What has happened to your dreams?

Everybody has a dream and has some idea of what might happen in the future. Recently, while in Australia, I saw a big piece of art about the dreamtime of the Aboriginal people. It seems like every people corporately and as individuals has/have dreams of some kind. Genesis 37: Joseph had a dream, and it seems his father wanted him to keep quiet about it. His brothers laughed at it and eventually tried to silence him permanently. In the end the fulfilment of the dream was to the profit and the deliverance of his people (redemption).

In Africa too we have dreams. Many of these dreams are not good, because they come to us in the form of illusions, demonic visitations at night - visions of weird and terrible things, which leave us in fear and hopelessness.

As Christians we talk about vision, planning, mission statements, goal setting. But I think they are all different, but could be part of dreaming. Are you still dreaming? As a child you probably had fantasies about the future – of whatever kind. As we become born again Christians, I believe we become tuned into the dreams God has for us, for which He has created us. Romans 8 from vers 28 speaks about God’s calling, God’s fore-knowledge and God’s inheritance for us, from before the foundations of the earth. God is a creative God and must have lots of imagination in order to create what He created. Did God dream before He created the universe?

Here are some questions:

• Are you still dreaming or has your dream turned into a nightmare? Have people told you “It can’t be done?” Have your fathers, your brothers, etc. been telling you “It can’t be done”?
  
• Have you given up on your dream because it seemed impossible, because you waited too long, because it’s become hard work? It has been said that 80% of the people die before they will ever fulfil their dreams. This is scary!
  
• Is your dream a redemptive dream? God’s dreams are redemptive; they includes many other people and are part of His plan and eternal benefit of His kingdom.
  
• How do you imagine your life will look like in the year 2055? What are your dreams for your ministry in the year 2056? Anybody can marry, can have children. No dream is required.
  
  

Dreaming might cost you!

Ps 105 verse 19: Joseph had to be tested by the Word of the Lord before his dreams could come to fruition, and the eternal plan of God was fulfilled. Whether we have been in YWAM for many years, or we have just joined YWAM, I want to encourage you to dream (again). Trust God to show you His dream for your life. Dreams without action are just some fantasy – like a sandcastle or a fairy tale. Let’s encourage one another to dream and to see those dreams come to fulfilment.

I have a dream for Africa! I dream about God’s redemptive purposes for Africa to be fulfilled through our ministry. I dream of Africa without diseases (malaria is still a greater killer than HIV/AIDS). I dream of Africa without poverty, but abundance of food. I dream of Africa without wars and genocide. I dream of Africa where young children are studying instead of wielding guns and destroying the dreams of others. I am dreaming that my dreams go beyond my lifespan, because they are part of God’s eternal plan. Will you remain engaged with me in this dream - refusing for God’s dream to become a mere fantasy? Dare to dream!

Kobus Van Niekerk

Posted 9 June 2010


Click here for Kobus's word on Territories