Dreaming with God

Open the Word: Galatians 5:13-26

During the summer of 2021, I was getting over a break-up, trying to recover from an injury, about to quit the track team I had been running with at GVSU, questioning my plans for the career I was headed into, and trying to figure out what in the world was next for me. I sought the Lord in His Word, in books, in community, and had a summer full of embracing all that the Lord was doing in my life. It kind of felt like a season of resetting and recentering. I read Dream Big by Bob Goff (it’s a fun read), and one of the activities was listing allllll of your biggest dreams. Not just the realistic ones, not just the ones that others approve of… ALL of them. 

I prayed, I wrote them down, and I surrendered. 

In the fall of 2022, I looked back at that list of dreams and saw how many of them had actually come to fruition, when at the time of writing them, I thought for sure they never would. I hadn’t realized that as I was seeking God, reading His Word and aligning my heart with His will, perhaps HE was the One putting those dreams on my heart. They were dreams only He could lay on my heart, and dreams only He could bring fruition.

I wasn’t dreaming on my own. I was dreaming with God. 

Galatians 5:13-14 says, 

“For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

As believers, it’s tempting to forget the freedom we have in Christ. We want to dream big and radically surrender our lives completely to Jesus Christ, but we grow afraid of the hurdles, the discipline it requires, and the failure. We focus so much on ourselves that we forget the power of God, who is alive and active. As FREE children of God, we are not given a spirit of fear, but of power and love (2 Tim. 1:7). And we get to use this freedom to serve one another in love, walking in close relationship with Jesus. 

Our freedom in Christ makes room for opportunities to do Kingdom-work, to live out God-sized dreams that only He can do. 

As passions and dreams come along, consider these questions: does it glorify God and does it lift up and encourage others?

Galatians 5:16 says, 

“I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh.” 

When we battle against selfish ambition, greed, envy and the empty desires that hold us captive, we dream with Jesus in alignment with His heart. <3 God is so WORTHY of our surrender, hard work and fearless pursuit. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what you have done or have not done, what others say or don’t say—in Christ, none of that has the power to keep you from the work God has set before you. God is greater than all of it and can turn your brokenness into a testimony of His goodness. 

We are here to bring glory to God, to love others, and to stand in awe before God. In an intimate relationship with Him, we find adventure and we see how truly GREAT He is. Listen to the Holy Spirit, soak in the Word of God, and let the God-sized dreams grow. Walk in step with the Spirit, dream with Jesus, and watch Him blow your mind. 

A simple prayer~

Thank You, Holy God, for Your Word and for all the blessings You’ve given me. May your will be my desires. Lay dreams that honor You and love others on my heart. Give me the faith to trust You, the humility to endure the challenges, and the courage to see it all as the adventure that it is. 

What is a God-sized dream He’s laying on your heart? I updated my list. What’s yours? <3