Daring to Dream Again
Overcoming Barriers That Hold You Back
Each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth.
Arthur O'Shaughnessy, 1844-1881
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Many of us had dreams of being astronauts or movie stars or doctors or baseball players. What happened to those dreams? Well, we grew up. Most of us had to adjust to the realities of life. We came up against barriers- we were afraid of heights or couldn't hit a curve ball and those obstacles kept us from ful-filling our childhood dreams.
Some of us continued dreaming, even though our dreams changed. But others were scarred by the disappointment of those lost goals, or we grew comfortable and complacent, and we stopped dreaming.
God also has dreams, or plans, for us, but many Christians have stopped dreaming with him. Maybe once they imagined their lives could be pure and powerful, energized by Gods Spirit. But they smacked into barriers- their own pain or doubt or laziness or blindness. When we stop dreaming, something dies inside us. And when we stop dreaming God's dreams for us, we find our emotions, decisions, and relationships sapped of spiritual vitality.
In the upcoming 50-Day Spiritual Adventure, we invite you to dream again. It takes some courage. Dreams open you up to disappointment, perhaps even ridicule, but they can also bring great joy and satisfaction. And that kind of fulfillment is what we hope God will grant you in the seven weeks we embark on an exciting 50-Day Spiritual Adventure, Daring to Dream Again: Overcoming Barriers That Hold You Back.
Daring to Dream Again: Overcoming Barriers That Hold You Back
For Further Study: Read Philippians 3:1214
In the motion picture The Rookie, coach Jim Morris tells his highschool team, If you dont have dreams, you dont have anything. The kids challenge him to pursue his own dream of playing professional baseball.
The apostle Paul was one who certainly had dreams- spiritual dreams. When he wrote these words to the church in Philippi, he was in prison but hadn't stopped dreaming. I'm not perfect yet, he seemed to say, but I'm not going to let that stop me from trying! Like Paul, we who haven't yet obtained perfection can dream of being whole, faultless men and women in the Lord, doing his will in all things to his glory.
Jim Morris works toward attaining his goal of joining the pros. At the end of The Rookie, as he walks out onto the major league field, we in the audience think elatedly, Wow! He made it! Perhaps one day we too will look in the mirror and say, "Incredible! What a prize!" as we see ourselves having fulfilled the dreams Christ has for us.
Apply the Scriptures
1. What dreams or goals do you have in your life? Which of these dreams are for your spiritual life?
2. Where do you, like Paul, still fall short of perfection?
3. What gets in the way of obtaining your spiritual dreams? In other words, what "past" might you need to forget?
4. How are you straining to reach the end of the race? What specific actions could be necessary for you to continue toward the prize of achieving your dreams?
