Let me start by wishing everyone a Happy New Month. We have made it this far in 2017 and I pray that God continues to keep you and your family safe. I also want to send out a special prayer to the families of the victims of that horrific attack in New York last night. I pray for divine strength and grace from God Almighty to help you through this time. Fear and defeat will have no hold on our hearts at this time. Amen.
I have always said this to people around me, “Don’t be afraid to dream and even dream BIG. Go ahead and do it because to dream is absolutely FREE!” Recently, I heard a pastor preach about dreams and it blew my mind beyond what I had been imagining. It confirmed my views about dreaming beyond your limitations and expectations. It also gave me a whole new perspective on dreams.
Now this is not me trying to be a motivational speaker, trying to 'hoop' you out of your chair, running and screaming. I am just trying to open your eyes to certain things that most of us have over-looked for years. Some of us have spent most of our lives chasing other people’s dreams because they have tried to live their dreams through us. Some of us as parents have tried to force our dreams on our children, hereby trying to live our lives though them, making them want to achieve the things we did not achieve. Some of us have had our parents do the same to us, while our hearts were focused on other things that we really wanted to do.
It’s like a father trying to force his son to become a lawyer or doctor because nobody in his generation ever achieved the honor of being a doctor or lawyer. This is why some people spend 7 years in University (ideally it should be four years but folks from Nigeria understand what I’m talking about) on a degree they would never use and end up going back to chase their dreams as fashion designers, ministers of God, software programmers, filmmakers, furniture designing, teachers, etc. Now, I am not campaigning for you to seek the slightest excuse to drop out of college or not attend, as I have had people ask me all the time about chasing their dreams of becoming actors and never want to go to college. Be sure this is your dream and God’s plan for you.
How do you identify a God-given dream?
1. The dream must be bigger than you. You can’t do anything about it unless you have God. The dream God has for you is specific to you and not a carbon copy of somebody else’s dream. God is the author of ‘bigness’ and not ‘smallness’. Your dream must require a number of tools to come to life so acquire as many skills and tools as you can in the direction of your dream. The better the tools, the more you can do. Your dream has to be so big that it takes your breath away.
2. You can’t let it go. It keeps you up late at night..in a good way of course. You think about it and water it like a seed in your heart.
3. The dream will last forever. It will not just be a flash in the pan. Most people dream big for their own selfish gains. Such dreams don’t last beyond their life span. Fame is temporary. Wealth only lasts so many decades, you will be lucky if it lasts more than one generation. I think of a man like Walt Disney whose dream has lasted generations and is getting bigger and better, long after his death.
(i) A dream cannot be built on ego.
(ii) A dream cannot be built on tradition. When tradition changes, what will happen?
(iii) Do not build your dream on other people’s validation. What happens if their opinion changes along the way?
4. You will do anything for your dream. Now this is not the case of a girl sleeping with a politician or business tycoon because she wants money to buy a 2018 Range Rover or for access to sponsorship for her project. No! This is you NOT bending over for people who are dream killers. You will do anything to protect the integrity and value of your dream. This is you walking away from a $20,000 check offered for your dream that you know is worth much more in your heart.
5. Your dream must give glory to God. It does not mean that your dream must be to stand on the alter as a pastor, a worship leader or an elder in church. NO! The Bible says if you clothe, feed or help your brother/homeless/needy, you have done it to the Lord. If your dream does not meet the need of people, transform lives eventually or cause a positive revolution...it is not of God. When you serve people, God sees it. You are dreaming of being a great CEO start by serving people well.
So do not stop dreaming and be careful who you share your dreams with! There are dream killers everywhere! The less they know, the better chances you have achieving that dream. Don’t start to announce when you have bought a seed. Wait till it has become a tree so that it announces itself!
Finally, it is good to dream...BUT IT IS BETTER TO DO! So after Dreaming, Wake Up and Start DOING!!!
God bless you as you step into this Month.