Daring to dream big

Dreaming big. What is that?

Noah trusted God

In our humdrum everyday lives (yes, even us in so-called 'missions' have those too), it's very easy to get caught in the mundane and lose track of what we are called to.

Today, in the staff meeting, the leader, Hans, encouraged us to remember (and ask God to help us remember) the great things that we should be thankful for this year. This was hard for many, who felt the negatives of the year so easily come to mind!

Yet, remembering is an important part of the Christian walk. God answers prayers daily, but we forget and still hold onto areas where we feel that He has been absent. Remembering the good things God has done for us helps us to have perspective on the present and have hope for the future.

There is a certain higher calling that we have when we know Jesus. It's not to (in our own strength) bring him into our workplaces, home lives, schools and social activities. He's not an 'add-on' or an extra app that we simply download daily and live towards. No, it's a radical calling to give up everything to follow him. It's turning our world upside down and saying, I am no longer my own, but His. This is a radical transforming of our very being from living for ourselves, to living for Christ. If we recognise this Sonship and the authority that it carries, then we will soon recognise the need to lay ourselves down, yes, even our own hopes and dreams, and drop everything to follow him, just as He did for us through the cross.

This, as we saw from the encounters with the first disciples, is a process. A process that we must be willing to go through, if we are to see communities around us transformed by His love; if we are to experience and know the inheritance for which He promises us.

God is calling me to dream big right now. To allow Him to speak into my life in a whole new way. The reality of what I see around me, does not match what He has promised. My job seems impossible - to connect missionaries across the continent to fulfil their calling. I'm not African, I cannot speak any African languages. There are many many other factors which I could list which say: I am not qualified or able to complete this job. However, I am willing to dream big and trust the His goodness, mercy and will are good and I can trust Him. I'm learning how to lay everything down for the sake of following him. But it starts by trusting the one who asks me to lay everything down: Jesus.

Do you trust Him enough to do this? I, myself, am a work in progress! It's a brave new world!