Are You Giving Up The Dream?

Are You Giving Up The Dream? Dear Faithful One, Have you ever felt tired of trying? Have you ever just wanted to turn back and write off whatever dream you carried in your heart? As I sought God's heart for the message to begin the year 2005, below were the thoughts He gave me. 1. When Jesus was arrested, Mark 14:50 read, "Then everyone deserted him and fled." NIV Realize that as you face challenges in the mission God entrusted to you, not everyone will be willing to endure the challenges with you. There may be times when God deliberately allows you to lose your support system. Whether they chose to remove themselves or whether their life cir****tances prevented them from supporting you, the fact remains that your network is no longer around you. Realize that this is your moment of discovery. Will you continue with the mission even if you have to continue alone? 2. In Jesus' case, the mission continued. God's Word tells us that He could have called in a legion of angels but He did not issue the command. Jesus said in Matthew 26:53-54, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" God's dream was for the restoration of human kind and Jesus finished the dream by dying on the cross and paying the full penalty of our sin. God never said the dream would be easy. Jesus continued in His mission and His end life statement was recorded in John 19:30, "Is it finished." What will your life statement be at the end of your time on earth? 3. In Jesus' story, He remained "on course" through his arrest, his trails before the Sanhedrin and Herod, and all the way up to the cross. He remained "on course" because He chose to. In our case, however, we may find ourselves "on course" not because we have chosen it but because our cir****tances force us to stay where we are. For instance, you may wish to give up on a project but you can't because it is your only means of income. Sometimes, God allows limitations to keep us "on course" so we can finish what He first began in us. What we see as a curse may be God's grace in action. Oh Faithful One, will you begin the year 2005 trusting that even your boundaries can keep you "on course" towards God's ultimate destination for your life? 4. Jesus' sstory did not end with Calvary, it ended with the resurrection and with our commission to share God's victory with the world. Realize that Jesus is the perfect example of a surrendered life. Did you know it takes a surrendered life to finish the dream God intended for you? What God revealed to me in His Son's story is that so often, we are just the opposite of a surrendered life. We refuse to surrender to God. Instead we zero in on what we decide must happen. We set the goals, we even set the destination and then we ask God to bless our plans. Sometimes we even fling ourselves outside God-allowed boundaries in a frantic way to make a statement for God and we deceive ourselves into thinking this is faith. Did you notice that Jesus' resolution to follow God was carried out in a total state of assurance and calm? He had nothing to prove. He was simply being obedient. In the same way, what God wants from us is a quiet surrender to His dream for us. There is something very serene in surrendering to God's will. It feels like a raging storm within us that is silenced for the first time. As I reflect on the miracles God gave us at Inspire Women this past year, I have learned that the pre- requisite to experiencing the miracle is to surrender to what God is doing. He is the one who sets the agenda. We were commissioned to express His heart. Often, we felt the odds were against us. Many times, we felt foolish but we went in His name anyway. If you are feeling pressure, then realize that the one entrusted with the dream is often the one who is called to pay the highest price. You will feel the cost of the dream. The question you must settle that will help you endure is this: Whose dream is this? If it is God's, then continue with confidence. If it is for your own gratification, then realize that if you ever sought a title or a position that comes with the dream, your eyes are focused on self glory and you are robbing God of His glory. In all my years in ministry, I have discovered that those pursuing God's dream have never sought the appointment. Instead, they humbly received the position as one chosen by God, not as one who chose themselves. Oh Faithful One, if God has put a dream in your heart, how much of that dream would you like to experience this year? Are you ready for a miracle year? Then realize that for the full power of heaven to be released to you, then all of you must be released to God. The choice is yours.

AMEN!!!! Thank you for this! Sharon