of His children’s heart. You heard Him right. The journey may have been a little rough, but the Lord is saying hold on, you are never alone, don’t be discouraged, give up or become fearful because the rough places are about to become smooth.
Prayer: Father, help me to focus on You and let go of the past and move forward starting today. I know my journey may not always be an easy one, but I also know I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength and with You Lord, all things are possible. Thank You Holy Spirit for Your help.