I absolutely love to hear people’s dreams! Often times, I believe, the dreams that are inside of a person are a greater indicator of their character than their actual position in life at the moment! Maybe, that is because I am on a path … A journey, and I would hate to be identified by my current position! I currently work a menial job, for too little pay, with a horrible schedule! From the outside looking in, it is not apparent, and often from the inside looking out, it is hard to remember, that this is not the destination, this is simply the path …
I have a dream! There is something burning on the inside of me that compels me (most days) to suck it up, put on my big-boy panties, and drag myself to my mundane, menial, underpaid job! The challenge for me, and for most I would presume, is not to lose sight of the dream …
It is easy, and some would say right, to believe that the dream will just somehow magically come true … But that is not faith, that is a fairytale!
The truth is … DREAMS DON’T WORK … People do!
A few points of practical application:
I. Write the vision and make it plain … Habakkuk 2:2
I once read (or heard - I listen to a lot of teaching) that only 5% of people write their goals down … Of those who do, 95% accomplish them. This is a remarkable statistic! How do I assure that I have a 95% chance of accomplishing a goal … WRITE IT DOWN!
There are several reasons that this is necessary:
1. We filter the things we write - You won’t write it down if it is not important to you!
2. Writing it prevents denial, it is/was inside of you - It is always there to remind you!
3. A written goal is measurable - It prevents you from stopping short!
II. With a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other … Nehemiah 4:17
Nehemiah is considered by leaders to be one of the greatest leadership books ever written. The people were faced with a, seemingly, impossible task and an enormous enemy! Still, “So we built the wall … because the people had a mind to work.”
Never forget that if your dream is worth dreaming, there will be opposition … Pick up your tools and your weapons and get to it!
III. … Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and your virtue with knowledge … II Peter 1:5
One of the most ignorant of all of the faith statement (this will be unpopular in faith circles) is, “I have my faith and that’s enough!” Your faith, your dream, while awesome, are not enough! You have to do the work! The Amplified version of II Peter 1:5 makes it very clear. “For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence)”
For faith to be effective, it must have several things standing beside it:
1. Diligence - persevering application.
2. Effort - conscious exertion of power: hard work.
3. Intelligence - the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations.
(all of the above are courtesy of http://www.merriam-webster.com)
For your dream to come true, you will have to apply yourself with perseverance, consciously work hard, and gain understanding and learn to deal with the situations that arise!
So … Dream, dream big, DREAM HUGE DREAMS!
And then … GET TO WORK!
