Day 4: How to Deal with Broken Dreams.

Have you ever had a dream that died?

Maybe it was a business idea that you just knew would make you millions. Maybe it was a dream romance that went downhill.

Sometimes we don’t live happily ever after. Dreams don’t always come true. And to be honest, some dreams shouldn’t come true. But that doesn’t make them hurt any less when they shatter in front of our eyes.

Dreamers are near to God’s heart — the Bible is full of them. Just because a few of your dreams have turned out to be nightmares doesn’t mean you should stop dreaming.

But remember that your dream might have to die before it lives.

In the Bible, the story of Joseph the dreamer ends with a happily ever after. But Joseph had to go through several death experiences to get there, including betrayal, slavery, years of hard work, and years in prison. I’m sure there were times he thought his life was over and all hope was lost.

But when the time was right, God fulfilled his dream in ways that were far bigger than Joseph could have imagined.

God’s dreams are always bigger than human dreams. Sometimes our dreams have to die, at least temporarily, so that we can die to our dreams. That is, we have to take our ideas and our self-reliance off the pedestal and put them on the altar. Sometimes the death of our little dreams makes way for the realization of God’s big dream. Our good dream must die to make room for the best dream, for a God-sized dream.

Once we find our security and confidence in God rather than some temporary achievement or accolade, we will be able to pursue our dreams without losing ourselves in the process.

So, if you are dealing with discouragement and pain over a dream that never came true, take advantage of this moment to draw closer to God. Give your expectations to him. Let him hang on to your dream for a while.

You are safe in his arms, and your dream is safe in his hands.