Do you have a dream which has not been fulfilled?

Is there a vision you have received from the Lord which has not come to pass?

Are you ready to quit and walk away from God’s perfect will for you?

Before you do, read this.  I want to encourage you to keep believing, not in the dream or vision, but in the One who planted it in you before the beginning of time!

I have a big vision, and  I am a big thinker.  In many ways this is a blessing from God, but often is serves to frustrate me when I cannot take my eyes off of the big picture long enough to find the small steps which need to be taken in order to accomplish it.  Maybe you can relate.  It is fun to imagine the end, to see yourself in all of God’s glory, living out His perfect will for you.  It is rewarding to see the lives that will be changed as a result of His mighty work in your life, and yet, He will never release us into the realization of the dream without preparing us for the responsibility.  This is where we can tend to have a bit of an attitude problem.  We remember all of the saints who have gone before us, but we forget the struggles they had to endure to live out their destinies.

We think of Abraham as the Father of Faith, and yet overlook the many years he had to wait for the fruition of God’s vision for him.  As a matter of fact, he grew so impatient as he waited for God’s promise to be fulfilled that he birthed an Ishmael before his prophesied Isaac.

We think of David who at the age of 17 was anointed and appointed by God to be the next King of Israel, and yet he did not take the throne until he was 30, and that was after he had been chased down like a dog, lived like a pauper, fought for his life and acted like a madman.

And we cannot ignore Joseph who had a dream so great his brothers sold him into slavery.  He was falsely accused of a crime he did not commit and spent years in a dungeon forgotten by the world around him.  He had no reason to believe his dream would become a reality, but even still, he lived for his Lord and not for himself, his character was developed in the dungeon and he rose from obscurity to greatness.

There are countless others in the Word and throughout history whose lives will reveal the truth of the scripture in James 1:2-4 “Consider is pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Abraham persevered as did David, Joseph, Paul, Peter, Jesus, Sarah, Samuel, Daniel, King Jehoshaphat, Queen Ester, Moses, Caleb, Joshua, Jonah and I pray your name will be added to this list.

Lately, I was becoming frustrated because the vision of my future is so big that I could not see what I needed to do in this moment.  The brightness of the vision was blinding me to the work which needs to be done before the birthing can begin.  I have been trying to induce labor instead of allowing nature to take it’s course. It made me think of Zechariah 4:10 which states, ” Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” The Lord rejoices to see the work begin!!  Yes, He has planted a destiny within you, but you are to do the work to bring it to completion.  Prepare yourself for the vision.  Do the work that needs to be done now so that when the time comes for you to birth your Isaac, you will be ready.  In this world of incredible medical technology, we can induce birth and rush things along so that they fit our schedule, but the Lord is telling His people to stop living like the world.  Stop trying to make things happen which are not ready to happen.  If you help a butterfly to break free from it’s cocoon, it will die.  If you induce the labor of your destiny, you may risk aborting it.  So I urge you, as I have been urged, to “trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and HE WILL DIRECT YOUR PATH!”

I will share more about this in the coming weeks, but for today ask God  what He would like you to do now to prepare for the vision He has planted within you, and then do it.  Don’t delay, your destiny is waiting!!!