Let God Put a Dream in Your Heart

Let God Put Desire in Your Heart

The Jewish people are still reaping the blessings of Joseph’s dreams today, and so are we, as we learn from his story how God works. And God is still giving dreams to His people, including you and me. He is still making it possible for us to move into the future with hope. The last thing He wants is for us to live in the past, sorrowing over our yesterdays.

God never lives in the past, and He wants to bring you into the future He has in mind. He wants to put His desires into your heart. He wants to give you His dreams for your life.

Even if you feel that your heart has been deadened by adversity to the point that it can no longer receive anything, be assured that your Father can fix that too. He can increase the capacity of your heart. God is ready to resuscitate your dead heart and plant seeds of hope in it.

Let God Fulfill What He Has Promised

Dare to trust God both to give you a dream and to fulfill it. The Bible is clear: “Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it” (1 Thess. 5:24).1 You have not been abandoned to your difficult circumstances. Decide to drop your crutches and follow after Him. God’s plans for you may well seem impossible, but you will be going forward on His strength and wisdom, not your own.

If you get confused or discouraged, review how God has worked in other people, especially your forerunners in the faith in the Bible. Feel the heartbeat of the people who went through daunting—even terrifying—events, tenaciously hanging onto seemingly impossible promises from God. Yes, they made mistakes too (just as we do). Yet God kept taking care of them. They lost hope at times. They took matters into their own hands.

They failed.

But God would not relent. A promise is a promise. When he makes up his mind, he stays the course. He engineers circumstances. He sends encouragement. He revives dreams. He infuses hearts with hope.

He also provides patience. Your dream might take a lifetime; Joseph’s did. Character-building is an inevitable part of the process, and we should welcome it despite the fact that it may not always feel good.

Let God fulfill His particular promises for you—which will differ from His promises for somebody else. We will all be able to learn the same principles from our journeys with God, but our circumstances will not be the same. Some people around you will seem to have it so easy. Don’t dwell on the disparity. Instead help yourself to a good dose of truth from the Word, Psalm 37:1-2, for example:

“Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be jealous of those who do injustice. For they will quickly wither like the grass, and fade like the green herbs.”

Steer clear of fretfulness and envy. When you discover that you are starting to get anxious and easily aggravated (or worse), remember that you belong to God. Ask Him to help you understand your reactions. Place yourself in His strong hands and repent of trying to take care of your world without Him. You can recover your footing with three key words from Psalm 37: Trust. Dwell. Commit.