The Ultimate Dream Killer
Sometimes the adventure in front of us can be intimidating, but we must not draw back when God is inviting us into the new and unknown. God may be leading you to something new and different, but you hesitate. Things are comfortable where you are; it's familiar... and safe. Comfort, familiarity and safety can be good, but they can also be deadly. They can kill a dream and stop you from fulfilling what you are called to do.
One of my all time favorite quotes is from Mark Twain:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
The phrase that hits home with me in that quote is "sail away from the safe harbor." We must be courageous and leave the safe harbor when God instructs us to do so.
In Genesis, Abraham left everything that was comfortable, familiar and safe and set out for an unknown destination. He did not know where he would end up; he just knew God was leading Him. Now, that's faith. He trusted the Lord.
On two different occasions, the Lord has led Jim and me to pull up stakes and move somewhere new, without a job lined up. The first time, He moved us 600 miles from our native Ohio to South Carolina. Then, 13 years later, He directed us to move 1,000 miles to Texas. Both times we had no idea what awaited us, but He has been faithful to provide. He is faithful and we never lacked for anything.
In your situation, God may not be uprooting you and moving you to another geographic location. Instead, He may be challenging you in other ways. Maybe it's a book He has been prompting you to write or a business He has told you to start. Perhaps He has been leading you to open your home up for a Bible study, or it may simply be that He has told you to reach out to someone you don't know. Maybe he is directing you to apply for a different job.
Anytime we take a risk, it involves overcoming fear. And it may also mean ignoring the discouraging comments from well-meaning friends and relatives.
Fear is simply the enemy trying to prevent you from accomplishing what God has called you to accomplish. In my opinion, fear is the number one tool the devil uses to keep us trapped in average, dull, dissatisfying lives doing little for the Kingdom of God. We must choose to follow God even when we feel fear.
And those people who love you but want to shoot holes in your dream- they are often doing so because if you follow your dream, it will remind them of the dreams they have failed to pursue in their own lives. And if you are successful, it will shine a big, bright spotlight on the inadequate existence they have accepted.
So, be willing to follow the Lord wherever He leads. He will not let you down. And even if there are some missed steps and challenges along the way (and there will be), He will be right there with you. And when you have realized your dream, it will be worth it all. So, please, please, please, do not settle for comfort, familiarity and safety. Follow God and sail away from that safe harbor!
