Dream Big

What is your dream for this year?  When we get to the end of the year together, what do we want to say has been achieved in our personal lives and in Citylife Women. What are the hopes and the dreams that we have. God wants us to have hopes and dreams. He wants us to think big and not to limit him by our small thinking.
God has plans for us, he has dreams for us to live out within his kingdom.

God's dream is that all of us would live in communion with him, in relationship that is confident and secure and from which we can step out into the world and his purpose for us. What is your dream? How big is it? What is your life dream? When we choose to live according to God's purpose, he says that nothing we think of will be to big for him.

Let's not get caught up in small thinking and small mindedness. Let's not get caught up in our own 'stuff'. As women, God has a plan and purpose for us to pursue, he has a dream for our lives that is bigger than us, but not bigger than him. In Ephesians 3:20 God says that he is able to do exceedingly abundantly and so much more than we could ask or think. We know this and we understand this but do we actually believe it and put it into practice in our lives.

What are you dreaming for? What is your vision for your family, your relationships, your workplace, your job etc.

Joel 2:28,29
Then after doing all these things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people,
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams and your young men will see visions.
On those days I will pour out my Spirit , even on servants - men and women alike.

God says that his Spirit will fall, he will enable all to have dreams and visions. "Even on servants" implies that even those who filled what would be called a 'lowly' position would not miss out. we are not so familiar with servants but God is clear. The opportunity is available to all. At the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, this prophecy was fulfilled. God's Spirit was poured out. That includes us! This is for all people everywhere who believe.

God's desire is that we dream and dream big. Joseph had big dreams. They seemed impossible dreams. But God brought them to pass. God says that nothing is impossible for him. He is able to do so much more than we could even dream about. It took time for the dream to be fulfilled, it took Joseph away from his home and onto a foreign land, but his dream was fulfilled. As a result, many nations were saved from famine, his family were saved.

Joseph was diligent whoever he was placed. When he was placed into slavery he worked diligently at what he was given to do. God blessed his desire to serve well. When he ended up in prison, he didn't whinge, he just got about serving where he was and in due time, God lifted him up. Are we too proud to serve in the humble things, because we have a big dream? Joseph wasn't, he was prepared to serve in the whatever was at hand and God honoured it. Read his story for yourself in Genesis 37-45.

What are your hopes and dreams? When we have hopes and dreams we can apply faith and start to do what God is calling us to. God has a dream for us, and he makes a way. God had a dream for Paul the apostle. Paul had his own plans and ideas. His petty dream was to persecute Christians when he found them. But God got a hold of him.

In Acts 9:1-15 we read of his conversion and the change in his game plan. Paul saw that there was something better for him, when he got on board with God's agenda, and dream for his life. Paul's dream changed his life from one of persecuting others to one of taking the gospel message further than anyone else had taken it. It was a dream to see people saved by God's love that took him to nations, into the presence of Kings and onto a journey of life that was much more exciting than his original plan for himself.

There are some questions that can help us.

Where are you up to in your journey of faith? What does your relationship with God look like?
Am I fighting God's plan for my life?

Paul had been fighting against God's plan, but when he had a revelation of who Jesus is, he stopped fighting. In fact, Jesus said to him "its useless to fight against my will". Girls, if you are fighting against God's will for your life, you won't get far, but if you stop fighting and get on board, you will go places you dreamed of and some that you haven't even dreamed of yet. But God has dreamed of them for you.

When we are on a journey, its always good to stop, take a look at where we are and assess what we need to do to move forward.We can reflect on where we are up to. Have we followed the right path and direction, or do we need to make an adjustment? When I go away, I know where I want to head to. This is my "dream". But I won't get there if I don't do anything about it. I won't fulfil my dream if I don't take steps to make it happen. There is preparation - research and booking, there is saving up. Then I check how I'm going, and I start out driving and then along the way I assess where I'm up to, how far I've come and what I need to do to cover the final stages etc.

What is working for me? What obstacles am I facing? Are they real obstacles or imagined ones? What do I need to do to make progress?

There will always be things going well, and things that are not easy. Joseph had some obstacles in his life, but he served diligently anyway. He knew that he had some things that he needed to do. He could not get out of slavery himself, or out of prison, that was in the hands of other people and out of his control. But he knew what to do to make progress. He knew to serve with excellence and a good attitude, he knew to keep his heart right and his efforts paid off. He was recognised for his diligence, his honesty and his good attitude. Eventually he was brought before Pharaoh and within a moment of time his destiny was achieved and his dream was fulfilled.

How committed are we?

Dreams take commitment. Dreams don't just happen, they take time and energy.

How committed am I to the process and to seeing my dream fulfilled? What am I doing with my time?

So often we find ourselves time pressed, but is it because we are living a full life pursuing our dreams or is it because we spend a lot of time mucking around, and wasting time on things that are not important. I'm not talking about taking time out when you need it. Part of a healthy existence is quality down time, time to relax and to recharge. I'm talking about the time and energy we waste on useless things, the hours on Facebook, or other social media etc.

When we answer these questions, we can ask some final questions.

What changes do I want to embrace? What opportunities are there right now, for me to embrace?

When we know where we are up to and where we want to go, we can look at the changes we need to make and then make them. When I am heading in the wrong direction, I only need to make a few changes and I'm back on track. When I'm heading in the right direction, I may need to make some changes to stay on track.

There are many amazing and wonderful opportunities for each one of us.

What is God asking you to embrace today?