Preparing for the Dream

Dreams offer us an opportunity. They give us a picture of what could be.... what might be....what should be for our future. But dreams offer no guarantees. Dreams offer a doorway for the man or woman to respond to either in faith or in disbelief. Dreams are a call to relationship and partnership with the grand originator... our creator God. But relationship to God is not passive and it involves a give and take of communication and responsiveness. When we initially receive the inspiration of a 'life dream' or calling, we need to follow up with the discipline of preparation, training and the changes that our dream calls for us to make. Athletes get this. I was raised in a family of runners. My father was a sprinter. My uncle was a long distance runner and professional coach. My uncle would get up early in the morning and run 10 or 15 miles on a daily basis well into his 50's. Even into my teen years I could not defeat my father in a sprint race. There was always an expectation that I would be a runner like them. One year I went out for the cross country team in high school. I had run sprints the previous year in high school (my freshmen year) and had done pretty well. Cross Country season is in the fall. I had not done much training in the summer and when I went to the first few practices I was exhausted and quit the team. The following year I spent the entire summer running twice a day workouts. I had a deep desire born of initial failure to succeed. My senior year of high school I won an award for the 'most dedicated' runner given by the team to the hardest working athlete. I wanted the dream of being a runner to be mine... but I learned the lesson of preparation and training. Many talented people depend solely on their talent to take them to places of prominence and success in their dreams. But talent alone will often only project us forward to the first phase of our dreams. I have often heard it said that talent cannot take you where your character won't keep you. You see talented people can fail in very dramatic and painful ways. You are more than the sum of your talents. Your identity goes far beyond what you are good at! You are a human being...made in the image of God...born to know God and born to love him in a real and vital relationship. When you ignore that divine and eternal reality you are setting yourself up for disappointment and real and lasting failure.
  Are you preparing yourself for lasting success or temporary success? Awards, records, personal victories are important but short in significance and satisfaction. What are you preparing for? What are you disciplining yourself for? How are you defining yourself? How would you define success? Ultimately, why are you on this planet?
  The content of your dreams and your ability to discipline yourself to achieve those dreams is deeply connected to your spiritual beliefs. So many 'successful' people are ultimately unable to enjoy their achievements because they choose shallow goals and selfish means to accomplish them. Every achievement and dream demands great sacrifices of time and the surrender of some aspect of choice in life.
  To be a follower of Christ is an amazing life of blessing and satisfaction...but it is also a life of surrender and obedience to a real and personal God. Jesus described the ultimate priority for those who would follow him, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." When you achieve things apart from being rightly related to God, there will always be an empty place in your soul. Dreams are great but they are not meant to achieved in isolation or apart from loving relationship with God... and with the people that he has put into your life. When our relationships falter, achievements mean little. We should be asking ourselves some big questions all along the journey toward achieving our dreams.  Why am I doing this? What will happen to me If I achieve this dream? How will this impact my relationships? Who will get the glory if I achieve this? How will this impact my soul? I encourage you to 'go for your goals' but to also be thoughtful and count the cost before you set out on life's journey of faith and adventure. Remember what Jesus said about achievement, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
  Dream...prepare for your dream. But remember dreams are not meant to separate you from your Creator...they are meant to draw you nearer to him than you've ever been. Dreamers believe.... and believers dream. It's all about relationship.

Jim