Have you ever had a dream? A dream so big and unattainable it could have only been dreamed up by a God-sized imagination? Have you ever felt a slow-burning desire for purpose? A way you could make your mark and contribution?
I understand dreams. I dream a lot. Too much even. Every other day I have a new idea. One day, it’ll be how a job can be done more efficiently other times how my University’s Alumni Association could have a greater impact. I have ideas all the time! They’re overflowing. But sometimes my dreams aren’t just ways to improve other people’s processes, they’re all my own.
What about you? Do you have a dream? What wakes you up in the middle of the night? What have you held on to in your heart, waiting for it to come to reality? What’s your dream?
Dreams let you move beyond your here and now. They let you move past your circumstances…move past what everyone has ever told you you can do or be or what has ever been done before.
Big Hairy Audacious Goals
I once read about BHAGs. Do you know what a BHAG is? James Collins and Jerry Porras coined this term in their 1994 book, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. It’s your “Big Hairy Audacious Goal.” It’s your vision or dream. It’s the crazy-big place you’re trying to go.
In January of this year, I felt impressed that God was asking me, what’s your BHAG? That impression was just a small impression in my heart, but I felt it. It was like I was being given permission by God to dream. This wasn’t me seeing somebody’s something and telling them how they could do it better. This was me getting permission to dream.
Soon after feeling this impression, I was surfing the internet looking for some information and I happened on a church’s website. Down in the lower right-hand corner, they had a blog post there about BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) and I felt further impressed to continue dreaming.
Do You Have a Dream?
Do you have a dream you’re holding on to? Something that’s too big and scary and audacious to even share with the people around you? It could be a career you want to pursue or the family you want to have. It could be a talent you want to develop or a place you want to go? What’s your dream?
Sometimes as a people who follow God or are thinking about following God, we might think our dreams can only be at the church or in the religious arena, but did you know there are many ways you can make an impact for God? It could be as you’re fighting for justice in the courtroom, as you get in front of an audience to sing, the way you interact with children at a childcare centre or the way you stand up for people on the street. Dreams come in all different packages, in different shapes and sizes.
Abraham’s Dream
Abraham had a dream. It was planted in the seed of God’s promise. God told him he would have a son after he and his wife were too old. While the dream sounded amazingly promising, Abraham didn’t see how it could become reality so he laughed (Genesis 17:17). God put this dream in Abraham’s heart and then it was almost like God left it sitting there, hanging in the air without any way for it to become reality.
It lay dormant in his heart for many, many years, without a sign of life. No sprout of hope. Just a dream.
Later, the dream was confirmed by God telling them again that they’d have a baby. This time, Sarah laughed at the dream. Have people even laughed at your dream? Have you ever laughed at your own dream? Has it seemed too God-sized to become reality? Is it a dream that God placed in your heart? Is it a dream that God can receive glory through? Then push through. Trust Him. Give the dream back to God and see how he can give it life.
Mary’s Dream
I love reading Luke 2:19. It’s the story of Mary after giving birth to baby Jesus. She’s struck with a new mother’s amazement having just brought life into the world.
Lately, I’ve seen several women in my life stare with love and awe at the new little life they hold in their arms. They dream of all the possibilities they hold in their arms.
For Mary, crowning this moment was the fact that she knew what a miracle this birth was. Then, she started receiving visitors to congratulate her on her birth. There’s nothing too unusual about this…it’s the Middle East after all. Of course visitors would have been spilling in and out to get a look at the new bub. The unusual part is the visitors she was receiving. Shepherds she had never seen before who learned about the birth from some angels in the sky. Imagine you’ve just had a baby and people, and not just any people, but shepherds, show up at your hospital room saying some angels told them about the birth of your baby. Crazy, right??
Every mother thinks her newborn baby is the bee’s knees, but to have random people showing up off the street wanting to catch a glimpse at your child because angels announced his birth…it’s a lot to take in. Imagine the moment. Imagine it dawning on her – the purpose surrounding the birth had to be breathtaking. It was striking to Mary. Luke 2:19 says, “Mary kept all of these things and pondered them in her heart.” She held a dream, a promise that God gave her, in her arms, close to her heart.
What about you? What are you pondering in your heart? What dream are you holding on to?
Even as I write this blog post, I’m listening to WJOU.org, my college radio station. I need a bit of noise to block out my husband who’s sitting next to me playing video games with a friend. I didn’t think too much of the songs. Then a couple of songs came on that started speaking to my heart, first the song “No Weapon Formed Against Me” was playing and the following lines began to play:
God will do what He said He would do
He’s not a man that He should lie
He will come through
Say God will do what He said He would do
He will stand by His word
He will come through
It spoke to me because God will come through with what he said he will do. I know God will make my God-sized dreams reality. Right after that song, Shirley Murdock came on with “Dream that Will Not Die” and the lyrics reiterated the words God has been speaking into my life:
“God gave me a dream that would not die,
God cannot lie.
God, showed me a dream that would not die,
a dream cannot die.
Oh the promises of God…hold on until the very end.
Do you have a dream you’re holding in your heart? Something you believe God told you He would bring to pass? Share it with me. What is the dream God has placed in your heart? Send me an e-mail and let me know. I’d love to hear from you!
Keep dreaming!