Dream Again. (Pt. 2)
There is a great deal in this world that we often delight in more than we do God. I know that to be the case for myself; forgive me if I am speaking out of turn concerning you. The reality is when we delight in lesser things over God, our hearts and minds get cloudy, and we cannot even rightly discern what it is we desire.
Inversely, when God is our great delight, and we embrace the wisdom of David's words, then either God will fulfil those dreams we have, or our hearts will shift toward even greater dreams because our desires will be more God-directed rather than me-directed.
Delight in God, and He Will Give You What You Desire.
The second life-giving principle comes from Proverbs, where we get to engage the words of David's favoured son, Solomon. The purpose of the book of Proverbs is stated right from the start: 'These are the wise sayings… Written down so we'll know how to live well and right… A manual for living, for learning what's right, just, and fair' (vv.1–3, MSG). It provides practical wisdom for everyone – both the 'inexperienced' and the 'experienced'.
In Proverbs, Solomon writes, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life." The first part of this Proverb is an observation about human nature. When something for which we hope is deferred, it isn't easy. It is hard on us.
Waiting for something delayed or postponed is quite possibly one of the most challenging things humans face because it can come in many forms.
The word heart here is not just representing the heart or our mental and emotional centre; rather, it represents the whole person who, in the process of enduring the process, is found to be despairing, emotionally afflicted, and heart crushed.
Inversely, Solomon says that a desire fulfilled is like a tree of life. What does he mean? He means that a desire fulfilled is a life-giving tree whose fruit is fresh life. It restores the soul. It heals the heart and psyche. It fills us with new life, new energy, new purpose, new passion, new resolve, and new dreams!
Desires Fulfilled Fill Us With New Life.
Now, you may be thinking, "all Solomon did was point out the obvious. Of course, we are heartsick when we wait for something we have dreamt of forever. Of course, we are filled with new life when that desire is fulfilled." But when you tie his words here to his words in [Proverbs 10:24b], "… the desire of the righteous will be granted," and his father David's words, "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart," then we get a fuller picture.
Yes, waiting long for what we long for causes anguish in our entire person, but when we take delight in the Lord while we wait… when we remain righteous while we wait… though we battle anguish in the waiting, we are promised that our desires will be granted, our hopes will be met, our dreams will come true!
Continuing in Solomon's words, we find our final life-giving principle on restoring our dreamer. Solomon writes, "Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established." If we might reframe it just a bit, Give It To God, and It Will Get Done. The line "commit your work to the Lord" reads in the original text "roll your works on the Lord," an idiom also used by Solomon's father, David, in the same Psalm we started in. "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."
The sense of the word commit here is to "trust" and have "confidence in" or "rely on." And the word work is plural, capturing everything one might do—actions, deeds, undertakings, and initiatives. Solomon and his father David encourage us as readers that everything we dream of doing--put in God's hands. Put it on Him, and He will come through! Your plans will be established. What you dream of will be achieved! It will go well. The Scriptures promise it!
With God, all things are possible! All dreams are possible.
There are so many dreams and possibilities among you. I know it. You know it. But we have been through so much as people, as human beings over these last few years, that we are afraid to dream. We are filled with "what if's." We are heartsick or heartbroken and feel too tattered to let ourselves tap back into those dreams.
Well, today, God says to let it out! Delight in Him! Trust in Him! Roll your hopes, work, and dreams onto Him, and they will be established! They will give you new energy and new life! They will come true, but it starts with your posture toward God.
Have you committed your way to the Lord?
Have you committed your work to the Lord?
Have you rolled all that you do onto Him?
Do you delight in Him?
If the answer is yes, you are closer than you think to dreaming again and fulfilling your dreams and desires. If the answer is no, then this is your moment to ask God first to help you delight in Him, trust Him, and roll your work and dreams onto Him so that you might experience that new life of fulfilment.
What do we do, then? Perhaps the first step for all of us is three-fold:
Ask God To Give You Fresh Delight in Him
Write Down Your Biggest, Boldest Dream
Pledge to Commit Every Effort To Him
Today is the day to dream again, without fret and fear. Permission granted—DREAM BIG! What are your dreams? I am sure some are far bigger than mine! Write them down. Commit them to the Lord. Delight in Him. And watch them come to fruition!