Does the title scare you? Yeah, me too. This is an idea that has been percolating like a good cup o' joe for many years. Dreams are scary things. So much hope, so many ideas, so much potential (both good and bad) wrapped up in this word, "Dream." If your head is already filling with lyrics mentioning this word, don't worry, you're not alone. Let's focus on good old Disney's interpretation. "Dream is a wish your heart makes." Hmmm. Yup, I think I get what you were going for on that one Walt. We can use this word for so many things from future plans, to what ifs, and all the blurred lines in between. But when you get down to it, dreams really are unfounded, yet deeply felt wishes wrapped in could be's and desires. When you're little, dreams looked more like reality. Growing up I've realized dreams are a little harder to come by, and that birds can't actually help you get dressed in the morning by the way.
Now, dreams have lost their shining quality of total truth. They still sparkle a little bit, but I now know dreams potential for pain. Are they still worth it? God uses them and equips us with the ability to have them (not making a good thing into a God thing is key) so yes, they are still worth it, but they make me cringe at times. Let me tell you why and then I'll tell you of a man that did this whole dream thing right.
Everyone has disappointments. My very first one was a child's let-down of a sleepover due to sickness. I wanted to go so badly, but flu season disrupted my potentially magical night with friends and I was devastated. It wasn't until my pre-teen years (man, I feel old just saying that) that I began to repeat the mantra in my head, "It's not a big deal. Everyone has disappointments. The world is still turning." It wasn't until post-college when that mantra became my new norm. Like a well-trained muscle, I repeat the truth that disappointments are not the end of the world.
Those are disappointments, but when a dream is on the line, the potential for devastation and pain increases past the realm of disappointments. Maybe that's why we like to hold on to those dreams so tight. Well, I can think of 2 dream-attacking moments that have led to this little diatribe today:
Israel: My bags were packed. I continued to go through my mental checklist as my family and I drove the two hours on a summer-baked interstate to the Atlanta airport. I had finally finished all the requirements to join a team of students for a study-abroad summer trip to Israel. Countless hours of homework involving cartography and biblical studies as well as arid-weather shopping trips. But I was finally ready. It would seem no one had told the kind person at the ticket counter. "I'm sorry, your ticket has been canceled." Jaw-drop moment number one.
Japan: I haven't told many people about this, but Japan had actually been part of my dream and devastation a year prior to my actually going there. To my spiritually near-sighted eyes, God had placed Japan as a potential dream, yet when I got involved the dream took on another turn; one that ended in me struggling with who I was to God and if He really was dependable (my conclusion was that He is by the way). It all ended gloriously despite my spiritual limp from wrestling with a mighty God.
So, that's me. Now, here's Abraham. Yeah, you knew this was coming.
After days of travel and dust, they had finally made it. To Isaac, this was a trek with Dad to give an offering. To Abraham, this was the longest journey with the most heart-rending end in sight. He was going to sacrifice his own son. Now, I have no reason to believe that He had doubts on the way, that there was any internal struggle, but you have to wonder. Not only was it his son, it was also the fulfillment of a dream, a promise from God that had made his wife laugh at first, but now he could see the physical manifestation of that promise in Isaac. And now God wanted him to give it up? Ever had those moments? Yeah, I had a couple of white-knuckled moments of surrender too.
Again, no reason to believe Abraham did this, but how many of us would walk calmly up a mountain to kill a loved one who also happens to be a physical form of a promise from God? Here's what we do know he was thinking, "He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead..." (Hebrews 11:19) I have to do a little more digging, but this was pretty early on in the bible. Did Abraham really have that much evidence that God was able to do that yet?
Think about it. Promise given by God. After much struggle and doubts, promise came into reality in the form of Isaac. Then the promise was asked to be returned in a devastating and heart-wrenching way. And Abraham had faith enough to say, God's got a plan? He knew God would not leave this promise unfulfilled, to the point of believing He would raise his son from the dead if that's what it took. He was sacrificing his son, and along with that he was sacrificing his dream based on his faith in a faithful God. He gave up a promise, a dream, having faith that obeying God was not going to mean the devastation of an unfulfilled dream.
And it wasn't. Many of you know what happened next. After Isaac watched his father build his own altar of sacrifice, he went looking for something to sacrifice. That's when Abraham broke the news. We'll talk about Isaac's own sacrifice later as he lay down on the altar, but just as the epic music would crescendo, boom went the angel's voice, and ta da there's a lamb to sacrifice in Isaac's stead. The place was then aptly named, "The Lord will provide," and Abraham's blessing went on to be fulfilled by a generation's worth of faith-filled descendants.
Whose to say this is the norm, but I can tell you I've both failed at this whole dream surrendering/faith building thing as well as had victories in it. How bout you? Has God given you a dream lately? Are you worried He'll take it back? Yeah, He might. As scary as it is in the process of giving it back to Him, and as tempted as I am to play the petulant child screaming "no! mine!" I have to say it's worth it. If I can give God back a dream He's given me, than I can better see the Gift Giver rather than the gift itself. I've had too many missed moments of trust, too many times I've missed out on naming a place in my life "The Lord will provide." After reading the above paragraphs, I only can think of one thing to say to wrap it up...What am I getting myself into?
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