We all have dreams and we all have desires.
Maybe you dream of one day owning your own law firm. Or you desire to have five children. Or maybe you dream of being an award-winning director and desire to be married by 25.
Whatever the dream, whatever the desire, God is fully aware of it.
This may not be too difficult to believe. But where you may run into questions or doubts is in knowing whether or not what you desire is what God desires for you.
Perhaps you have often wondered “What if God doesn’t want me to go into the film industry? Or what if He only wants me to be married after 30?”
Simply, What if what you want, is not what you will get?
This kind of wondering can leave you anxious, worried and even fearful. But as a Christian, instead of moving forward in fear (or trying to stubbornly force your will to be done) you can overcome by trusting God with your dreams and desires.
Do You Trust God?
If you trust God with your dreams and desires, you won’t have to be fearful or anxious. You can be at peace knowing that He knows what you want and most importantly, He knows what you need.
You can also be confident that He can and will do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you think, ask, or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)
God knows you intimately. (Psalm 139) In fact, He knows you better than you know yourself. If He knows you like that, do you think He would be unable to bless you with what you desire the most, with what you need the most?
Of course He won’t!
But the question is do you trust Him to do that?
Or are you afraid God might hand you the short end of the stick?
Scripture tells us that God is kind and good, loving and just. He is the giver of good gifts. (James 1:17) Looking back at your own experiences when God has amazed you, surprised you and blessed you will also prove that this is true.
But if you are going to make room for God to do amazing things again with your dreams and desires, you will first have to surrender them.
Surrender Your Dream, Surrender Your Desire
Surrendering your dreams and desires to God, means letting them go. It means laying them down just as Abraham was willing to lay down his son, Isaac.
After waiting years for his promised son, God asked Abraham to give him up. (Genesis 22:2) In the same way, He asks you to give up your dreams and desires and offer them to Him.
But why?
Why would God ask you to surrender your desire to marry young?
Why would He ask you to lay down your dream to be successful?
Because He wants to test your heart.
God Wants to Test Your Heart
As a Christian, nothing and no one on this earth should be more important to you than God. This may seem obvious but, without even being aware of it, your dreams and desires can become more important.
Your pursuit of them or your desperation for them can push your desire to seek God, to second place. They can subconsciously shift your focus and your attention.
Yet, it says in Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (NKJV)
Matthew 6:33 does not say “Seek first your dreams and desires and then God and all these things shall be added to you.”
The Bible makes it clear that it is God who must have first place in your life. This is why God asks you to surrender your dreams and desires to Him.
He wants to know what takes first place in your heart, who takes first place. God wants to know if you will seek Him first, above all else, including your career and personal goals.
It’s true, surrendering, is not easy.
But surrendering his only son was not easy for Abraham either. Yet, he surrendered him and was blessed for it.
You Will Be Blessed For Surrendering and Trusting
Many Christians have the blessing of knowing how the story of Abraham and Isaac ends.
But Abraham didn’t.
He had no idea what would happen after he obeyed the command God had given Him.
The Bible tells us that at best, he believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead. (Hebrews 11:17-19)
But the Bible does not tell us that Abraham knew God was seeking to confirm the covenant He had given him long ago. (Genesis 12:1-3)
The Bible does not tell us that Abraham knew generations would be blessed because of his actions or that he would receive descendants as numerous as the stars and sand. (Genesis 22:15-18)
But that is what happened.
Similarly, you cannot see the other side of your surrender.
The Other Side of Surrendering
You cannot see what will happen after you sacrifice your desires or lay down your dreams.
But you can be assured that you will be blessed for it.
You can hope with confidence and have faith that what God does, will be beyond your greatest imaginings. Even if it does not happen exactly when you had planned or isn’t exactly what you had planned, it will be far better.
But most importantly, you can be joyful knowing that through the trying process of surrendering and trusting, you will have strengthened your faith.
You will also have taken a step further in deepening your relationship with the loving God, who you will spend all of eternity with.
