Are you confused in the process of moving towards your vision and dream?
Maybe tired of waiting?
Do you feel like giving up?
During the past few months I have been going through a season of reflecting on all God has done in the past year or so. I’ve been re-tuning my heart to listen to His heart to ensure I am in alignment with Him and his agenda for this next season.
I want to call the process a process of yielding all over again. My own experience and the experience of some of those I coach has made me think about the journey we are all on and its natural rhythm. In pursuit of our dreams there are times of extreme productivity, planning, risk taking, stepping out in faith, pushing through, knocking on doors, trusting and being intentional about moving forward. So much happens at these times. As you start this journey, I often say to those I coach and minister to: – all heaven comes behind you as you step towards your unique destiny and assignment here on earth.
I watch as clients feel the euphoric excitement of seeing things they never even imagined possible happen. It’s wonderful seeing people enjoy, dream jobs, new ministry opportunities, finally stepping into the flow of using their best strengths, abilities and gifts. Experiencing this level of breakthrough represents a key turning point in our lives. However, in our pursuit of our dreams, we are often unprepared for other seasons, when everything comes to a grinding halt. Seasons when God chooses to go deep and undertake heart transformation along the way
I would like to propose that in the process of coming alive to our dreams and desires and intentionally going after them, there are times in the journey when we have to give our dreams back to Him and fully submit to His authority, taking a step back and allowing Him to fill us and our dreams with Himself.
Ephesians 1: 21-23 speaks that ALL THINGS are under the authority of Christ and that we are made full and complete by Christ who fills all things everywhere with Himself.
I’ve seen it happen many times and have experienced it myself. I believe a subtle but real tension exists between believing ‘I am a child of a Supernatural God and nothing is impossible, so having my big impossible dreams is part of my lifestyle’ and as I walk this out, learning this lesson: – ‘I will sacrifice anything (including my dreams) should He require it, because I trust that He knows best and always has my best interests at heart no matter what the circumstances show now.’
Living purely in the later does not allow the freedom and joy of being a dreamer and a son of the living supernatural God. Conversely, living purely in the former does not prepare us for the reality that things will not turn out exactly as we expect. Our desires and visions will not happen necessarily, when we expect and there may be some deep heart transformation that our father needs to do along the way.
What does living in between this tension everyday actually look like?
I will dream, I will be a hope carrier and always hope and look forward to what God will do. Every situation I see, that is not reflecting His will I can hope and dream beyond. Yet, my ways are not His ways, and His timing is often quite different to mine. Because something does not happen for years, does this mean it won’t? Of course not! We know from Abraham this is not true. Yet in our own lives how often do we give up hope because we have not seen breakthrough in years?
Often when we do not see breakthrough happening on the outside, these are seasons when The Lord is doing an inside job. By this I mean he is filling all things with Himself, and often that includes us. I am seeing my own heart being transformed as I intentionally move towards my dreams. It’s like The Lord takes my desires and adds His heart to it. The process is strange and not always comfortable at first but I have learnt that yielding is the best way. Asking God questions is a great way of aligning yourself quickly. Questions such as: What is your agenda in this season right now God? What are you up to? What do you think about this idea of mine or that? How does this all fit into the big plan? Is there anywhere where I am out of alignment? These next two are big ones which you may not always like the answer to: – What would you have me to say ‘no’ to in this season? What of what I am doing is the right thing in the wrong season?
Because everything has an order and The Lord knows best. Part of the lifestyle of living in abundance and having a long and never ending list of dreams is to trust The Lords timing and His work in your heart to get you there.
We have not because we ask not (James 4: 2-3), but asking does not mean He will give it to us straight away. Learning to have an eternal perspective on our dreams being fulfilled and our prayers being answered brings us more into alignment with the way our heavenly father thinks.
Our lives are but a twinkling of an eye, so any waiting period in between that twinkling in our lives is like less than a second from an eternal perspective. Sometimes we are simply not ready to have our dreams fulfilled. Our character needs attention or our heart needs further alignment with His. Sometimes our favour is not big enough yet. Even Jesus had to grow in favour with both God and Man. Imagine if Joseph, had of been put in charge of Egypt as that slightly arrogant, teenager who bragged about dreams he had. In the natural good, wise parents often keep a trust fund for their children or do not release an inheritance until they are a certain age. A good wise parent would certainly not give a 10 year old a motorbike.
Now I am not suggesting that all things that have not come to pass are because of these reasons. Sometimes it’s not a matter of any of the above and we simply do not know why. Yet another time to trust God and His perfect will and timing.
I believe a sign of maturity is growing in understanding that God is a good God and that He withholds no good thing (Psalm 84:11) from those who trust and believe him. But going through seasons of waiting and yielding and allowing Him to fill and transform our hearts along the way is part of the wonderful journey of childlike faith and trust that all things work together for the good, including the how and the when of your dreams being fulfilled.