I've always been fascinated by dreams. Ever since I was a little girl I've been having them, and they've always held so much mystery that no one can seem to solve. If you look up the science of dreaming, there is a mountain of research being done into the how and why and what of it all - but every one will tell you it's just a theory. We can tell when someone is dreaming and map the neurological network that is active while it happens, but no one can quite figure out how they begin or where they originate. Fantasy falls into the same realm of mystery - it takes a creative mind to weave pure fantasy and no one can tell how it happens, where it comes from. I think that air of mystery is what I love so much about dreams, the fact that I can dream about something that is whimsical and purely fantastic one minute, and dream in complete lucidity the next.
We use the term 'dreaming' for two separate things though: one definition sums up the movies that play in our heads while we're sleeping. Or, the term also defines a consciously-concocted forecast of our future combining our hopes, gifts, interests and aspirations. The two seem totally separate don't they? One is completely subconscious, out of our control and unrestricted by the laws of the physical world; the other is a logical summation of what we hope to achieve in our lives based on an idealistic judgement of our capabilities. Polar opposites. So why do we use that term 'Dream' to define both of those circumstances?
I was sitting in church recently, listening to a brilliant sermon by pastor Chris Mathis. I don't even remember what the main point was, something over my head, but it was brilliant. What I do remember was a small point that he touched on, when he mentioned that the Spirit had convicted him to dream bigger, more impossible dreams. A massive alarm bell went off in my head when he said it, because I realized with so much conviction that I had never even thought about praying for impossible big things. In all honesty, I didn't even know that was a thing, or how to even do that. How do you ask God to do something so big that you can't even imagine it, because it's so impossible that you would never even think of it?
Which brings me back to the definition of the term 'dream'. What if the word was never meant to be divided in meaning? What if I reconciled the two, and began dreaming a forecast of the future, one that was as impossible and unrestricted by the physical world as the ones that show up in the night? I'm reminded of the story in the Bible in Joshua somewhere when they are battling some army, and Joshua commands the sun to stand still until they've won their battle. Why would somebody even think to ask for something like that? He could have asked for the battle to be won quicker, for God to smite the opposing army before nightfall; he could have asked for safety or shelter from their enemies when the night fell, or he could have asked for a pillar of fire in the night (something he knew God had done before)...but he didn't. He commanded that the sun stand still. He didn't know how it would happen, the logistics of making the earth stop rotating - at that time he wouldn't even have known the earth was actually the object that was moving - but he didn't need to know. He knew that God was the God of the impossible, so he commanded the sun stand still...and God stopped the sun in the sky until the battle was won.
I WANT TO DO THAT. Not literally stopping the sun in the sky. But ever since I was old enough to plan for my life I've thought that was all 'dreaming' was: planning for MY life; putting together a list of realistic expectations that I could envision and work towards for the rest of my life so that one day, I might be able to achieve it and 'live the dream'.
There are a couple of massive problems with that. One: our 'dreams' depend solely on us and the world around us allowing our dreams to become a reality, which means that if enough people don't show up, or we fail or lose focus, our dreams end up becoming duds that grow into trees of bitterness, producing poison that we spit into the lives of the people around us who still have a little bit of fight in them. Two: our dreams revolve solely around us. It doesn't necessarily mean that you don't dream about doing things to help other people, or do good in the world - that's completely possible - but it's still a dream that revolves around you doing the work, getting things done, pulling things together. It's your 'dream' for what YOU are going to do. And what happens if we achieve it? We work hard, we get what we envisioned, and we get to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done, we gain status, we climb the ladder, we aim higher, we work harder to get to the next step...but we don't just stop, we pick up the pace. Why can't we just stop and enjoy the fact that we've reached our goal? Because progress. We realize that the only reason we achieved what we aimed for is because WE did the work.
So what would be the difference if we started dreaming impossible things?
I'm sure you've met people who prayed impossible prayers and saw God come through in more incredible ways they even knew was possible - because to them, it wasn't. That's the difference. If we dream based on what is known to be possible to us right now, we who don't know what scientific discovery is just around the corner, we who don't know how everything really even works...we're always going to end up short of where we could potentially land. Also, when we dream big impossible dreams, they can include an infinite number of people. We don't know how to dream for other people, because we don't walk in their shoes. But God knows and isn't confined to what we know about them or their stories - so we get to take our dream bubble, and make it MASSIVE. And when we do that, we see miracles happen! Things we never expected to see, but asked for without even knowing we asked for it, healing people through Christ because we know He is the God of the coolest things....and then we get to just live with grateful hearts, rejoicing every time we see Him make the tiniest move.
Anyways, what I want to leave in our minds is this question:
What is your big, enormously impossible dream - something you want to see God do in your life, your family, your friend's lives, in the world? Something so big, that doesn't depend on the state of the world, or the depth of the darkness someone is living in, or distance, or money, or resources - something really impossible. Come up with as many or as few as you'd like. Think them over, add to them over the years as you see them draw near to completion. We really need to stop feeling afraid of asking God for more! He never counts us ungrateful for asking for more, He LOVES showing us His wonders!
Have fun!!!
Love you guys!
-B.<3
For the record, here is one of my big impossible prayers that I've dreamed of late:
Jesus - you are SO good. You do the coolest things, even today. I've seen hundreds of people fed with food meant for a fraction of them, and I've seen money come out of nowhere, people in the darkest situations find healing and become warriors in your cool Name. I'm sorry that I've dreamed so small, for things that I thought would make my life fabulous. It's a hard thing to say that I trust you with my life, but I know that I trust myself with it WAY less. What I want, and would ask for if I knew how, is for people to become aware of how incredible they are. We have so much power and potential in us, you've woven it into every single one of us, and it hurts my heart so much to see how we treat ourselves, and how we treat each other because we've built a wall to keep people out. There's a lie we've all believed at some point that's hidden itself, telling us that you aren't good, that we're in this whole thing alone, fighting our own battles because no one else could ever understand what we've been through. I don't just want to pray for us all to be saved. I want to see joy start to explode across the nations because you've somehow released an awareness of who we are in You. I want to see sexuality come into alignment with your goodness, so that we would see crime rates plummet and trafficking rings disintegrate from the TOP, all the way down. I want to see the word 'church' reclaimed as the Church, not a building but a body of people who act TOGETHER as a single unit, even across nations. I want to see the Church stop referring to other religions as the 'threat' to Christianity, and become aware that WE are the threat that every other idol is scrambling to survive against, so we would use the Love you've poured out over us to burn those banners over people. I have no idea how that will all happen. But I'm super excited for the role that I get to play in watching you bring it to completion!!! Thanks that you're faithful, We're so excited to see your glory. Love you!
Amen.