Dreams are clear…at first. When God births a dream, our hearts are captured with enthusiasm and expectations. We are excited to share our dream and develop an action plan to accomplish the dream. We begin to imagine what it would be like for the dream to become reality.
Yet we soon discover that although God reveals this dream to us, He doesn’t give us the whole picture. It seemed so clear at first, like we were dreaming in color. But after just a little time, the color fades. Enthusiasm is met with resistance. And the expectation of certain success begins to wane toward fear of failure.
Joseph experienced the same phenomena. He had two complimentary and confirming dreams. Each piece of the dream was so clear he later described them in vivid detail. He dreamed in color. But his dream failed at first, just like most dreams do.
What should you do when the clarity you once enjoyed begins to fade? Here are a few suggestions:
• Record the dream.
Write it down. Joseph spoke it. We now read it in Scripture. Recording the dream clarifies what you absolutely know today. Very soon you will need to come back and read what God revealed to you.
• Get comfortable with tension.
If you are a dreamer, you are no average Joe. Some people will not understand you. They will not believe in you or your dream. That’s okay. Joseph’s family didn’t understand him. But if you are committed to pleasing people, you will never accomplish the dream.
• Champion the loose ends.
Seeing the dream is easy for a dreamer, but living out the dream is the challenge. Real life is messy, unpredictable, and difficult. There will always be more to do, so consider the loose ends as opportunities to build the dream rather than as distractions from the dream.
• Return often to the God of the dream.
Joseph was soon rejected by his family and sold as a slave. It appeared that his dream would never be accomplished. As vivid as the dream is, the dream never tells the whole story because the dream is never the whole story. The story is bigger than one dream. God will accomplish His work through you, but He must first do a work in you. So run to God daily. Grow in your relationship with Jesus and discover His ways.
We dream in color, but we live in the gray. Despite fading colors, Joseph was no average Joe because he never gave up on the God of the dream. We too rise above mediocrity when we no longer demand high-definition dreams to validate God’s work in our lives. Instead we choose to walk by faith through our grayscale reality.
Question—What has helped you remain true to your dream?