One of the hardest things to do when you face disappointment in life is to dream again. And if we’re honest, these last few years has been a dream killer, a time of setbacks, letdowns, and disappointments. There are unmet expectations everywhere. Recently I preached on how to face disappointment and setbacks and dreams again. Maybe you are in that place where it is hard to dream. You are just trying to make it through the day, and how do you even know if your dreams will come true. Here’s my encouragement, check out the sermon, and then take some time to get curious and dream again (if you’d like a really creative version of this that our incredible team put together, go here to download it). I believe that God will meet you there and help you move forward with what he puts on your heart.
In his book Dream Big: Know What You Want, Why You Want It, and What You’re Going to Do About It, Bob Goff lays out some helpful questions to help us dream.
- Who are you?
- Where are you?
- What do you want?
I want to encourage you as you go through this exercise to write things out and dream. We edit our dreams too quickly and miss out on what God has for us. So before you ask ‘how’ questions, take some time to pray and dream.
We’ll get to the editing and how questions at the end. Right now, it is important to dream, to write, to let your mind wander. As children, we are good at this, but the older we get, it is easy to limit ourselves. Limiting ourselves is how we end up with regrets, face disappointment, and cynicism. More than likely, if you’re like most people when it comes to dreams, reality thinking isn’t the problem. It is dreaming that is the struggle.
Broken Dreams
Before we get to dreams, let’s take a look at our broken dreams. Many of us get stuck in life, and rightfully so because we dreamed and nothing happened. We went after a goal, a hope, a dream, only to have it shattered. Our lives get shattered by the actions of others, and this keeps us where we are.
Larry Crabb has some helpful insight on this: Shattered dreams are never random. They are always a piece in a larger puzzle, a chapter in a larger story. The Holy Spirit uses the pain of shattered dreams to help us discover our desire for God, to help us begin dreaming the highest dream. They are ordained opportunities for the Spirit to awaken, then to satisfy our highest dream.
Don’t just speed through those dreams or that season. What is the Holy Spirit doing in you from those dreams? What is God showing you? Growing in you for His purposes?
Now, if you’re ready to face disappointment and take that step and dream again, read on…
Who are you?
What makes you, you? This is about getting an understanding of your story. What makes you tick? What makes you unique?
All of us have different gifts, personalities, talents, ambitions, and histories. God doesn’t waste any of those. If you grew up in a broken home or grew up in poverty, that has an enormous impact on what God might want to do in your life and future.
Take some time to write down moments that have impacted your life—both high and low.
Ask God, what does that say about me? My story? Is there anything on that list you want me to pay attention to? Were there any limiting beliefs in your family growing up? Anything in particular from your family story that you need to pay attention to?
