God Says, "It's My Dream Too, Remember"
Joey LeTourneau, Redding, CA
The Elijah List
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." Ephesians 3:20
When was the last time you asked God about His dreams? For many of us, it has been a tremendous process just to learn that God invites us to dream with Him. So what do we do when we reach a point when our dreams aren't enough as currently constructed, or are moving forward differently than we expect?
We remember that God dreams too! When God entrusts a dream into our hands, it is an amazing thing. But when we trust Him enough to let go and still put it back in His hands, that's where the "exceedingly and abundantly" we often talk about starts to come to life.
Sacrifice or Multiplication?
...because you have done this thing, and not withheld your son, your only son – blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the Heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore... Genesis 22:16-17
Sometimes we're afraid to surrender the way Abraham did at Mt. Moriah.
We're often worried surrender will equal loss; but that's not our Father's nature, He prefers multiplication!
Abraham dreamt of Isaac, and while this was a wonderful start according to the extent of Abraham's vision, God still dreamed of many more "Isaacs" beyond what Abraham could number. When our dreams and God's find their place of conception together, His dreams complete ours to even greater extents as we continue to surrender through the dreaming process. To dream with God, and live those dreams with Him, requires a tension of BOTH ridiculous trust and fearless action. (Photo via Pixabay)
Emphasizing "With"
When we dream with God, "with" becomes far too underrated a word of emphasis. It's easy to focus on the "dreaming," and hopefully on "God" too. But it's the "with" where an unusual power of eternal multiplication is truly birthed – here on earth and in Heaven. If we're not mindful of it, our version of "with" can quickly become dreaming "about" God or "in regards to" or "on behalf of."
Like in most cases of life, we tend to focus on the "end" more than the "means." But it is when we embrace the mysterious tension of "with" that it truly becomes a joint effort, a back and forth at Heaven's white board and earth's canvas; not just dreaming into His possibilities, but allowing Him to dream into ours.
The "with" gives God permission to take His "exceedingly and abundantly" and use it to re-model what we ask or imagine. "With" is a tension that doesn't focus on the answer, but upon the back and forth trust relationship that will bear more answers than we could count. To see our God-dreams become reality in this ripe season ahead, "with" must become our renewed point of emphasis, and an active trust will become our means.
"Foot On the Gas, Hands Off the Wheel"
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6
So how do we go forward in this "with" mode? The last couple years God has given me a clear word I continue to move forward by.
As I asked Him how to move forward, He said, "Foot on the gas, hands off the wheel." To me, it's like a child would drive.
They can't press the gas and steer at the same time. They have to choose. God doesn't make us go forward, but He does help us steer. So I have learned to choose to go forward boldly in trust and faith, while yet surrendering the wheel, even and especially when I want to hold on, see, or understand the most. (Photo via Pixabay)
Childlike is one of the most effective revelations of the Kingdom here on earth, as Jesus pointed to in Mark 10:14-15. I believe that's why we must learn to "drive" childlike. It's a powerful position of forward-moving dependence on God, and a position that lets God's dreams lead ours towards His very best.
"It's My Dream Too, Remember"
We were recently in the middle of getting a new resource ready to launch and needed to develop a launch strategy. I love to strategize in all sorts of ways, but this was one of the times God was telling me to take my hands off the wheel and "watch" instead. However, I also did not want to be a poor steward, so I double-checked with God, wanting to make sure He really did want me to let go of this aspect and just leave it with Him for the time being, still ready and willing to do my diligent part.
The next thing I heard from the Lord felt like a playful nudge from a friend, "It's My dream too, remember."
I laughed, nodded, and upon hearing this remembered that truly our current endeavor of a board game that empowers people to dream into their purpose was indeed a combo of my dream starting to be infused by His. I had never set out to create a board game, but I had been dreaming with God for years about empowering people, especially youth around the world, into their purpose. The fact that it came about through a game was very much His idea.
With these joint dream ventures, God is partnering with us and has a very vested interest in seeing them come to life. He wants us to trust Him to fulfill His part too. This requires that we trust Him with both faith and patience.
Joseph has often been known as "the dreamer" with the way he dreamt of what would happen in Israel through his life. And Joseph watched and waited for those dreams to come to reality. All along, God was trying to show him something he didn't expect: "Yes, I'll give you your dream for Israel, but it's part of My much bigger dream for your life. I want to give you Egypt, which will give you the nations, which will also include Israel."
(Photo via Pixabay)
Joseph waited for Israel to take notice, but God sent Pharaoh to take notice and be the one who helped launch Joseph's dream instead. God dreams differently than we do, but it's an exceedingly and abundantly kind of different. And, suddenly, our dream might be remodeled or re-routed in a way we never knew possible!
He's given us permission to dream with Him, but do we trust Him enough to give it back and see His dream empower ours? God dreams too – thankfully!
Joey LeTourneau
Imagi-Nations LLC
Joey LeTourneau, along with his wife Destiny and their five kids, live in Redding, California, and work across the nations to see the Father's heart and blessings revealed, and want to see God's children empowered to live out their unique purpose and calling. Joey has authored six books, and together with his wife they have founded Imagi-Nations LLC, a movement to "Imagine nations changed because you lived your purpose and dream."
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