We all have dreams, visions of the future, imaginations of times to come, possible places to be, ideas to build, families to grow. These dreams swell from the desires of our hearts and become yearnings with a hope that they will replace our present circumstances, an escape from the noise of today in exchange for the solitude of tomorrow. Yet, that tomorrow of which we dream never seems to arrive. Your dreams may elude you like a child playing hide and seek—you look for him in all the places you would hide, only to realize that he does not think like you, and that he can fit into places much too small for all that you are carrying around.
Why does your vision of the future seem elusive and beyond your reach, to exceed your capabilities or power to achieve them? Consider in whom you place your faith for the outcome of your future, your destiny … your eternal destiny. The apostle Paul provides us with insight to your future:
"What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith.
"By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen."1
"It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in a tent. And so did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the same promise. Abraham did this because he was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God."2
Dreams come to life when God is in them. Dreams survive when God sustains them. Dreams are the fuel of faith when one pursues God passionately. Dreams are made real when they are pursued with the passion found in the patriarchs of faith listed in the “Hall of Faith:” Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthab, David, Samuel, and all the prophets.
"All of these people we have mentioned received God’s approval because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had far better things in mind for us that would also benefit them, for they can’t receive the prize at the end of the race until we finish the race."3
I have a dream of leaving a legacy of faith for my children to model. I have a dream that I will leave a mark of positive influences on their lives, that I may provide an intervention that will direct them to the one path to God, the stairway to heaven, the climb of sanctification that will change their lives. I have a dream that my children will love the Lord with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength, dedicating their lives to the pursuit of Christ’s character.
The foundation on which dreams such as these are built must be founded on the Rock4, unwavering faith in Christ Jesus, so as to prevail through circumstances foreseen and unforeseen. Jesus teaches us to build our foundations on His principles by putting them into practice and modeling His behavior:
"So why do you call me 'Lord,' when you won’t obey me? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then obeys me. It is like a person who builds a house on a strong foundation laid upon the underlying rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who listens and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will crumble into a heap of ruins."5
After salvation, sanctification must begin.6 Behaviors unworthy of Christ must change, replacing them with actions that glorify God. This is a process, not a point in time, and it is often difficult because it comes against the very nature of our flesh—self-willed by the desires we pursue when we allow our “self” to rule our behavior. We naturally desire the things of this world, but to receive God’s blessings such as peace that surpasses all understanding,7 joy that is abundant and overflowing,8 and love that is God,9 we must deny our own desires to receive His. When you delight yourself in the Lord, your desires are His—and then He will give you your dreams:
Trust in the LORD and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.10
When you live for Christ passionately, you can trust your heart and act on your passions—and your dreams will not seem elusive. When you live for Christ passionately, you are not living passively, but rather, you are actively putting His teachings into practice. Then you begin to notice that the desires of your heart change, and you begin removing the old behaviors that bound you to the ruler of this world, Satan.11 Removing the old “self” provides room for God’s Holy Spirit to live.12 The Holy Spirit will begin to strip off and sweep out the sinful nature of your heart, like a new owner cleaning, refurbishing, and transforming an unkempt house. This occurs when you live for Him passionately, forgoing your own desires and replacing them with His.
You must take action. It is up to you to remove the weights of your sinful behavior so that you are capable to receive the blessings He will pass to you. What step must you take to remove the weights, the burden of sin? God’s promise is to lift the burden of sin when you ask Him to forgive you, and then repent of your behavior by doing a 180 degree turn from your old practices to new behaviors that glorify God.13 If truly in your heart you want to be set free, you will find freedom wherever the Spirit of the Lord is14—pursing the life he has intended for you. What are you holding on to? What crutches will you not give up? Alcohol, tobacco, drugs, pornography, greed, lust, manipulation, control of others … ?
"Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised as he was. Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share his new life. We are sure of this because Christ rose from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. He died once to defeat sin, and now he lives for the glory of God. So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus."15
When you live for Christ, He will deliver you from these weights of sin and give you freedom to pursue your dreams. Are you ready to run the race of faith with Christ? The next step is yours—a step of faith. Christ will give you the strength to throw off all that may hinder you from taking the next step—the step of faith when He passes the baton to you.16 He has prepared you with His rock solid foundation. Now go forth running ahead passionately, for He has made a road to your dreams.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish."17
"I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all that I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven."18
—Apostle Paul, a finisher of the race
“Run with endurance the race that God has set before us.”
Hebrews 12:1
- Hebrews 11:1-3
- Hebrews 11:8-10
- Hebrews 11:39-40
- Genesis 49:24; Matthew 7:24-27; 16:18; Romans 9:33; 1 Corinthians 10:4; 1Peter 2:6-8
- Luke 6:46-49
- Sanctification: the state of growing in divine grace as a result of active dedication and service to God after accepting Christ as Savior; The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance © 1999, 1990 by Zondervan, Greek to English Dictionary 39 hagiazo; Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary © 1983 by Merriam-Webster Inc.; and “His Stairway to Heaven” © 2004 by Jeff Cambridge
- Philippians 4:7
- John 15:11, 16:24, 17:13
- 1 John 4:16
- Psalm 37:3-4
- Ephesians 2:1-2
- 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:20-24, Colossians 3:5-11
- Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, 38-40
- 2 Corinthians 3:17
- Romans 6:5-11
- Ephesians 1:19-23; Philippians 4:13; 2 Timothy 4:17; Hebrews 11:34; 1 Peter 4:11
- Hebrews 12:1-2
- Philippians 3:12-14
Excerpt from A Spiritual Diary, “Transitions,” part 6 of a 6 part series. Copyright © August 1, 2004 by Jeff Cambridge
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