Awaken the Dreamer: Reviving Lost Hope

Most inventions noted in human history were first introduced as ideas that masqueraded as impossibilities. That is until the inventor’s childlike curiosity took hold and wouldn’t release until they birthed innovation. It isn’t that we aren’t able to dream as adults, but sometimes we have forgotten how.

We overload our minds and bodies with a flurry of activity that squeezes out the space and time for stillness, fun, and creativity. Children’s curious nature and penchant for asking questions offer inspiration to coach us into being malleable and open to God’s new direction for our spiritual and personal development. Children’s inquisitive approaches stir our desire to co-create a living dream with our Father that fulfills us while bringing Him glory.

Over time, we become burdened by life and circumstance. The troubles of life disconnect us from the dream that we once highly esteemed. Disenchantment doesn’t happen accidentally, but rather is a strategy to erode our confidence into settling for less than God’s creative best.

We have a real enemy who wars against the image of God and toils to steal, kill, and destroy us from the inside out (John 10:10). He operates through circumstance as well as the influence of our own minds and emotions to persuade us that the dream is too much or the time to realize it is too late. 

Entertain Curiosity

Jesus summoned little ones to Him, encouraging us to be like them in how we approach Him (Matthew 19:14). Children dream and imagine. They think creatively and ask questions. Their expressions reveal what we need to embrace in our personal need to come alive through dreaming with God, who is Himself the Ultimate Dreamer. Furthermore, it underscores that we need to encourage the child within to develop and distribute the gift of our natural abilities to a world that needs what we have.

Children are curious. They ask questions, conjuring solutions for problems that we, as adults, tend to dismiss as naive and oversimplified. However, when we pause to view conflicts and challenges through the lens of godly wisdom, we can embrace a less complicated perspective.

God works through an uncluttered mind to foster childlike faith, revealing solutions that a jaded heart cannot see. Scripture highlights various places where children’s simplicity is more valued than the cynicism and rigid adherence to logic that we tend to adopt as we become disenchanted and less hopeful. 

Embrace Daily Doses of Joy

We can build on what we know about children’s active imaginations to stir our own. Embracing daily joy and brief moments of recreation can inject fresh perspective, even where our schedules may seem stretched to the limit. Finding something to smile about in the course of the day enhances our sense of well-being and supports our personal development journey.

Practically speaking, we can lighten the load of our hearts when we seek an opportunity to laugh. This can be in something as simple as reading a comical story or watching a funny video. Laughter acts as a medicine and releases endorphins into our bloodstream that make us feel energized, and streamline our thought process while boosting our overall wellness and motivation for working toward our dreams.

We need to treat our dreams as we would have with the children we know and love. Just as we nurture their creativity and confidence, we champion our gifts when we explore and exercise them. For many, our passions and pursuits originated in early life, whether through extra-curricular activities, community involvement, or exposure to experienced mentors with related gifts.

While God has generated a divine spark of interest in us, we must fan our gift into a flame, fueled by the Holy Spirit. He will guide our personal development and discovery as we seek to fulfill the purpose He’s assigned for each life season.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. – 2 Timothy 1:6, NIV 

Enlarge your View of God

We often project the view of our own perceived limitations onto God. He can and will restore the years that were consumed by choice and circumstance (Joel 2:25). The enemy who is the father of lies would try to persuade us that we are beyond redemption (John 8:44). However, we need to remember that God is not bound by time.

In seeking Him concerning our entire lives, including our personal development, His limitless possibilities whisper and take shape through our hearts’ persistent dreams and desires (Psalm 37:4).

God invites us to encounter Him so that He can reveal another dimension of Himself as we cultivate our dreams and develop the skills needed to bring them to fruition. We may be continuing in our schedule, accustomed to what we’ve always done. He interrupts our activity and pattern of thoughts to introduce and acquaint us with who He has always known us to be.

While it may be a version of self that we aren’t yet familiar with, the Word urges us to adopt God-confidence in His ability to bring to completion what He’s begun (Philippians 1:6). He knows what He’s placed in us that we have not yet seen or had the opportunity to use.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. – 1 John 3:2 ESV 

Envision Possibility

Because of this, we must embrace this moment to consider where the Holy Spirit is nudging us to imagine with Him. Where are we prompted to consider something new or different than what we have experienced to date?

While we may feel that the clock and the calendar indicate that our moments of possibility have passed, let’s remember that God exists outside of time. He is eternal, and what is unimaginable with humans is possible with Him. He has continued to defy human expectations by working with those whose circumstances seemed to be mismatched for the call on their lives. 

Enlist Support

Often, the way that God leads can appear opposite to what He has shown us. However, if He said it, we can rest in Him to make it a reality. Any dream that God is inviting us into will require support and strategy. The Lord has equipped us with not only natural abilities but also spiritual gifts that He incorporates what He has called us to be and do with Him.

Beyond that, we may need to develop strategy and skills to refine and focus on the areas where He has given us raw talent. Furthermore, having a mentor and a supportive group of people who sharpen us is also critical for manifesting the fullness of what God has imagined.

While a dream that we have for ourselves may be set aside, a God-dream, however, will not release us. We may rest it on the shelf to collect dust over decades, but it will persist, tugging at our hearts and minds until we find peace in pursuing it with God.

We may not know where to begin and don’t have to, but God does. When we ask, He illuminates our path with wisdom and His Word to direct our course, even if we need confirmation and comfort that we heard Him correctly. He offers instruction, leading us on the path that will form our character and cover us with His favor. However, with the desire and the dream, He also gives direction. 

Next Steps

As time advances, we may find that the hopes we had for living our dreams have diminished. At first glance, it may seem that is the normal course of life as we know it. However, it is a work of the enemy to present barriers to harnessing the destiny dreams that God has assigned to our lives.

Spend time on this site and seek a counselor to support you with sorting through the dreams in your heart. It is time to dream and to do what God has called you to. Nurture the curiosity and courage within to pursue all that God has for you.