Do you ever catch yourself thinking about what lies ahead and not what is right in front of you? Are you someone who dreams big and desperately wants your dreams to come true right now? If you answered yes to either question, thank you for your honesty.
Speaking from personal experience, I am someone who dreams big. I am someone who is generally a very passionate person. There is nothing wrong with having big dreams or extreme passion. That is normal. But sometimes we tend to focus so much on our dreams that we do not take the time to enjoy the season we are currently in. You ever been there? I certainly have.
Whatever dream you may have, you must put in the hard work. You must display great passion and determination to be successful regardless of what obstacles are in your path. Any succesful person would tell you that they did not just wake up one day successful without putting in the hard work.
Do you ever view your relationship with Christ like that? Do you ever look at other people and say, ‘Man, I wish I could have a strong relationship with Christ like they do’? Do you ever feel guilty because your relationship with Christ is not where it needs to be? I know I do.
Friend, you can have a strong and intimate relationship with Christ. You can have a personal and genuine relationship with Christ. Just like that dream you work so hard for, you must put in the work with Christ. I’m not saying you must do all these good works and give a certain amount of money to a homeless person to know Christ.
What I am saying is that you must make it a priority to spend time with Christ in devotion, reading your bible, prayer, worship, and fellowship. The deeper you dive into the word of God, the closer you will grow to Christ. Every single day, spend time with God. Every day, put in the hard work. Put in the grind because this is the most important thing you could ever do.
When you can make it a priority to spend time with Christ daily and become a student of the word and surround yourself with other believers, Christ will begin to build your foundation. You begin to grow. You begin to know God in a way that you did not know was possible.
Just like the obstacles that occur when you are working hard to make your dreams come true, obstacles will come and try to disrupt your relationship with Christ. The enemy will desperately try to pull you away from Christ. Friend, stand strong and immerse yourself in the mighty love of Jesus. Know that the difficulties you experience will not overcome you. They will not defeat you. In fact, they will make you stronger.
Scripture says, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (ESV, 2023, 1 Peter 5:10).
What an incredible promise this is! The same God that created the earth, that sent his son to die on the cross for our sins, will make us strong. He will be your foundation. Because when you are in Christ, you will not be defeated. The battle has already been won. When you are in Christ, the things of this world cannot destroy you. Take comfort in that.
I just wanted to finish with one of my all-time favorite quotes. Even when you do not understand what God is doing, trust him. Understand that he is in control. Let God mold you into the person he is calling you to be. He is at work even when you do not see it. Let him be your firm foundation...
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity