Photo Credit: Alex Lomas (Creative Commons)
Dreams take time.
It’s a fact many of us acknowledge.
Dreams take time to start.
Time to achieve.
Time to clarify.
Time to vocalize.
Time to work through, pray about, and share.
But there’s another area in which dreams take time that we tend to overlook.
Dreams take time to form.
We tend to have this idea that finding our dream, receiving that call, discovering that one passion or purpose that we are willing to give our whole lives to happens overnight.
In a moment of revelation and insight and a spiritual high that rivals anything we’ve ever experienced, God will rip open the heavens, drop down the neon sign and give us a dream we will pursue the rest of our lives.
We pray that way, read stories in scripture of God giving people long-term commands, we ask God to reveal a dream to us, spend a couple of minutes waiting for His answer, and then get frustrated when after a few days or weeks or months, we still don’t have a dream to call our own.
We want the microwave dream.
God gives us the slow-cooker version.
A good dream, one that transcends our lives, impacts many and is something we are willing to spend our lives pursuing takes years to form.
We have to discover our passions.
Learn who we are and what makes us tick.
Realize our talents and abilities and in-born skills.
Find others who will point out what gives us life and energy.
Receive encouragement and feedback and process our feelings.
Take advantage of that opportunity.
Step out in faith to try that one new thing.
Go on that trip.
Take that class.
Start that bible study.
Get involved in that church, apply for that job or help that person in need.
It takes being in that right place at the right time, stepping into that right opportunity, helping with that right organization or project or group to gain a glimmer of an idea that might possibly turn into a dream.
Dreams start with an idea.
Morph into a hobby.
Grow into a passion.
And expand into a life calling.
My dream to impact youth, young adults and university students around the world for Christ didn’t start with multiple campuses and mission trips and orphanages, training centers and resources. It didn’t even start with high school youth.
My dream began by saying yes to starting a bible study at my alma mater for a friend of mine.
And it grew from there.
I went on my first exploratory trip, and gained a heart for young people in Europe.
I led my first mission trip, ministered to high school kids, and gained a heart for youth ministry.
I wrote my first bible study packet for a student, and gained a heart to produce resources.
I saw a video clip from Advent Conspiracy, and gained a heart to provide clean water for people in third world countries.
I saw God impact students at Monmouth College, and gained a heart to see the same at other schools in the area.
I walked onto a campus in Czech, and gained a heart to do college ministry in Europe.
I trained and challenged and encouraged a youth pastor buddy of mine, and gained a heart to do leadership training.
Dreams don’t come all at once.
They aren’t formed in their entirety over night.
You aren’t going to receive the big picture dream up front.
The opportunities you take, the skills you grow, the passions you develop and pursue step into all work together to form your dream.
And that takes a lifetime to do.
What skills and talents and opportunities could God be using to developing a dream in your life?
