For the Dreamers

I had it all planned. I knew exactly what I was going to write, but God placed something new on my heart very recently, and I need to share it with you.

I have been a dreamer my entire life.

There is so much in this world that I want to see and experience. My heart stirs with emotion and I have massive dreams for my life. I’ve always figured that God is the one who placed these dreams in my heart. I’m constantly thinking about them. Maybe you can relate.

But wait, I was missing something.

This week I was warned about the worship we sing and the praise we give to God. I was told that when we sing songs of praise to God, we must really, truly mean the things we tell our Father. We soon sang a song with these lyrics: “If more of you means less of me, then Jesus take everything.”

Woah. Take everything? It was hard for me to think of giving up everything. I thought of Job. Would I want everything to be taken from me like everything was taken from him? Of course not. But if less of me means more of Jesus, then YES, I should be willing to give up everything: my dreams, my wanderlust, my bucket list, my desires, my school, my plans, my comforts and securities, my fears, my doubts, my shame, my guilt… Jesus take it all.

Giving these things to Jesus doesn’t mean I don’t live life with ambition, but it does mean that my motivation is Christ-centered. There is a beautiful life to be lived by pleasing our Father, and sometimes my own desires seemed to get in the way.

Furthermore, my desire of God must not be for the gifts given, but for the Giver, for our Father Himself. I delight in the Lord His mercy, love, and joy already given through His one and only Son. God never needs to prove Himself to me; all the love I could ever need was given at the Cross. I delight in the heart of our Father, who graciously gives us good things in Christ.

I later heard a message about how we must submit ourselves to God and say, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” to the plans He has for us. As my friends sang in worship all around me, I took a moment and told God, “Yes, I am ready to completely give up everything I have and submit to Your plan for my life. If you want me to do something big, I am your girl.”

Jesus has bigger plans for us than we could ever imagine. We must be willing to give up everything- lay down everything at the foot of the cross- and feel the freedom of walking in step with the Father.

I imagine that our world is covered in a cloud. Those who don’t know God are living underneath this fog, but those who know God have seen things clearly because God has opened our eyes. Our lives as Christians, then, are flaming arrows sent by God’s hand to break into the dark shroud to create clarity and light. Truth has shown into my life, and I now can see the subtle lies I have been living under. God is helping me break free from them and see the world through His eyes. Now I get to invest my life in the mission of God, to bring clarity and light to the world.

As I set aside my own dreams, Jesus filled my heart with passion for His plan. Guess what? My dream has been rediscovered. It’s the same dream as before but with a different motivation. I’m no longer striving for success, instead I’m trusting and obeying God.

Can you say, “take everything,” to God? The choice is yours. Sometimes the biggest thing stopping your dream from coming true is you. Make God the number one priority in your life, and allow His plans to be your plans. Replace worldly pleasure with everlasting delight. It is God’s reckless love that chases you down, that leaves the ninety-nine to find you. There is nothing big enough to stand in the way of you and the Father. It is time to say YES to anything and everything He has for you. Say “yes” to God.