Dream...Dream, Dream, Dream

Do you remember coming home from school and not having to jump into homework immediately? I would often eat a Ding Dong, have something to drink, and then watch my all-time favorite show, “Gilligan’s Island” on reruns. I may have dreamed of living on a deserted island and other great adventures. Speaking of dreams, I would also often watch reruns of “I Dream of Jeannie.” Some kids watched that and may have begun to dream about having magic powers or becoming an astronaut. Remember “Emergency” and then going outside and being a paramedic? How about “CHiPs?” Tell me you dreamed of riding your motorcycle on the freeways like I did. Tonight I want to talk with you about dreams, but first, let me back up just a bit.

“You guys seem to talk about ‘calling’ a lot” said Noelle as we are having one of those evening, catch-up conversations. “You guys” refers to the people I work with and mostly ME. "Calling" is a spiritual concept that resonates so much with me for lots of reasons. The first reason it is so important is that for years I struggled to understand what career path I should take. I had known one thing for so long and I needed to do something else, but I had no clue what that something else was. I was trying to gain clarity on what vocation would earn me a living and in at least some small way give me joy and a sense that I am living my calling. Today that is a reality for me.

That leads me to the second reason I think the concept of “calling” is so important. The vocation God led me to includes "calling" as a vital component of helping adults discover what is best for them in terms of a college education. That decision is all wrapped up in the idea of their “calling;” of having the courage to step into their calling and do what they able to do to get there. When we have big goals for ourselves and dreams that we are passionate about, that is usually a clue to our calling from God. Many of us need to get tooled up for that calling by going to school, getting training, reading, etc. Many of us lack the courage to step into that calling.

Now back to dreams. I’m not really talking about those movies that play in our heads while we are sleeping. In my experience, seldom do those dreams have anything to do with the reality of my waking life. If I even remember them, they are likely to be really weird or somewhat strange, like the reoccurring dream I used to have. Yes, there were pieces of my real-life mixed with situations that rarely made sense and mixed together so many facets of my world I couldn’t see any meaning in them at all. I’m not saying that the dreams similar to that of Joseph in the Old Testament book of Genesis are non-existent today; dreams that God plants in one’s mind during sleep that have a definite meaning. I’m just saying that in my experience, I have never perceived my dreams to be as such. My dreams have certainly never led me to be sold into slavery by my brother to ultimately become the 2nd in command of my country.

The dreams I am referring to in terms of calling are those dreams we have when we are awake; the dreams we have with our eyes wide open. Those are the dreams related to our likes, our interests, our passions, and yes, our calling. They may start as childhood dreams of becoming a firefighter, a pirate, an Opera diva, a Denver Broncos quarterback, a nurse, a movie star, or a soldier in the USMC. It may develop as we grow older and gain a bit of maturity. We may determine we probably are not suited for the NBA because we are 5’ 7 ¾ inches, or we cannot stand school, and becoming a lawyer seems like a never-ending series of courses. Our dreams often gain clarity as we discover we have great organizational skills, we love to

work with numbers, we enjoy spending hours in a gym, we have overwhelming empathy and compassion for others, we enjoy reading like there is no tomorrow, or people love to hear us sing.

I am convinced that God uses our interests, our likes, the things that bring us joy, our passions, those things that resonate with our inner being, to guide us to our God-given calling. Our calling is often different than our vocation. For example, my calling is to illuminate Jesus and lift Him before those that need to see and know Him. For a long time that took the form of church music ministry. Now, while my calling is still the same, God is giving me the courage to step into my calling in new and different ways.

I recognize that some of you who are reading this are saying “Calling?... I cannot even grasp the thought or idea of having any dreams. I’m not sure if God hasn’t actually abandoned me.” I have some good news for you, my friend. God will NEVER abandon you! On April 2, my special Good Friday blog post will address that truth and you won’t have to take my word for it. I have evidence from a greater authority on the subject. However, the piece of good news I have for you tonight is that YOU are God’s dream! I submit to you The “Simple Gospel” Prayer. It is full of Biblical truth and evidence that you ARE God's dream. It is a prayer that I have prayed over and over again. It goes like this:

God loves me! As much as the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father.

Because of what Christ did on the cross, God can’t love me any more and He cannot and will not love me any less. 

It isn’t because of what I have done or have not done.  God simply loves me!

And all the power that raised Christ from the dead is available to me from the Holy Spirit. All I have to do is ask.

Take some time to bask in God’s “overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love.” In fact, I challenge you to pray this prayer once a day for 30 days. It’s not a magic trick. It’s just the truth we all need to hear, whether we have dreams that seem unreachable or we don’t even have the strength to dream.

God has a calling for you. First and foremost, it is to know Him. And we know Him when we know His Son, Jesus.

Thanks for reading,