The culture of Heaven is one of great honor. In it we celebrate who a person is without stumbling over who he or she is not. In the atmosphere created by that culture, people become free. And it's normal for free people to dream. Freedom always creates dreamers. And dreamers impact the world with a more complete expression of God's person and nature. The time has come for this expression to become a way of life in the Kingdom. - Bill Johnson
Last weekend, as part of our current 'Love After Marriage' workshop, we had a session about 'Dreaming with God'. It's one our favorite topics because we are excited to see people discover their dreams and define next steps to help them become reality. I love the quote above as it expresses core aspects of what dreaming with God is all about:
1. To dream means to be free and alive.
God has created us to fully live in our identity and calling. He made us with desires, passion, and dreams of all kind: family, work, fun, etc.. He doesn't distinguish between spiritual and natural, for Him all things are natural. And He loves to see us come alive and get closer to our calling as our dreams become reality. When we pursue the dreams that God has put inside us, life, freedom and hope will be set free around us. Dreams fulfilled bring us closer to the eternity that He has designed us for:
A desire fulfilled is a tree of life. - Proverbs 13, 12
2. Permission to dream big
As dreamers, we are called to impact the world with a more complete expression of God's person and nature. We shall let our heart beat to His heart (Acts 13, 22) and find out what big dreams He has in mind for us that influence our society and change the people in our community. With people only (as far as it depends on them) this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Mt. 19, 26). We all have the permission and a 'divine assignment' to dream, in order to live the life God has designed us for.
3. Creating a dream culture
We want to become people who encourage each other to dream, believe in the dreams of others and watch them grow and thrive. In this culture of honor, we celebrate who a person is without stumbling over who he or she is not, writes Bill Johnson. The world isn't used to this, so we're asked to make a difference in the way we see and treat each other:
We were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with joyful shouting. Then they said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.' The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad! - Ps. 126, 1-3
4. Leaders need to be dreamers.
I'm convinced that leaders who start dreaming will become more inspiring and attractive to others. They also will be more innovative. Often, pursuing our dreams requires courage to step out of our comfort zones and jump into an adventure that we might not be looking for. When we take the risk and let others take part in our dream journey we will build trust and a sense of belonging. And 'create a way of life in the Kingdom' by raising new dreamers.
Prompt: Have you given yourself permission to dream? What are your dreams, respectively God's dreams for your life? And which are your next steps to help your dreams become reality?
