If you're dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough.
I've been reading in the book of Genesis over the past few days,
and I came across the story of Sarah.
Sarah was old in age and was unable to have any children with her husband.
She was barren.
I can't help but feel for Sarah and her desperation to have a child.
My heart goes out to her.
It was in fact, her dream.
She dreamed to have a child with the man that she loved,
her beloved Abraham.
She longed to give him a child.
But when she thought her dream was gone,
she decided to give it away to someone else...her maid servant, Hagar.
Genesis 16:1-2
Sarai, Abram's wife, hadn't yet produced a child.
She had an Egyptian maid named Hagar.
Sarai said to Abram, "God has not seen fit to let me have a child. Sleep with my maid. Maybe I can get a family from her."
Abram agreed to do what Sarai said.
I have to believe that Sarah had come to her wits end.
Seriously!
She must have been so very desperate to give not only her dream away to another woman,
but her husband as well.
It's one thing to hand over her dream, but her man?
Seriously?!
Not to mention, she thought God had found her unfit to have a child.
Is it because she doubted God's love for her?
Is it because she felt unworthy of being a mother?
Is it because she listened to the voices of others saying it wasn't possible?
Did the laughing and snickering behind her back from her neighbors become too much for her to bear?
Was her dream so big and unbelievable that it scared her?
I have to believe, that Sarah just grew tired of waiting on her dream.
Her heart must have ached within her to hold that dream in her arms.
She saw nothing being produced from her dream,
and eventually gave up on it.
And even though things get worse for her,
and quite messy between her and Hagar...
uugh...that's a shocker,
God redeems her story.
It didn't matter if Sarah had given up on her dream or not,
God hadn't given up on it.
God speaks to Abraham saying...
Genesis 17:16
"I'll bless her-yes! I'll give you a son by her!
Oh, how I'll bless her! Nations will come from her;
kings of nations will come from her."
Even though Sarah was looking for her dream to be fulfilled through someone else,
God's dream for her was still inside of her.
Even though her circumstances were bleak,
and she was way past the age of even being able to conceive children,
her dream was fulfilled.
He was building it within her the whole time,
and preparing her for it,
even though she didn't see the evidence of it.
Not even her doubt could unravel the dream God placed within her.
It makes me wonder...
how many of us give up on our dream because we don't see it coming to pass?
Do we pass it to the person next to us, the one we feel is more qualified to fulfill it?
Do we feel unworthy of the dream we have?
Do we feel that God doesn't love us enough to fulfill the dream inside of us?
Do we listen to the voices of others telling us that our dream just isn't possible?
Do our current circumstances seem bleak and we feel there is no way a dream can be born?
Do we think that our dream is just too hard for God to fulfill?
Is it so big that it scares us?
Are we just too tired of waiting for it to happen?
Do we give our dream away?
Be encouraged today!
Dream and dream big!
Hold onto your dream.
Sarah's dream was big, but it does come to pass.
Her dream is fulfilled!
God gives her a son named Isaac, meaning "laughter".
Laughter means the experience or manifestation of joy.
God gave Sarah her dream and wrapped it in joy everlasting!
Genesis 21:5-6
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born.
Sarah said,
"God has blessed me with laughter
and all who get the news will laugh with me!
Whoever would have suggested to Abraham
that Sarah would one day nurse a baby!
Yet here I am! i've given the old man a son!"
God not only blessed her with a child,
He blessed every generation that came from her.
Every. One.
Kings of nations came from her!
If I'm not mistaken...
you are part of the blessing!
Your dream,
the one inside of you,
has not been forgotten by God
so don't give up on it!
Not even your doubt can unravel the dream God has placed within you.
God has great plans for you and your life!
You may feel like all is lost, but God will redeem your story!
God is the Father of Dreams.
The stars, the galaxies, the earth and everything in it is a dream of His that came true.
You are one of His dreams.
You are His most precious dream!
Your dreams are His dreams!
He is growing a dream inside of you, and one day soon,
you will birth it.
And just as Sarah...
you will shout for joy when your dream comes true!
Ephesians 5:14
...for it is light that makes everything visible.
This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
Don't give your dream away...
just imagine what greatness God may bring from it.
"God is preparing you for what He has prepared for you."
~~Christine Caine
It didn't matter if Sarah had given up on her dream or not,
God hadn't given up on it.
God speaks to Abraham saying...
