The very nature of dreams declares life will be better. God did not make dreams a smoke in mirrors alley of grand disillusionment. He did not pull off a pump-fake. The nature of dreaming sees a better life. The Gospel resurrects dreams.

“For God did did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” ~ John 3:17

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” ~ John 10:10

Life
God wants us to live. We die. (How encouraging, eh?) This leads to three options: focus, apathy or foolishness. God chooses life, He gives life, and He redeems life. God designs life as a thing of beauty. Death is unnatural. Mortality is founded on death. Dreams are founded on eternity. If you lose eternity, you’re left with only apathy and foolishness. God did not intend for us to live in the tyranny of a stoic life, nor does He choose foolishness. Life is a gift. God wants us to live.

Liberty
Only God grants liberty. Depravity enslaves us. Pure and simple. You and I cannot live up to our own moral code, nor another’s. Left to ourselves, we are hopelessly depraved. The Gospel resurrects our dreams. No Gospel, no dreams. Jesus rising from the grave beat down death. In Christ we obtain eternity and mortality becomes a temporary gig. To have liberty one must lose sin. That is the Gospel. Death to life. Sin to just. Slave to liberty. In Christ we are free.

Pursuit of happiness
Open up and embrace your life. If we take God out of the picture, life is incomprehensible. (A big dreary point of Ecclesiastes.) If we focus our dreams on being, vs doing or possessing, dreams will happen. Contentment, humility, compassion, love, mercy, peace and grace are independent of our situation. Being these things creates an eternal impact. It is why a person can have everything in the world and be empty if they lack these things. Jesus did not come to place a burden on us. He came to set us free that we may embrace what life is all about.

River dance
Pursuing God is pursuing happiness. Want to be a dreamer? Focus less about what your dream will look like and focus on God. Pick a direction and run after it. Know full well that God will alter your course like He bends and forms a river. The danger is not losing your dream. The danger is not going after it. In “losing” your dream you’ll find it do be a wild bend in the river or death-defying rapids. Even when your raft is upturned and you’re in hypothermic inducing water, you can look back and laugh. Dance with the current.

The Bottom Line:
God raises dreams from the dead. The Gospel makes dreams possible. Embracing the Gospel is not a tyrannical stoicism, nor a foolish escape hatch. Embracing the Gospel allows us to live a focused life that cherishes life as a gift. liberty founded only upon Christ, and a wild pursuit of happiness. The adventure is not in running from God, but to Him. Jesus rose from the dead. If that does not give you hope nothing will. Reflect on this thought:

“There is nothing better for a man than to eat, drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?”      ~ Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

God gives dreams that sometimes not ours to fulfill. Our life could be the star, middle, or a small part to something far more spectacular. We should still pursue them because they are from God. Think on this:

“And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.” ~ Hebrews 11:39-40

Abraham
He was told his descendants would outnumber the sand on the seashore. He had 2 sons, one his own plan, another God’s plan. To this day, he as yet to see his dream completed.

Joseph
Joseph knew God would return his people to the promise land, so he gave orders concerning his bones. His dream fulfilled by others.

David
David, a man after God’s own heart, dreamed of building the temple. God said no, it was for his heir to do. David took to the task of getting things ready. His son built the temple.

Daniel
Daniel dreamed of his people returning. He prayed three times a day for protection and for it to happen. King Cyrus commissioned Ezra to return to Jerusalem in the year Daniel died.

John
Jesus called John one of the greatest prophets. He prepared the way for Christ and demonstrated humility in his mission. Beheaded, John did not get to see the Gospel accomplished on Earth.

Paul
Paul’s desired to see Israel repent and turn back to God. Even as an apostle to the gentiles, Paul invested much time and writing describing the relationship of Israel and the Church. In full confidence that both would ultimately succeed, Paul was beheaded.

You
Good dreams are about being and are about something bigger than ourselves. If you reject God’s dream for you because you can’t achieve it, then the dream is about you, and not God. The full and meaningful life is one where people pursue the dream God placed on their life. They do not have to be spectacular, but they do have to be fulfilled. A man who desires to have a good home and work hard is just as nobel as a preacher. Size does not matter, pursuit of God does.

The Bottom Line:
God shows who He is through the mosaic of our dreams. God being infinite uses infinite combinations of people and dreams to show who He is. The artist, the farmer, the manager, the politician (yes, they can be saved), the teacher, the tax collector, the murder they can and do show who God is. Dreams are not about what we do or have, but about what God does in and through us where we are. So, wish upon a star. Think of it this way:

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God ; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.” ~ Psalm 19:1-2

Dreams happen on God’s timetable. Pushing for your own dream, rushing it, or doing it all on your own results in nightmares. It is best to put to rest the nightmare.

The rush
Things happen on God’s time table, not ours. God’s dream? Descendants as numerous as sand on the sea-shore. Abraham and Sarah were not exactly at the begatting years. Getting nervous and desiring God’s promise, they rush the dream. This resulted in Ishmael which had lasting consequences. The Middle East peace crisis started from this rushing of dreams. God provided Isaac. Don’t rush it!

The obnoxious
God gives dreams for His benefit more than ours. Joseph exemplified the spoiled brat routine. God granted Joseph a dream. Joseph loudly proclaimed the dream to his family and he rubbed it in. It didn’t help matters when Jacob spoiled Joseph. Few handle a loud mouth well. Joseph rubbed it in, and his brothers rubbed him out. The first half of his story is down down down. Joseph learned in the end. God meant it for good.

The angered
God allows opposition to dreams. The best and longest lasting dreams go through a crucible. They walk through the desert. The hardest opposition you will face is from God’s people. Look at Moses. Can you imagine leading a grumbling, complaining group of people? (The Apostle Paul went through this as well.) The masses viewed Moses as a failure. Again, crying out for water, Moses gained instructions from God (smart move) and then out of anger did not follow God’s instructions. Moses lead people to the promise land, but Moses did not enjoy the promise land. Choose grace not bitterness when faced with opposition.

The mimic
God shows Himself uniquely in you. There really isn’t a book on how to accomplish the dream God gives you. One of the biggest nightmares you can have is trying to be like someone else. God states in Deuteronomy 17 that “when you desire to have a king like everyone else…” This trek started in 1 Samuel. God wanted to be king, but Israel wanted a human ruler like everyone else. This lead to division and the ultimate downfall of Israel. Despite falling & failing, Israel awaits restoration. Learn from others, but don’t mimic. Focus on who God wants you to be.

The lazy
God expects us to move forward and live while we wait for His timing. Christ promised to return at any moment, known at the rapture. Some in the Thessalonian church sat and waited for it to come, and so the puritan work ethic was formed: no work, no eat. If you want your dream, work towards it, live, enjoy life, but in this wait for God’s timing. God uses the faithful. and the repentant.

The requiem
If you want a requiem for the nightmare, sing “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” Nightmares result when we think the dream is about us. I am sorry, IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU! You are precious to God. God paid dearly for you. God intimately and artistically made you. God delights in you being you. But make no mistake about it, God did all of this to reflect His glory off of your life.

The Bottom Line:
There is a lag between God clarifying His dream for your life and it happening. The nightmare happens when we cease to patiently wait upon God and skip the lag time. The scriptures describes a massive wake of damage by people who rush their dream. Focus on this key thought:

“Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings lie eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” ~ Isaiah 40:31