More Than a Dream
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” ––Matthew 26:39
The dream of Jesus did not depend on His circumstances, His rights, His parents, His friends, His critics, or His feelings. It’s no surprise, then, that the exact dream God has for you is in the mold of His Son. “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29). For every God’s man ever born this has been the plan, and this is the process we are all engaged in: becoming like our firstborn brother, Jesus. For now, resolve to let God decide what goes into His recipe dream for you.
Your reality is God’s glory. Everything that is happening in your life––especially the stuff you want to keep a secret––is an ingredient in God’s greatness. You might be thinking, “I don’t want God to use that!” But God’s reply is, “That is exactly what I what to use.”
God is eager to use your now-life, not the cleaned-up version. To fuel the dream, He prefers struggles over strengths. One gives Him glory, the other gives you glory. Yep, it’s the spots on the lepers and their utter helplessness that got God excited and put the clean to shame. Got some ugly spots dotting the epidermis of your life right now? Got old spots and scars that the masks can’t cover? God is operating in your uncomfortable realities today, not the ideal future.
Sound weird? You’re in good company.
Reality is where glory resides. If the disciples saw me as a seventeen-year-old, they would have asked, “Lord, who has sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be doing his life as he is, making decisions that will ruin his future?” Jesus would reply, “This is happening so that the work of God can be displayed in his life.”
And it has. Feeling better?
Father, how can You save me, my Savior, if I don’t think I need saving? Please change my mindset!
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See John 9:3