the blue
& PURPLE
- dream dream dreams... -
purpose on purpose
desperate
for direction
Dane vosler
october 16, 2022
Many years ago I attended a normal Sunday morning church service with my wife and kids. I sat in the back near a friend of mine and my wife. This church was re-forming with new leadership, although most everyone there had been a part of the existing church.
I remember the new pastor getting up, ready to give his message; he said he wanted to talk about dreams. And I think the pastor knew what he was getting into because it didn’t go as most people would expect.
Part way through his message, he struck such a deep chord with some of the people there that it started causing deep wounds to surface, particularly for one woman there. If you came into the service when this woman began to cry out, you would think he was holding a deliverance service. This wasn’t a ‘preach’ anymore; this was a family meeting now.
At the time, I thought maybe this one woman was overreacting to something he said. Only many years later have I begun to understand the depths of what this woman was being delivered from, and into.
Surrender vs. Dreams
Dreams are so foreign to so many believers. And when I say ‘dreams’, I’m talking about desires, plans – dreams from the heart. God uses nighttime dreams often, but this isn’t really what I’m talk about.
Most believers, if I dare to say, don’t even believe in having dreams. They are too focused on surrender and obedience that they think dreams are worldly or perhaps just idealistic; this couldn’t be further from the truth. And yes, God’s truth.
See, dreams are the ‘other side’ of the coin that God is waiting for. He is waiting for his children to dream up how this world should be changed, made, and altered forever. These true God dreams aren’t “cool ideas” for what to do for a career. And because many believers have this view of dreams, they feel that dreaming is worldly or unimportant.
These dreams also do not come about by surrender and obedience; they are merely carried and grown by them. If you’re waiting on God to download the next dream to you, you may be waiting for far too long.
When David had the thought to build a temple for the Lord’s ark, Nathan the prophet confirmed it by saying, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.” (2 Sam. 7:3). This is the exact opposite of obedience. David is not asking God to build a temple, nor is David asking, “God, I’ll go wherever and do whatever you want me to do.” No, Nathan says, “…the Lord is with you.” Did David get a confirmation, a greenlight to go? Yes. But was it God’s idea, asking David to build? Absolutely not.
God Dreams vs. Everything Else
God Dreams get a bad rap because most people don’t do the work to uncover a real dream from God. A God Dream will not come about by mere calculation and logic; it must be dug up from your innermost self.
God Dreams are deeply planted in your spiritual DNA, and you will not be able to get them out without digging. Prayer, writing, experimenting, and most importantly of all, hearing from God. God planted these divine dreams in you long ago, and there are more than one (so don’t get held up if you have a failed dream in your past). But you must labor to find them.
God Dreams are also kingdom-first, and kingdom-all; this is how you can tell the difference between a God dream, and something else. If you dream isn’t rooted in the kingdom, costly to yourself and doesn’t move people closer to God, it isn’t a God dream. Those types of dreams may be good things, but most likely they are hobbies, or jobs, or something else.
Looking back on David as an example, he exclaimed, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” (2 Sam. 7:2). David already had his palace – that was a hobby…or ‘good idea’, but not a real God dream. David had joy, and sadness in his heart that there was no temple for God, especially after David had everything he already wanted. David wanted to take care of the Lord, and his things, and his people.
Purpose on Purpose
I am convinced that one of the largest plagues of believers today is a lack of dreams. I also believe that most believers don’t even feel capable of stewarding such a mighty dream. And that is true unless you have the Holy Spirit.
Depending on where you are in your walk, you may not be in a season of executing your next dream. When I was first born again, I was focused on one thing and one thing only: following Jesus.
I would only do what I felt like he told me. I would experiment, try things, listen and act. But my main focus was to just listen, and obey.
However, this isn’t meant to last, at least not in this way. Obedience never goes away when following the Lord. But the Lord is looking for you to become who you fully are. And he deposited many…many things into you when he shaped you in the palm of his hand. For you not to discover them truly makes the Lord sad.
Obedience will help you sustain a dream, but God will never make you find one. He will let you wait forever. Why? Because like giving money away, you must do it joyfully. It must be your choice, your joy and your desire to give back to God.
If you choose not to chase dreams God has planted in your heart, God will love you just as he loves all of his children. But he wants you to grow, to be like him, and use the creativity he gave you, and talk with him about it as a friend.
