Life-Giving Leaders Trust He is Infinitely More

​Have you ever had to lay down a dream? Perhaps the dream of having a child, a certain career, a house, it could be a million things. Mine was for my husband and me to be in full-time ministry. This dream caused tension in our marriage. When I did lay it down, peace resonated in my soul and in our marriage. It became evident to me that I was focusing more on the dream of full-time ministry rather than on following Jesus Christ. Ministry was my idol. I knew I needed to lay down my dream of full-time ministry. At that time I didn’t know that His dream for us was infinitely greater than anything I could think or imagine. I just knew I was laying down a dream that was seemingly embedded into the very fiber of who I was. So, I prayed, and prayed, and prayed some more. I declared to the Lord that I was going to be the best wife and mother I knew how to be by supporting Mark’s thriving career in advertising, and raising our three children.

It was an incredible transformation that occurred in my heart. I experienced the peace that surpasses understanding. When I gave up my dream, my agenda, and plans, our marriage became more loving and less contentious. Mark felt less pressured to be and do something he didn’t feel called to.

I learned so many lessons from this season in our lives. First, holding a dream so tightly that it robs you of relationships and hinders your ability to love the Lord and trust Him with your life, is not a dream worth having. Secondly, a ministry is not the goal, Jesus is. Third, laying your dream down gives God the opportunity to fulfill His dream for your life, in His time. Finally, I learned that God will always do infinitely more than I can imagine. Years later, Mark went into full-time ministry and is now a pastor at Bayside Community Church.

Questions: Share your first dream. Share about a time in your life when God’s dream was different than your dream.

Prayer: Father, let us experience the depths of your love for us when we lay down a dream. Help us to intimately know that you are infinitely more and we can trust You with our dreams; with our lives. We love You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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