Making the Dream/Vision a Reality
Growing up, I had terrible dreams. They felt like nightmares, and they would wake me up in the middle of the night. I would be terrified. The only words that would come out of my mouth were, “Oh God, help me, please take it away.” Those scary dreams and terrors were the beginnings of my open communication with God – my prayers for help. As time went on and as I grew older, I went to church and got involved with activities such as, singing in the choir and attending youth events. The dreams did not stop; however, I began to understand them differently. The excerpt is taken from the book, “Twelve Women: Inspirational Journey of Faith, Hope, and Love” by C. Westmoreland
Proverbs 29:18a states, “Where [there is] no vision, the people perish”. Dreams and visions are ways in which God chooses to speak to His people. If we are not guided by the Lord, then we will perish and defeat will overcome us.
Dreams and visions have been my guiding light. If I can see it, I pray for clarity and a way to make it a reality. Sometimes the guidance is one step at a time. I believe that if God gives me the whole understanding at one time, it would be overwhelming. God’s instructions in fulfilling a dream will be work, labor-intensive, and sometimes not for the faint at heart. It will require a determination and steadfastness that only God can provide.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges says, “The vision is the actual contact between God and the human spirit, which is the necessary condition of any direct revelation, the law is the recorded result of such a revelation, either passed from mouth to mouth by tradition or written permanently in a book.
What has God revealed to you?
Are there some things that you have dreamed of or seen that at first were unfamiliar or a little unsettling? I have found that with time and much prayer, you can begin to see things differently and how your dreams and visions align with the Word of God.
Nehemiah was a great builder with a vision from the Lord. Through Nehemiah, we can see that a critical shift has to take place in going from “what you believe God wants you to do” to How that goal is going to be accomplished” (or what steps have to be taken to get that job done). Both of these parts are important.
Our dreams and visions will require work as Nehemiah’s vision did in the past. There are three principles to think about that make the transition from vision to reality.
- Break the Task Down into Manageable parts.
As a leader, like Nehemiah, he needed groups of people working on different tasks to get the job done. A dream is a compelling vision you see in your heart that’s too big to accomplish without the help of others. Who do you need to help you fulfill your dream and vision?
- Make Wise and Informed decisions and assignments
Making your dream and vision a reality requires that you make wise decisions and are careful in how you utilize people to work with you. In a big project, there may be groups of people with particular skills to work in a specific area. Others may make wise decisions about a particular individual to work alongside you to help you create a product or service. We need each other to fulfill dreams and visions with purpose.
- Recognize and commend the workers for the job they do.
Interestingly, gratitude and appreciation are key elements to making dreams and visions a reality. The contributions of those that serve and work with you are critically important. First, give honor to whom honor is due and cultivate a heart of appreciation. Making our dreams and visions a reality is communicating and showing gratitude for the people who stand by us and assist us in fulfilling the vision that we received from the Lord.
What has God called you to do? What dream or vision has had you up at night? Now is the time to pray about the people that you need to include to realize your dream and vision.