When Our Dreams Don’t Come True

I grew up in a time of magical Disney stories that fostered hope and courage.  Stories of hope, like Cinderella, where all of her hardships and loss would dramatically change for the better.  Stories of courage like Old Yeller where the boy needed courage to do the right thing no matter how hard.  Songs and stories of dreams that would come true filled my imagination.  Sometimes in real life our wishes can fade like the smoke of a birthday candle and our dreams can turn into nightmares.

When Dreams Are Interupted

Can you trust God when your dreams are interupted? I learned a hard lesson when I graduated from college.  I had been diagnosed with an endocrine disorder that required major chest surgery to remove a tumor on my lung the summer after graduation.  My plans to get married in the fall and start my happily ever after were interrupted.  I was not happy to say the least.  God showed His love and kindness as I  knelt to His Sovereignty. Often we say ” I gave my life to Christ” but we fight Him when He rearranges our plans. ( I did). He wants us to trust Him completely.

The heroes of the faith faced many challenges.  I love the story of Joseph especially played out in the musical “Joseph and the  Amazing Technicolor Deam Coat”.  Favorite of his father, sold by his brothers into slavery, imprisoned for doing the right thing, he languished for years until God raised him up to work in Pharoahs housedhold to eventually save his family and the future nation of Israel.  Joseph’s dreams took a long hard time to come true.

Genesis 37:5–8     Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.  He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed:  Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”  His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

Josephs’ brothers ate their words years later and learned that God is Sovereign and has a greater plan. Josephs dreams came true but not as they all had envisioned.

Genesis 45:4–8    And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.  And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.   For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.  And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.  So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Trusting God When He Changes Our Dreams For His

No one stands at the altar promising “in sickness and in health”  while hoping one of you will develop a chronic disease or cancer. But life happens.  I live with chronic illness and we have a son born with disabilities.  A change of dreams and direction can give us courage and build resilience.  We have learned to trust God in the good and hard times and exchanged our dreams for His plan. He gave us a different dream.

Exiled to Babylon in 605 B.C., Daniel was one of several young men chosen to serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s court. When Persia conquered Babylon in 539, Daniel was again given a position of power. He remained faithful to God in both of these hostile environments. From the interpretation of dreams, to the familiar stories of the fiery furnace, the lions’ den, and the handwriting on the wall, to the prophetic visions, the recurrent theme is God’s sovereignty over human affairs. In the historical sections (chs. 1–6) God supernaturally rescued Daniel and his friends.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Da.

Daniel’s whole life changed from any expectations he had as a boy but he trusted God through it all.  He certainly didn’t want to go to Babylon. Daniel remained faithful to God while adapting to his environment and excelling in his position.

God Has a Much Bigger Dream For His People

God will often give us the desires of our heart but they may look different than we expected.  (I did marry my handsome Prince 42 years ago).  If God was a magic genie that you could force to grant all your wishes then He wouldn’t be God.  Am I saying we shouldn’t pursue our dreams? No.  Many wonderful  things have happened because someone followed the vision in their heart. But learning to trust that God knows better and waiting is part of the bigger process of  growing in faith.

Jeremiah 29:11–12    For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.

Romans 8:28  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.