Over the past couple of months I've heard a lot of criticism about dreamers... Ya know, people like me... and deep down, people like you.
My ears have caught it in many different forms: Millennial bashing, "Common Sense" worship, a general "Calm down, and just be normal (like me)" attitude... The criticism is that dreamers tend to be dissatisfied with normal, everyday life. They don't function well at normal jobs. They're self centered. They make dumb, dream-related decisions instead of pursuing a more stable normal life... the list could continue... All lies, meant to keep us away from trusting the God of the impossible.
Dreamers are bashed on all sides with profuse intellectual disdain. And at the same time, dreamers are uplifted by our culture's warm feelings toward miraculous success stories. We are told to dream big and then berated for doing so. Often, the greatest berating comes from inside our own mind and emotions as we see the successes of other's dreams and the failures of own.
But dare to dream big again!
Not because our culture loves or hates it. Not because it's smart or stupid. But because hope requires us to dream. If you refuse to dream, in reality, you're refusing to have hope again. You're refusing to be anything other than discouraged and disappointed. We often fake contentedness and leave our hearts lying in the dust. We often refuse to ask God for what we really want because we don't believe He can or will... or worse, we accuse ourselves of sinful selfishness and refuse God on the basis of our own false humility... But bring your heart's desires again to God. Dreaming means vulnerability with your Dad. It means talking like friends. Guess what your closest friend wants to hear from you today? He wants to hear your deepest desires. Your most heartfelt thoughts. Your biggest dreams. Perhaps He wishes to work in those dreams. Perhaps He has dreams of His own that you could get to be a part of. And maybe it will all work together for your good.
So don't be afraid to dream again. For some of you, you'll feel like your dreams are a far distant land that can't even exist. And for others, you'll try to dream and realize you currently don't know how. But dare to dream big anyways. Look outside and see the world around you. See the vast creativity of God in nature. Now start to picture your dreams and measure them against what you see. Do your dreams match the vastness of God's? See if you can't dream the same way God did when He created the world and the heavens. You'll find great joy when you try.
Then write them down, one by one. Tell God how you feel about them, honestly. Open up your heart and start asking God for the "big ones" and don't be afraid to pursue it. God loves it when we dream with Him. He won't accuse you like others are accustomed to doing. He loves your heart and wants to be in it. Let Him in again.
