Jun 23, 2011
The Goal of our Dreams is Always God
I was the kid who didn’t know what he wanted to become.
Even in college it was all bit fuzzy in my mind. I’d considered full time ministry and writing something someday sounded nice too, but there wasn’t this overarching drive to fulfill a certain dream.
My dreams that I’d hoped to find in the table of contents of my life were tucked away in the footnotes, little markers in my past that eventually made the connections between events such as my first dabbling with writing in Jr. High on through the book I helped research in college for a professor.
Sometimes dreams surprise us, taking shape over time.
They’re not any less real or important because it’s taken us a while to figure them out. In fact, we may be so relieved to discover that we have a dream—something that we’d give our lives to accomplish—that we jump into it, immersing ourselves in it.
What do I care about most?
My dream of writing evolved from a side project, into a career in nonfiction writing, into a career in nonfiction and fiction writing.
The further I go into book publishing and writing for magazines, the more I’ve had to wrestle with the balance of holding onto a dream, while still submitting it to God.
I really do believe that God stuck me on this earth to write. It just comes out of me. And therefore, the pursuit of my dream to publish more books in the near future requires hard work, but it’s work that I enjoy.
I have to set goals in order to make that dream come about, and perhaps the hardest part is knowing how to view those goals. Sometimes I meet those goals. Sometimes I exceed them. Other times I fall short of them.
What’s going on when we hit a roadblock while pursuing a dream that God gives to us?
How do I submit my dreams to God?
I feel like every day I need to rethink how to answer that question. When God gives us a dream to pursue, it’s our job to both pursue it with everything we have and to hold loosely to it.
Finding the dream does not mean finding God.
One day I’m holding onto the dreams I have for publishing because I believe they’re part of God’s calling for my life, while other days I need to let go of them because God is more important than my dreams.
This tension reminds me of what Paul wrote to the Colossians:
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Colossians 3:23).
Pursuing God’s dreams for our lives involves, at least in part, reaching out to God through our work or whatever we do each day. The end goal is always God, but the path will vary depending on the things God stirs up within us.
My ultimate goal in life should always be to know and experience the love of God and to share that love with others, not to be a published author. However, God in his goodness has wired me in such a way that I can pursue him through the things I love to do.
The trick through all of this is that I can’t stop at just writing. I’m not hear to just fulfill my dream of writing. That kind of dream will always let me down.
My purpose in life is to worship God through my writing. At the end of the day, all of our dreams and desires should lead us to God. He is where we’ll find the fulfillment we long for, even if we also enjoy the daily process of pursuing the dreams he has given us.
For more posts about dreams, visit Bonnie Gray’s Faith Barista blog today.
Your title says it all: the goal of our dreams is always God. You have written beautifully on our ultimate goal, but yes, you are blessed to be able to do the thing you love as part of that dream. Even though my writing is mainly just my blog, I feel like you do, that one of my purposes in life is to worship God through my writing.
AMEN!!!
I wrote a similar post to his awhile back. About the things we pursue. And although I pursue a career as a writer, my ultimate pursuit is Jesus Christ.
Love this. If we have God as our main priority, our dreams are so much sweeter.
All of our work — writing and everything else — is about worshipping and honoring God. Otherwise, it becomes transient, of value only for the moment. Good post, Ed.
I’d also add that practically speaking, I find that I work harder when I’m in a good place with God. I can’t explain it better than that.
Thanks for this, Ed. It’s easy for us to get it backwards, but our dreams and passions are designed to fuel our pursuit of God. When they become an end unto themselves, they are no longer about loving God and loving people. Appreciate your thoughts.
Oh gosh, you’re right. We can use God to fulfill our dreams. That’s got it backwards! Good point Lyla.
This is important: “When God gives us a dream to pursue, it’s our job to both pursue it with everything we have and to hold loosely to it.” Thank you so much for tackling that submission of our dreams to Him. They’re His all along!
Letting go of His dreams to grab hold of Him — brilliant!
Often we allow even the good things He gives us to overshadow our need and desire for more of Him.
Thank you!
Kudos, bravo, excelsior! You are talking about what I always thought I would be doing… and for a good number of years I was well on the road, too (not exactly the same, but close enough) but the last decade not so much. I try to have faith that it will all work out and I will be the better person and writer for the experience, but often the alienation is almost unbearable.
Anyway, good post, well paced, I will have to read it again tomorrow. Keep up the good work and hang in there. oxo
What great, simple, authentic points.
Something to remember,especially considering that I feel like I am stuck, spinning my wheels in my writing, and not suprisingly-I also feel a bit out of touch with God at the moment.
God is always the center, and yet, human I am, some days forget that and think that it is all about me and what I can achieve…
Thank you for wonderful reminder-I needed that!