He said that it is a fact that certain dreams we have, which we assume have failed and forever been denied by God, do eventually succeed--but at a later point than we expected. For some of us, a dream is realized much later in life than we thought possible. The corollary is that waiting often proves to be well worth it. By taking a circuitous route to a dream, we are better prepared to enjoy its benefits--and really do enjoy them more than if we had achieved our goal quickly and easily. If we remain open to God’s leading, and optimistic about his possibilities for us, most of us will enjoy delayed accomplishments that to us are dramatic--in light of the expectations we have for our life.
It may seem simple enough to say that God brings certain dreams to pass at unlikely times in our lives. Yet most of us do not begin to appreciate this aspect of God’s work nearly as greatly as we should. The result is that our hope for the future often falls short of what it could be. It helps us greatly to appreciate reasons that God may delay the fulfilment of a dream, and advantages we may enjoy by waiting. Some of these potential benefits include:
1) Saving something for act three. When we’re young, we wish we had all of life’s treasures at our feet at once. As we grow older, we’re grateful that some of life’s best adventures have been delayed. God graciously proportions his blessings throughout our life.
2) Putting success in the right perspective. We may think of certain blessings of life--such as marriage or a golden job opportunity--as a panacea, solving all our problems and bringing endless happiness. In reality, these steps typically bring incremental improvement to our life but not radical. Putting our expectations in right perspective takes time.
God also wishes to help us learn to enjoy daily life in the face of many unfulfilled desires. The fuller our life is apart from a dream’s being realised, the more likely we are to benefit from its coming to pass. Because we aren’t banking on the dream’s being the solution to our happiness, we are less likely to suffer a letdown when it doesn’t deliver perfection, and are better able to enjoy the benefits it truly provides.
3) Handling the responsibilities of success. Any dream we realize brings new responsibilities into our life. While we might imagine we’re fully capable of taking on these burdens now, God often does us a favor by giving us more time to get ready. One of the best ways we can invest our energy during a dream’s delay is in preparing more fully for the responsibilities it will require if it comes about.
4) Fitting our piece into the larger puzzle. The most unfathomable aspect of God’s providence is that he fits the details of our life into an infinitely bigger picture. He not only has our own needs in mind in the timing of events, but those of countless others. And he integrates our own life situation into an endless variety of other circumstances.
The most encouraging part is that, when a dream delays, we often find circumstances are more favourable to it when it finally comes about than they would have been earlier. We simply cannot predict the direction all the external factors will take in any matter related to our life. When a dream delays, we should remind ourselves often that circumstances may fit it better at some point in the future. We do well to stay hopeful.
5) The growth of anticipation. A friend once took me boat shopping with him. After we had looked at different models, I asked if he was ready to purchase one. “I don’t actually intend to buy a boat,” he confessed, “for then I wouldn’t have this dream to look forward to.” My friend’s surprising--and almost serious--remark points to one of the most important keys to patience and contentment we can learn. Anticipation has value as an end in itself.
Great joy is possible in the mood of anticipation; it’s an extraordinary stimulant and motivator for us. If we can learn to enjoy anticipation, we have the most effective possible antidote to rushing a dream prematurely and losing heart if it delays. Patience is natural for us in this case. If we can become comfortable with anticipation, then it can grow over time. The result is that we will enjoy the fulfilment of a dream that delays than one which comes about quickly.
6) Divine compensation. There is also a more mysterious, spiritual dynamic to the postponement of dreams that’s hinted at occasionally in Scripture. God, in compensation for the waiting process we endure, may increase our elation in a dream’s finally being realised. Isaiah 61:7 and Zechariah 9:12, for instance, speak of joy being doubled in return for a long-delayed blessing. These passages do give us a basis for hope, and remind us that the delaying of a dream may mean that God will increase the fulfilment we eventually experience. He is working all things out for your good. Trust that God is doing something that will exceed your wildest imaginations when you experience a delay.
Have you lost heart over a personal dream that hasn’t been fulfilled? Yet to the best of your knowledge, does it fit your gifts and interests well? Is it a good match for your life as God has designed it? It may seem that pessimism about the future is your best defense against further disappointment. But keep in mind the benefits of hope. Be careful not to write your personal history with a gloomy conclusion before it happens. Stay open to opportunities to move toward your dream that God may make possible for you.
Ask him to give you the divine ability to live in two worlds at once--to stay hopeful about your future, yet happy right now even with certain desires unfulfilled. Through his grace, you can achieve this balance in your outlook, and it’s a vital part of the attitude of faith. Most of all, remember that whatever happens, Christ desires the best for you and is working out an ideal plan for your life. That alone is an incomparable reason for hope. Take confidence from knowing it. And may it give you the courage to take steps of faith.
Ask him to give you the divine ability to live in two worlds at once--to stay hopeful about your future, yet happy right now even with certain desires unfulfilled. Through his grace, you can achieve this balance in your outlook, and it’s a vital part of the attitude of faith. Most of all, remember that whatever happens, Christ desires the best for you and is working out an ideal plan for your life. That alone is an incomparable reason for hope. Take confidence from knowing it. And may it give you the courage to take steps of faith.
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