Do You Dream? (3 Steps for Fueling Hope)

I'm an anomaly. I'm a woman who's excited about my 30th birthday. It's just less than a year away and I'm planning the party to end all parties (merely a dry-run for my 40th of course). As I caught myself daydreaming about the music, dancing, food, and venue yesterday, my mind wandered to the people. I thought of the long list of folks I want to invite to celebrate with me. A lot of those people don't know Jesus. But maybe in a year they will? I decided I couldn't come up with any better birthday gift for myself than having those close to me in relationship with the Savior of their souls. That is worth looking forward to...

One of the most powerful concepts I've discovered, next to grace, is hope. Hope has the power to change daily attitudes and entire worldviews. We all have a longing inside of us that needs to be filled. An expectancy for something outside of this world. God created that longing to never be satisfied with anything but him. That longing keeps us looking toward a kingdom not of this world. And it is this longing that can keep us going from day to day. 

If you're in ministry by definition you're probably tired. You may still wake up excited about your calling but you're still tired, maybe even weary. You need something to hope for, long for, dream about. I have found the concepts of dreaming about the future to be extremely therapeutic and oftentimes the right fuel to face another day. Here are three steps for dreaming of a God-sized future and fueling hope:

1. Remember Why You First Entered Ministry: Were you hoping to see throngs of people come to Christ through your evangelism? Did you see a social justice need in your community that if remedied would point people to Christ? Is your goal to see your city radically transformed?
2. Spend Time Imagining Your Wildest Dream Coming True: Would homelessness be eradicated in your city? Would foster homes be empty because of the church stepping up to the call to "take care of orphans?" Would once pleasured centered businesses be missional hotspots?
3. Pray Toward That Dream: Ask God to do something incredible through you/your church plant/ your ministry. (Your dream should be so big that if it came to pass it could only be credited to the God of the Universe.)

I know what I'm dreaming of and praying about for the next year. What about you?