The Dream Desert

A few years ago, I prayed a prayer that I was reminded of recently. Our staff was praying about the future of NCC, and I prayed that God would "make us a dream factory." I desired that we would dream the dreams of God's heart for our city and the people he was bringing to us. I had forgotten all about that prayer until recently when Mark Batterson reminded me about it. The reminder came at a fairly critical time because I found myself in a bit of a dream desert.

Dreams typically come pretty easily to me. Since I was a kid, I had an imagination that ran incredibly wild. I had dreams about jobs I would have, awards I would win, positions of influence I would hold, and things I would get to do. As I grew in my relationship with Christ, those dreams turn into sanctified visions of God doing his work in me and through me. It's pretty easy for me to come up with a list of life goals. Last year, God brought me through 4 things that I had been dreaming about for years. I had been dreaming about one thing in particular for 15 years. It was absolutely amazing and humbling and invigorating all at the same time.

Then the dreams dried up.

What do you do in those times? I don't have the answer, and I've not even been very proactive in figuring it out. I think it probably has something to do with making sure that our primary dream is a life filled with the presence of God. A life filled with his joy and spreading his love to those around us. No matter how many missions trips we take, sermons we preach, books we write, or groups we lead, our dream should ultimately revolve around growing more and more in love with Christ and looking more and more like him.

I know we go through seasons, and I think this is a season for me of falling more in love with my Creator. Dreams are a stewardship issue. And before I start dreaming too intensely about the next stuff, I want to make sure they are sanctified dreams. And dreams worth living.

Psalm 63:1, "O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water."