They All Look Different
The only caution I give now is that you must know that all dreams look different. Your dream may be similar to someone else’s, but it will never operate the exact same.
I’ve executed on a couple dreams, and they were glorious and painful, all wrapped up into one amazing God bundle. When dreams fail, or fail to meet your expectations, this is merely a part of normal Christian life. There are ways to avoid pitfalls (no time here to address those guardrails), but ‘failure’ is not something to be feared. Comparison is.
One of my dreams was to start a software company. Before I even knew to dream this idea, the Lord told me, “Before you start (uprooting this dream), do not worry about money.” Man! What great advice. The Lord wanted me to be sure that no matter what I uncovered, my heart was pure, and for his people, and his purposes.
Almost immediately after surrendering ‘the how the dream could happen’, I knew I was going to start a software company. I knew I was already a software company owner in my heart. It was like stone – solid all the way through. I ran to my wife Kinsey and told her, “I’m going to start a software company!” And she looked at me, puzzled and delighted and knew right then I wasn’t lying.
My heart when I discovered this was to bring kingdom to the business world. To bring life to the often sterile corporate marketplace. I wanted unbelievers to see Jesus in their habitat. And that was my plan. And it happened.
My brother-in-law, on the other hand, has always mentioned off the cuff to me that he wanted to ‘sell everything and preach the gospel.’ For many years, I thought he was just acting tough since he would say this every so often. But after a few dramatic experiences with the Lord, the Lord made a way, and my brother saw a path forward. He sold his house, got his family, and now goes all around the nation delivering people of demons, baptizing them and spreading the good news of our Lord Jesus to wherever the Holy Spirit leads.
One dream required building something (mine). My dream required certain resources, working in the business system, and working with many foreigners. My brothers dream required selling everything, getting an RV, and traveling constantly. Both are God dreams, and both are changing people and bringing people close to God and his goodness.
Failure
Failure cannot be feared, because you will experience it. Even while executing on a dream you know is a God dream, you will fail. But you must understand that if you’re not living in your dream presently, you will never live in it.
We will get it wrong, and miss the mark. It may be sin, or it may be ignorance. But rest assured you will mess up along the way. Thankfully the Lord has provided for these.
Once you discover your dream, you should already be living in it, at least in your heart. And soon after you should be taking steps to accomplishing your dream.
Nonetheless, when you discover the dream, every day is purposeful and joyful, because you are doing this onto the Lord. You should experience that even the smallest step forward is living in your dream. If you’re waiting for the building, or business, or this or that to be completed, you may have lost your focus.
It’s easy to get focused on the thing. If your dream requires a building, then you need a building and that’s that. But can you still gather people together somewhere else until that building comes? Of course. And if you’re not enjoying the true nature of the dream (e.g. fellowship) along the way, and are only focused on the manifestation of a thing, you will be greatly disappointed.
For me, this was my greatest ‘failure’. When I would get my eyes off God’s people (everyone), and my responsibility to them, and fix my eyes on the accomplishment of ‘the next step’ or level of accomplishing or acquiring a thing, massive disappointment would set in. I felt like a failure, especially compared to the world who was so successful at the thing I was trying to build.
This comes back to the the original God Dream vs. good idea. The biggest failure is turning a God Dream into a good idea, forgetting the real heart of the dream God planted long ago – to love his people and bring them closer to him. If you maintain your focus on that, all other ‘failures’ are merely bumps in the road.
They Aren't Forever...Sort Of
The last thing I can say and exhort you about regarding dreams is that aren’t forever – they typically have an expiration. Let me explain.
Dreams have an eternal impact: on you, on the people you’re serving and those your dream touches along the way. That impact will last for eternity because the work you are doing will last for eternity. It’s God work, and he will not forget it.
However, if you discover a dream, and you do nothing with it, it can expire. You may need to act. You may need to wait. But you definitely need to talk to God about it and figure out what’s next.
Or if you are executing a dream, and you drag it out by changing direction too many times, or getting your eyes on the ‘thing’ instead of his people, you expire the dream. Only you can know if God is still supporting you in his endeavor. If he’s not, you will usually feel pretty worn out because you are working to accomplish a God dream now in your strength.
Find out if the dream you have is still fresh. And if so, act. Write it down. Make plans, and talk to God constantly about it.
Very good 👍
Thank you!