“Where do you see yourself in the next 5, 10, 20 years?” I asked inquisitively. She looked at me with a blank stare, swiftly turned around, and did a rather awkward and rapid walk/run out the door. True, I had met this girl only 3 minutes prior, standing in line for a dressing room at the Gap, but what better way to get to know someone then to ask the big questions in life? Right?
If you are around me for any given amount of time or if you ask any of my friends, this question is quite possibly one of my favorites to ask. I’m known to be a bit of a dreamer and the idea of visions and goals not only resound deep in my heart, but quite often become the topic of conversation. I love to think about the future and the endless possibilities that lie within the uncertainty of tomorrow. The art of being a dreamer and a visionary, however, is one that is quite new to me and in many ways I’m still striving towards. This art of dreaming tends to be a hard one to master because it dares you to completely rebuild your ideas of success, forces you to come head to head with faithful enemies named fear and failure, and demands that you become vulnerable. Even still, it is such an integral and important aspect in the body of Christ. Think about Ephesians 2:10, ““For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” I like to think that the individual revelation of these good works “prepared in advance for us to do” are oftentimes revealed to us in dreams and visions. I, for a very good portion of my life, struggled to dream big dreams. I was afraid that if I spoke these deep longings and passions in my heart to others I would encounter either: (a) criticism and discouragement, or (b) that these things would never happen and what I would end up confronting would be the big and dreaded f word- FAILURE. I was paralyzed in fear and because I could not dream I was only left with aimlessness. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I loved God and I continued serving Him but what Proverbs 29:18 is so true, “Where there is no vision, the people perish…”(KJV). For me, I had to come to an understanding that the root issue was a low view of who God really was. I think if you were to ask any dreamer or true visionary what exactly is necessary to dream big, chances are it would include a clear understanding of the sheer magnitude and vastness of God, and an acceptance that it’s something one can never fully grasp. In other words, the bigger God becomes in your life, the bigger your dreams become for what He can do in and through you, and the idea that the greatest thing you could ever dream is nothing God hasn’t already thought of. The reality that God can use anything or anyone to make His name known is amazing, but knowing that He would choose to use you or me to do it, and even more wants to, is simply humbling. I think if we position ourselves to hear the voice of God and we adhere to Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” it is limitless the things we could do for the kingdom of God across the globe. Andy Stanley, in his book Visioneering, says “Vision requires visionaries, people who have allowed their minds and hearts to wonder outside the artificial boundaries imposed by the world as it is. A vision requires an individual who has the courage to act on an idea.” We look at these great people in history such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, David Livingstone, the Moravians, Reverend Billy Graham, etc. as world changers, but why? They were visionaries and dreamers. They dared to dream what could be.
The whole purpose behind writing this specific post is to encourage you. Maybe you have lost your ability to dream, like I had, and you don’t know where to begin. Well, realizing it IS the beginning and believing in faith that He longs to give them to you. Maybe all you need is encouragement and support, and if so, Andy Stanley later says, “Joseph reviewed his vision from an Egyptian dungeon. Moses spent years following sheep. David, the teenage king, spent years hiding in caves. And Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the very king whose ancestors had destroyed the city he longed to rebuild! Be encouraged. God has you there for a reason.” In each case know that no dream or vision is too big when you serve a God who holds the very universe in His hands, and in Psalm 2 says that if we would only ask, He would give the nations to us. Dream BIG! To some this may look like stepping out in faith, praying, building a plan, walking in faith, getting accountability, or having patience to wait on His timing. Nonetheless, you can do it! What will you be remembered for? What will you pass on to your children? What will become of your legacy? I once heard a speaker say, “What you are doing now, will shape who you will become.” Stanley says, “God’s visions for your life are the things that will give your life impact beyond this life.”
So, I’ll end with this question… Where do you see yourself in the next 5, 10, 20 years?
*all quotes from Andy Stanley’s book Visioneering*
