I do only what I see the Father doing (III) Our dreams

God’ s will for our lives, our destiny, is not as mysterious as it might sometimes appear. I remember reading of a conversation where someone was asking his mentor what he thought God wanted him to do in terms of career. The mentor asked “Well what do you want to do, what is your passion?” I always wanted to be a teacher, and I pursued the necessary training. Perhaps it’s not as clear to you, but there are a number of checks we can make. First and foremost we need to ask if it is consistent with Scripture. He would not want you to be a prostitute! Of course I did not expect to find a verse saying “Phil you are to be a teacher,” but there was nothing Biblically inconsistent with my being a teacher, and I had a strong desire. As we were saying last day when we delight in Him, we can expect Him to give us the desire of our hearts.

And so perhaps the first thing to do is to examine our hearts. Why do we want to do this or that? I have seen too many people pursing jobs because they pay well. There is nothing wrong with having a well paying job, but if your passion is for fame or fortune, you could easily miss His best for you. The Scripture tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto us (Matthew 6:33). And being a missionary or a pastor are not the only professions in which I can bring glory to God. Now you can’t steer a parked car! What I am saying, is that many times we just need to start out in the direction that we think He might be leading. At the time of my graduation from my first degree a friend, out of the blue asked me “Why don’t you do graduate work?” I had not even considered it, and that question changed my life, I became a University Professor!

There is a verse that says “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). It is essentially saying that He will guide you as you move. He did that with me, and I was not even a Christain at the time! We need to have confidence that He is far more interested in guiding us that we are to receive His guidance. But sometime, for various reasons, our dreams die. The walk of faith inevitably involves risk and we may be afraid or lack confidence. Someone said faith is spelt R-I-S-K! Or the way may seem too long, the road too hard, and we may give up. But whatever the reason, if God suddenly awakens and resurrects the dream, then this becomes a way of “seeing what the Father is doing.” And if He does not, then we will need to keep seeking and knocking (Matthew 7:7).

Father, may times our dreams seem so impossible and, like the heroes of old, we have the sense that we could never do that (i.e. Moses Exodus 4:13). There were certainly times when I felt that way Lord! But if we can do it without You, it probably is not big enough to be of You. Help us Lord not to dismiss our dreams because we don’t feel competent. With You Lord, all things are possible. Thank You Father that You have plans for us, and they are good plans, plans to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). And thank You Lord for the promise that if we we keep on seeking and knocking, we will find in Jesus Name Amen