Is now the time to dream?

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For the last two years I've been keeping a tiny, wild, impossible dream in the back of my head. You know the kind: it makes one's heart beat faster with great excitement and a bit of dread, but one leaves it there because it just seems impossible, impractical, silly, unattainable. But every now and then the thought pops up again as one strays down that winding road of disappointment where reality and fantasy meet - no, collide - and the process of picking up and hiding away the pieces of one's shattered dream(s) commences.

And then, as if to really nail down the coffin's lid on one's aspirations, the world falls into a seemingly bottomless pit of chaos. COVID-19, the effects of Climate Change, global violence and war, and neighbours who do not appreciate one's children playing in the communal garden (that's a personal one which is completely unrelated to the above-mentioned...).

Anyway.

It seems that now would be the absolute worst time to dream about the future while there's so much going on in the present. Surely one should wait until things settle down before looking to the future?

And yet...

There seem to be more examples in the Bible of people stepping out in faith than ones taking the 'wise' wait-and-see approach. I think of Abraham (a Bible character I have a great affinity for) upping sticks and moving HIS WHOLE FAMILY AND FARM (sorry for yelling...) to a different country. I think of Moses leading A WHOLE NATION out of slavery. I think of Gideon taking on a whole army with only 300 men. I think of Peter JUMPING OUT OF A PERFECTLY GOOD SHIP to walk on water. I think of Jesus taking up a cross to put the RESPONSIBILITY OF SALVATION on His own shoulders instead of ours.

Stepping out in faith - being silly in the eyes of earthly wisdom - isn't a guarantee that things will go smoothly. There are still spiritual enemies to be faced and battles to be won. There are still deserts to cross. There are still fears and failures to overcome. There are still crosses to pick up and carry up a hill. However, if it points to God's presence, love and mercy, power and justice, so be it.

So, is now the time to dream? Yes. Why not? If anything, this time of turmoil is only convincing me that bad things will happen, whether I let my hopes and dreams fly or not. So why not dream up and do something extraordinary in step with the Holy Spirit? Write that book. Record that album. Paint that picture. Try out for that sports team. Open that shop. Make the world a better place. Dream and let the Spirit-filled ideals shatter the lines between what is possible and impossible, to the glory of God who makes a way when there seems to be no way.

May you, as long as you have breath in your lungs, hold on to the hope that surpasses understanding and insight. May you know the presence and guiding hand of God, the Father who loves you. May you find your purpose for breathing every day you wake up.

Selah.

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