“Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.”
– Proverbs 16:3 (NASB)
Daily Meditation: Psalm 37, Proverbs 16
As a girl, I loved to play house and dream of what my life would be like one day. And now, as a grown woman, I still love to dream… about our family’s ministry, my children’s futures, and places I’d like to visit with my husband.
Dreams are powerful. I believe that the dreams and goals God puts in our hearts inspire us to do his will. However, we must be careful not to confuse our human desires with the divine desires God has given us. Not every dream comes from God! So how do we make the distinction between our selfish, human dreams and our God-given dreams?
Psalm 37:4 (NASB) says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I don’t think this verse is saying that if you’re happy in the Lord, he’ll give you whatever you want. Rather, I believe it is saying that as we find our contentment and joy in him, he will fill our hearts with his dreams that then become our own. Those are the dreams I want to have!
If dreams he has placed in your heart have been shattered by past experiences, it’s time to let God restore them. If godly dreams have been sanded away by negative words or attitudes, it’s time to let God replace them. If you have traded your God-given dreams for empty, worldly dreams, it’s time to ask God to fill your heart with his dreams again.
“Do not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations.
For if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live.”
– Henry David Thoreau
Be fearless: Dreaming is not only a part of life, it brings life! Our enemy is a thief, so it’s no wonder your dreams are sometimes stolen from you, but rest assured: the giver of your dreams, the Lord, is also your biggest supporter!
Let’s let 2019 be the year we grow closer to the Lord and become the fearless, strong, and faithful woman we are meant to be in Him! In Be Fearless, Julie Clinton provides a scripturally-sound guide for finding freedom, purpose, joy… and fearlessness. Be Fearless is now available in our store! https://www.aacc.net/product/be-fearless/ Consider working through Be Fearless with another extraordinary woman or group this year.
Julie Clinton, MAd, MBA, is president of Extraordinary Women and host of EWomen conferences all across America. She is the author of several books including A Woman’s Path to Emotional Freedom, 10 Things You Aren’t Telling Him, and Extraordinary Women. She is passionate about seeing women live out their dreams by finding their freedom in Christ. Julie and her husband, Tim, live in Virginia with their children, Megan and Zach.