Your Dream Is AliveSample

Day Three: Your Dream is Beyond Your Abilities to Accomplish

In today’s lesson, we are going to look at the beginning stage of pursuing and living out your dream. It all has to start with identifying that you are a person with a dream. Yes, you have a dream. You may not know what it is just yet. You may only have an inkling of it. Or you may know exactly what it is. Each of us is on a different path of our personal dream quest. Regardless, starting at this foundational stage will help us all in identifying and solidifying our personal dreams. It is time to pursue, knock, seek and ask. It is time that you are no longer a passive participant in this pathway of purpose – rather, you can be the pursuer. 

Let’s look at some commonalities typically tied to The Dream (keep in mind, "dream" is another word for your "calling" or "purpose" that God has given to you):

1. The Dream is always far beyond your current capabilities and experience. It is bigger than you. It is harder than you imagine. It is beyond what you feel you “can” do. That’s why it is a dream! That’s also why you face uncertainty, some degree of anxiety and even feelings that may approach fear. 

2. No one ever increases the size of their dream—their dream is always too large, too difficult, too demanding and too impossible. If you are having to enlarge your “dream” – it’s not your dream. It may be a task, duty or responsibility you need to fulfill. But it’s not a dream. A dream is always bigger than you and beyond what you feel you can accomplish on your own.

3. The Dream is both fear-producing and excitement-generating. The average person feels their dream is IMPOSSIBLE. This is why so many people fall prey to the belief that they cannot do it and simply dismiss their dream away. Think back in your history, have you ever had a dream (some vision larger than you thought you could carry out on your own) that you gave up on, didn’t pursue or neglected to do? That may have been an aborted dream. Or did you try to cut it down to size, in manageable chunks? This is another common thing people do with their dream rather than run the risk of going after it and possibly failing. 

4. Whenever you decrease the size (how much it is) and scope (how wide it is) or depth (how difficult it is), then two things begin to happen. 

a. First, you begin to leave the feelings of IMPOSSIBLE behind and start to feel—now that your Dream is much more REASONABLE—that you can do it.  

b. Second, you begin to feel less and less motivated to pursue the Dream. No longer is the Dream challenging. The challenge of the Dream has been gutted and it can be easily forgotten as a result. 

Personal Challenge: Read and memorize 1 Peter 4:10. Describe the link between your “dream” and your responsibility to steward what God has given to you. 

a. Will these two things always link up?

b. Who is the Giver of your dream? 

God is the giver and author of your dream. As the author, He will supply all you need to carry it out. This includes your time, talents and treasures. Take some time to thank Him for His gifts and ask Him to give you even greater insight into how your dream links up with the time, talents and treasures He has already given to you. 

We hope this Plan encouraged you. Connect with Bruce Wilkinson and Heather Hair in their helpful book "Prayers of Blessing Over My Marriage" by clicking this link.