God hates visionary dreaming; it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious.Wait, that can't be right. Aren't we told to pursue our dreams? Aren't we supposed to dream big and have visionary, innovate solutions and ideas? Aren't we...
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, pg 27
No. And, for the record, yes.
No to our typical thinking, but yes if and only if it is a dream God has given us. But even then we must be willing to sacrifice it if he asks it of us, for if our dream is not of him it will be taken away, and for the good. If, however, our dream is of him, he will give it back, in due time, and it will likewise be for the good.
We must sift our dreams, weigh and measure them. "It's all about the call [of God]" - how many time have you heard that? "I've got to find the will of God for my life" - another common phrase. Well think on this: the will of God for your life is not lost and you do not need to go searching the depths of the earth for it. It's right in his Word.
And that's where my trouble lies. Yes, I believe God can and sometimes chooses to direct people in direct, cut-and-dry ways. But that is not normal. The will of God for your life is simple and profound: whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. That is the will of God for my life, for your life.
If we simply did everything for God's glory would we struggle so much with our "life's purpose?" Would we worry so much about the future? If we always choose to do what is most glorifying to God then of course we will be in the center of "his will for our life."
Do you think God will call you to do something you utterly abhor? I, for one, do not believe this. It seems to me that God will not "call you" to be an artist if you have no such ability. God has given each of us particular gifts and abilities to use for his purpose and glory. We need not wonder if we are to be an engineer if math is not your game.
But we should and ought to realize that doing what we are talented at doing for God's glory is not going to come without cost. While I do believe that doing what we are good at for God's glory will be pure joy in many ways, I also believe it will be quite painful. For it is seen throughout the pages of Scripture that he doesn't just desire glory, he desires (and deserves!) all the glory, and the most glory that can possibly be given from any particular situation.
Thus, you will be pruned. You will be broken. You will be grafted and be grafted into. What are the things that you have a desire to do for God's glory? Now, of those things, what do you think, knowing your weaknesses and strengths, would be the hardest for you to do? That, I think, is what God is "calling" you to do.
Why? because it is not easy for us to deny our flesh, so God gets the glory when the flesh is denied. Because it requires refining, and people don't choose to go through fire for the fun of it -- so God gets the glory. Whatever you have a passion for doing that would cause you to bend over backwards to rely on God and deny yourself is, I believe, the call of God. You are your own worst enemy, for as much as you desire to succeed in this role, you also desire to fail and cave into fleshly desires.
But when you follow God and wait on him, he will bear you up high, and you fly. Your dreams will soar. But sometime we take our eyes off of God and start looking around, we fly too high on the wings of selfish ambition, and, like Icarus, we fall. But, unlike Icarus, God catches us. We all fail, sometimes, but that's okay. Because we also know what it's like to leave the ground.
My prayer is that I will follow God's leading and choose to do what gives him the most glory, every time. That I will be able to focus on him in this present he's given me, and not get so caught up in the future I forget that I'm making it, and not get so caught up in the past that I forget to redeem the time. And I pray that God will take me home to be with him when my death will glorify him more than my life.
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