Genesis 17:16
"I'll bless her-yes! I'll give you a son by her!
Oh, how I'll bless her! Nations will come from her;
kings of nations will come from her."
Even though Sarah was looking for her dream to be fulfilled through someone else,
God's dream for her was still inside of her.
Even though her circumstances were bleak,
and she was way past the age of even being able to conceive children,
her dream was fulfilled.
He was building it within her the whole time,
and preparing her for it,
even though she didn't see the evidence of it.
Not even her doubt could unravel the dream God placed within her.
It makes me wonder...
how many of us give up on our dream because we don't see it coming to pass?
Do we pass it to the person next to us, the one we feel is more qualified to fulfill it?
Do we feel unworthy of the dream we have?
Do we feel that God doesn't love us enough to fulfill the dream inside of us?
Do we listen to the voices of others telling us that our dream just isn't possible?
Do our current circumstances seem bleak and we feel there is no way a dream can be born?
Do we think that our dream is just too hard for God to fulfill?
Is it so big that it scares us?
Are we just too tired of waiting for it to happen?
Do we give our dream away?
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Be encouraged today!
Dream and dream big!
Hold onto your dream.
Sarah's dream was big, but it does come to pass.
Her dream is fulfilled!
God gives her a son named Isaac, meaning "laughter".
Laughter means the experience or manifestation of joy.
God gave Sarah her dream and wrapped it in joy everlasting!
Genesis 21:5-6
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born.
Sarah said,
"God has blessed me with laughter
and all who get the news will laugh with me!
Whoever would have suggested to Abraham
that Sarah would one day nurse a baby!
Yet here I am! i've given the old man a son!"
God not only blessed her with a child,
He blessed every generation that came from her.
Every. One.
Kings of nations came from her!
If I'm not mistaken...
you are part of the blessing!
Your dream,
the one inside of you,
has not been forgotten by God
so don't give up on it!
Not even your doubt can unravel the dream God has placed within you.
God has great plans for you and your life!
You may feel like all is lost, but God will redeem your story!
God is the Father of Dreams.
The stars, the galaxies, the earth and everything in it is a dream of His that came true.
You are one of His dreams.
You are His most precious dream!
Your dreams are His dreams!
He is growing a dream inside of you, and one day soon,
you will birth it.
And just as Sarah...
you will shout for joy when your dream comes true!
Ephesians 5:14
...for it is light that makes everything visible.
This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
Don't give your dream away...
just imagine what greatness God may bring from it.
"God is preparing you for what He has prepared for you."
~~Christine Caine
God appeared to Isaac saying...
Genesis 26:3-4
I'm giving you and your children all these lands, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I'll make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands. All the nations of the Earth will get a blessing for themselves through your descendants.
I loved this post. I was sarah at one time in my life. All I wanted was to have a child with my husband. I cried and begged and pleaded. I was certain my dream to be a mom aligned with odd plan for me. That was my hearts desire. Doctors kept telling me no. Even my body told me no by miscarrying not once but twice. I had all but given up my dream when one rainy day driving to church alone(my husband was working) I heard Gods voice so loud it was as if he was in the seat next to me. He asked me,"am I enough?" I started crying and was very thoughtful about my response. Was god enough? If no child came was he enough to sustain my heart? Did I believe Jer.29:11? I answered YES! Yes God you are enough! I love Jer. 29:11 but I love the verse that follows vs.12 then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. Sigh....so good. 12 years later and my dream has been fulfilled through adopting 2 girls that really have changed my world. Not to mention their birth moms who I love and respect. My dream WAS gods dream his was just better. His grew me, changed me for the better. Made me step out of myself and love people I would have never met or had the chance to love. It's allowed me to pour Christ into two little lives that ought not have that had they not come into our home. I love when our dream is Gods dream but love it even more when his dreams for us are so BIG that we can't even wrap our brains around the gifts he has for us. So good. So so good!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your heart here with me. Uuugh. You have blessed me more than you know. Your precious heart for your girls...so beautiful. My dream was to have a son. After four miscarriages I thought..."Okay, girls it is. Im fine with that God." The doctors said my own body was killing my boy babies. They wanted me to do natural selection. But God...He "one upped" those doctors and gave us a boy! Yes, God's dreams are so much bigger than ours and He uses them to mold us into something usable for Him. It's so terribly humbling. I will never fully fathom His love. You my friend are a gift. Thank you for your words.
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