When Dreams Never Happen
I was on my way out from the rental car facility in Nashville, Tennessee when I struck up a conversation with the gentleman in the exit booth.
He asked, “Where are you from?”
“I’m from the Dallas, Texas area.”
He replied, “I’m from East Texas.”
“So how did you get to Tennessee?”
“I came here with my guitar and a dream.”
Like many who migrate to the Music City, the rental car employee had a dream of being a famous country singer but somewhere along the line, the dream was shelved.
The conversation ended but I wondered what happened to this man’s dream. Did he not get the right breaks? Did a bad habit move him off course? Was he not a good enough musician?
I remember having a dream like that once. I desired to be an ESPN Sportscenter anchor. I made it to ESPN as a freelance reporter and was even offered a full-time reporting position but I realized it was my dream and not God’s dream for my life. The decision to leave an offer on the table at the national sports television network led to a move home that included reconciliation with my mother and an eventual call to ministry. What if I had followed my dream without ever consulting God?
We all have dreams but we have to occasionally ask our heavenly Father, “Is this your dream for me?”
Even Jesus consulted his Father for direction and said, “…the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”
Our Abba Father is an excellent counselor. He wants to show us where we should serve, work and worship. He is the dream traffic cop. He will fine tune and redirect your dreams if you pay attention to his signals.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8).