If you are anything like me, some of your dreams have been fulfilled, but you are still waiting for others to come to fruition. Living with unfulfilled dreams can leave us feeling frustrated, impatient, discontent and discouraged. The stress comes when we try to make things happen on our own, without waiting for God’s perfect timing. I’m not talking about the little dreams (like I’d like to re-do my bathroom or kitchen). I’m talking about the really big life-changing dreams, like getting married, having children, or perhaps retiring early from a job and traveling all over the world. Some dreams are definitely do-able, and others are not, without divine help. This is what I discovered about one of my major dreams.
For many years, I lived with an unfulfilled dream. I wanted to be married, and as I got into my early 30s, I wondered if it would ever actually happen. Many of my friends were already married and having children or already had them. I was a bridesmaid several times, but never a bride! Even though getting married was on the top of my dream list, I know I wasn’t ready for such a big step until about the last three years before it actually happened. Through the years, I could have married the wrong person more than once (read more in my book The Journey of Oneness). When I look back, I shudder to think about what a disaster it would have been! But somehow I knew that the person I was dating was not the right one and that didn’t make it any easier either. Perhaps the hardest part of waiting is the unknown, and we wonder, Is this something I should be wanting? Or after a long time, we think, Should I just abandon this idea altogether? But my desire and dream of being married never wavered or left me, even though I had given it over to God and had prayed about it many times.
I often think of Abraham and God’s promise to him of a son, when he and his wife Sarah, were well beyond their child-bearing years. In fact Sarah laughed at the idea! And yet, God was true to His promise, and Sarah had a son, and they named him Isaac. Do we even know how many years Abraham and Sarah waited before God gave them a son? Some say 14 years, others say 25 years. Similarly, the Jewish people were promised a Messiah hundreds of years before He actually came to earth and was born to Joseph and Mary. His lineage began with David, the first generation, and then Jesus was born from his line (42 generations later according to Matthew 1:17). But if we go back to Genesis 3:15, God told the serpent He would send “enmity,” His own Son, who would crush his head (completely defeat him). The Jewish people waited and waited for their Messiah, through tumultuous years where they would be nearly overcome by their enemies. Many times they would wonder, Where is the promise of the Messiah?
So what is this waiting all about? When I was doing some research, I found a very interesting comment that might help answer this very important question. The writer said that it is characteristic in the Bible that when God promises something, He sometimes waits until a person is completely incapable of bringing about the promise until they are practically dead. In other words, they have to be beyond the ability to do anything themselves to bring it about, so that it is a complete miracle of God, and God is glorified by the spectacular workings in performing the impossible! Wow! That makes sense, doesn’t it? The spring of the same year I was to be married (which was later in the fall), I remember distinctly asking God why I had to wait so long for a husband to come along. God did answer me and spoke to my heart that the reason was because not everything was in place (my husband wasn’t a Christian yet), and that many more people would be affected (those that were still unmarried would be encouraged and those that were married would see our miracle and be drawn closer together). When it did happen, it was a whirlwind of excitement and activity. We had been platonic friends for five years, and had known each other for 10 years before that (15 years in total). God turned the “friendship” into a beautiful romantic relationship, and we have enjoyed a strong and enjoyable marriage together ever since. Our wedding was put together in three weeks and some of the guests said it was the most beautiful wedding they had ever attended.
How do you know when God is fulfilling your dreams? You have no doubt because you are filled with a joy and a peace that nothing in this world, or nothing by your own hand can produce. Scripture says:
Pro 10:22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
There are many other dreams in my life that have been fulfilled, but nothing quite as spectacular as the marriage one. Each time I have had dreams (many of which I believe that God has placed in my heart), I have had to give them over to Him at some point. Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his long-awaited son Isaac (see Genesis 22). But God stopped him just before he sacrificed him and then God was pleased and promised him even greater blessings than He had first promised him many years before.
Gen 22:15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
Gen 22:16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
Gen 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
The lessons for me have similarly been, Do I love God even more than my cherished dreams, and am I willing to lay them down on an altar of sacrifice and abandon them altogether?
Dreams, especially God-given ones, are often what keep us going through the sometimes tough day-to-day grind of daily living. They are there to give us hope, a future and something to look forward to. Just because they are not happening right now, today, does not mean they will never happen. God just wants to bless us with his very best, and He has a perfect timing. The nice part is, we don’t have to strive to make them happen. He will open the doors when it is time, and what a day of rejoicing when this happens! God Bless you today whether you are waiting for your dreams to unfold or whether you are just now seeing them happen!
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