Dream Bigger
I woke up with a heaviness because my mind was going a million times a minute. The old me -- who am I kidding, this very well may have been me last week -- would have allowed the thoughts to consume me: What about this? How about that? Could it even work? Maybe there’s just no way. I’m getting excited about nothing.
Then the fear would set in: I don’t know if I can do this. What if the next part takes too long? I would feel so isolated.
But then, in an instant, I felt the nudge to pray after reading the headline of one of the devotions I subscribe to. It was called, “Your Best Days are Ahead” and if that is the case and my best days are ahead, then what do I have to be concerned about at all?
Here is just a snippet of what I read this morning in my Do It Afraid Study:
“Hope is the confident expectation that something good is going to happen. It’s closely related to our faith and what we believe. I like to say that hope is the foundation that faith stands on.
When we receive bad news of any kind, the enemy wants us to fear the worst and be hope-less. He wants to convince us that our best days are behind us and nothing will ever turn out right.
But God wants us to be full of hope—believing, expecting, and anticipating great things from Him. In fact, the Bible says He is the “God of hope,” full of mercy and new beginnings (see Romans 15:13).
I absolutely love Zechariah 9:12 (AMPC). The Lord says, Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], you prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore double your former prosperity to you.
What does it mean to become a “prisoner of hope”? It means that regardless of what happens in our lives, we refuse to stop hoping and trusting in God’s ability to come through.
When you become a prisoner of hope, the enemy doesn’t know what to do. He may come against you with fearful thoughts, but he has no power to harm you when you are determined to continually put all of your trust in God.
Joyce Meyer | Do It Afraid
My prayers weren’t pleas this time, just simply a conversation with God about how I was feeling, what was overwhelming me and then an outward expression of gratitude for the peace and confidence that I found in Him. He gave us all the Holy Spirit, a piece of Himself, when we accepted Jesus into our hearts. Now with the Holy Spirit residing inside of us, He can see us through even the most uncertain times.
When I began to get anxious this morning, I wasn’t certain if it was a check in my spirit about something, if it was me being scared of the unknown or if it was the stupid enemy, planting thoughts in my head, hoping they’d take root. It was likely the latter but there was only one way to find out and that was -- TO PRAY! We are the ones who water those seeds the enemy is trying to plant and, if we’re not careful, they can take root and grow to the point that we can talk ourselves out of something that God may want for us.
Here’s the thing we can’t forget -- God is faithful. That is what I know to be true so that’s what I went to first, thinking about His faithfulness and praying for Him to correct my thinking. It is unsettling thinking of how change can impact our comfort. Even saying that out loud makes me cringe a bit because I am working so hard at trying to remind myself that God isn’t concerned with my comfort, especially if He’s trying to bring me to my calling. A season of discomfort or misplaced items may be the very thing I need to endure to come out of the wilderness a new person. Maybe that speaks to you too!
God calmed me during my time with Him. He gave me the peace I needed and now I feel like I’m back to dreaming again instead of worrying.
There is a saying that goes like this: “If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.” I used to believe that to be true and, in a sense, it is. But I am challenged to change it up a bit to sound more like this: If it’s meant for me, God will bring it to be. It’s never going to be all up to me. If I keep that sort of mentality, it will be up to me and my flesh is weak. I need God’s help and sometimes the help of others to move in a season, to see my dreams come to pass, to make certain changes and worth taking steps into the unknown.
God will open the doors, make the numbers work and bring it all together in His timing. That doesn’t mean it will be easy. It will always be a process, but with God, we can dream and see those dreams come true. I’m living one of those dreams right now, married to a man I adore, mom to a beautiful daughter who inspires me, living in a home that warms my heart, and going to a church I love. So while it’s scary not knowing, it’s comforting that He does . And when I can’t be in control, it’s good to know that He is.
It's Time to Let Go
