Dreaming with God

"Every day God invites us on the same kind of adventure. It’s not a trip where He sends us a rigid itinerary, He simply invites us. God asks what it is He’s made us to love, what it is that captures our attention, what feeds that deep indescribable need of our souls to experience the richness of the world He made. And then, leaning over us, He whispers, 'Let’s go do that together.' " -Bob Goff

I love what Bob Goff says there. There is so much freedom in our relationship with God. God’s not rigid and scolding, telling us exactly what to do. He leads with love and gives us the freedom to make choices, and He finds joy in walking with us along the way. So that carries over into dreaming with God, something I really love to do. There’s so much freedom, excitement, and hope in dreaming.

With the season that we’re in right now of being on winter break, this gives us a lot of time to dream that we don’t always have. It’s a perfect time to start asking God what He has for you in the new year. The process of dreaming with God is really fun for me. I love to dream up things I can create, places I could live, jobs I could have. Sometimes I act on those dreams, but most of the time I don’t physically do anything with the dreams. They’re just ideas in my head floating around. But I think it’s important to write these things down so you remember them. When an opportunity comes up where you could actually pursue one of those dreams, you can be confident that that thing is from God because you dreamed it up together before and you wrote it down to remember it.
 
God made us to dream and create. It is his joy to partner with you in that.

Get in a quiet space. Maybe a new place that you don’t usually sit in. New places usually stir up new thought patterns and new creative ways of thinking for me.

Sit still and quiet and maybe your dreamer will step out into the light where you can see it.

Give yourself freedom. Don’t restrict your thoughts based on current realities.

Dreaming is not hurried. It can’t be forced.

Ask God questions and wait for Him to respond. Think about your dreams for the future. What would you love to do. What are your passions. What makes you come alive. How can God use your passions to reveal His love to the world. What are dreams you have for your current season. What does God have for you in this season. Dreams don’t have to be this far off thing. They can be for right now.
 
But, there’s no pressure to act on the ideas you have right now.
 
There’s time to let it sit and take shape. Time to add layers to it.

God will meet you where you invite Him in.

Invite him into your imagination.

Dreams that are not for right now are not pointless. They make us trust and lean of God more. They make us live in hopeful expectation. Dreaming reminds me that life is bigger than what I’m seeing right now. God is bigger than what I see right now. There is more.

Being a dreamer is not silly and frivolous. It’s important. Dreaming gives God room to speak into what He planned to do with our lives all along. Dreaming with God gives us insight into who he created us to be.

If dreaming is hard for you. Start small. It doesn’t have to be a big life decision. Dreams can be little things too.
 
Maybe you dream being a cultivator of community.  Of inviting people over to your house for dinner and good conversations. So invite a friend over and try a new recipe. It’s low pressure. A small thing but it moves you closer to that dream.

Maybe you want to be a better friend. A trusted mentor to people. A loyal, reliant rock that people can lean on. So invite someone to coffee to talk. And stick to it. Don’t back out. That’s a first step to your dream.

Maybe you dream of having your own business where you sell pottery or prints or pastries. So take the first step and learn how to bake or draw or design.
 
But a dream without a plan just remains a dream. Give it some time, thought, and prayer. If you feel a peace about moving forward with it. Then think of some practical steps you can take to move forward in pursuing that dream.

God will be with you in the process. You can be sure of that.

But surrender.

Remember there is surrender involved in dreaming.
 
Surrender your desires to God. Surrender your dreams to God. Hold them with open hands, allowing God to do with them what He sees fit. Because he is our wise caring Father and He knows what we need. The things that are important to us are important to Him. He won’t shoot you down. He will handle your dreams with care because He cares deeply for you. So take the risk and start dreaming with Him.

Author | Sam Forbes