What Holds Us Back from God's Dream?

God has a plan for your life - a dream for your life. He wants to use you for a greater purpose than you could ever imagine for yourself. You are like a blank canvas, and God wants to paint something beautiful through your life - something that will point others to Jesus.

The problem is that we have mental blocks and emotional barriers that keep us asking, "How could God ever use me?" To move beyond these limitations, we need to shift our thinking and lean into our imagination.

Every great accomplishment in history began as an idea in someone's imagination. Psychologists tell us that if you really want to live, you have to learn how to dream. But we need more than just a dream - we need God's dream for our life.

What Is God's Dream for You?

Scripture tells us: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." God's dream for your life is mind-boggling and fantastic - so much greater than we can imagine.

One of the greatest gifts God gave us is our imagination. The ability to imagine is what makes human beings different from animals. We were made in God's image, so like our Creator, we are creative.

How Do I Discover and Live Out God's Dream?

If you want to live out God's dream for your life, here are four essential steps:

1. Don't Doubt

Doubt is one of the greatest enemies of God's dream for your life. It limits your potential, causes procrastination, and makes you miss God's best. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote: "When you ask, you must believe and not doubt. Because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord."

Two primary doubt influencers are:

Comparison - When we take our eyes off God and start looking at other people, we become filled with self-doubt. Remember that God uses ordinary people with problems and mixed motivations.

Past Failures - Replaying our mistakes keeps us from moving forward. God doesn't want you focusing on your past. He cares about the direction your feet are heading now.

There's also a big difference between discernment and doubt. Discernment is when God is guiding your thoughts; doubt is when you are guiding your thoughts.

2. Embrace God's Promises

If you want to be used by God, get into His Word. The Bible contains over 7,000 promises - like blank checks waiting for you to cash them in.

Some of God's promises include:

• God promises to provide
• God promises peace
• He promises rest
• He promises strength and help
• God promises victory, wisdom, and hope
• God promises guidance and protection
• God promises forgiveness and salvation
• God promises His very presence and Holy Spirit

Which of these promises do you need most right now?

3. Walk by Faith

The walk of faith is a walk into the unknown. Often we get a vision or dream but not the "how-to." We lose our fear when God is near, but the battle between fear and faith is constant in our hearts and minds.

Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."

This means no half-heartedness - we can't trust God with just part of our heart. It has to be all of our heart because half of our heart is no heart. We can't hold anything back.

4. Launch Out

There comes a point where we have to stop discussing it, thinking about it, and even praying about it. It's time to launch out in faith.

As Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes: "Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest." We often want perfect conditions, but the first step is always the hardest. If it were easy, you wouldn't need God.

When we take steps of faith, we're not being reckless - we're being courageous. Courage and faith go hand in hand, especially when we launch out.

What Might God Be Calling You To Do?

Maybe God is calling you to:

• Invite somebody to church
• Sign up to serve
• Set up an automatic tithe or offering
• Pray out loud with somebody
• Post a verse or testimony about your faith on social media
• Apologize or reconcile with somebody you've avoided
• Volunteer for a leadership role
• Commit to daily quiet time
• Take a step toward a calling or dream
• Ask one of your neighbors how you can pray for them

Life Application

Ephesians 3:20 reminds us that God "is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." The dream God has placed in your heart is nothing compared to what He's actually going to do through you.

This week, take time to reflect on these questions:

1. What specific dream has God placed in my heart that I've been hesitant to pursue?
2. Which of the four steps (don't doubt, embrace God's promises, walk by faith, launch out) is most challenging for me right now?
3. What is one concrete action I can take this week to move toward God's dream for my life?

Remember the words of the psalmist: "Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him and he will help you." Your first step doesn't have to be big - it just has to be something. God is waiting for you to launch out in faith so He can show you just how much more He has planned for your life.

Pastor Tim