“The message I give you waits for the time I have appointed. It speaks about what is going to happen. And all of it will come true. It might take a while. But wait for it. You can be sure it will come. It will happen when I want it to.”

Habakkuk 2:3 

I dream a lot. My mind often wanders about things I want to achieve in life, things that I feel a burning in my soul to accomplish. As a kid, I loved going outside to play. I would create vast worlds in my mind a live out a series of stories and adventures. Sometimes it was being a superhero or Jedi having to face great odds, a villain bent on destroying all of existence. Other times I would be a knight or samurai, a part of an army keeping the land safe. I dreamed awake, creating ideas and solving issue of the world. As I grew up, I continued to dream, talking about the future and the things that I was going to accomplish and save the world from. One of the best compliments I’ve ever received, was from a girl named Ellen in high school. She told me she wanted to join my group project in science because I was always dreaming and creating things. As I’ve grown in my walk with Christ, my dreams have shifted. I used to want to be a screenwriter making movies with beautiful stories, I wanted to create stories that spoke to the core of others and impacted them, but the Holy Spirit had more in store. The Holy Spirit shifted my mind, it was hard and my flesh didn’t know how to handle it, but my eyes were opened. God made me this way, not to be a screen writer, but a pastor. A mentor, someone who empowers others; a dreamer for a kingdom minded world. God made me a dreamer, and the truth is, he wants us all to dream bigger.

Nothing makes me sadder than someone older telling the younger generation they can’t do something. Obviously, I’m not talking about a parent telling a child not to touch a stove. I’m speaking more about a dream being shut down. I think we lose artists every day because of this. We should be empowering the next generation by telling them they can, and then do all we can to empower their dream. I’m not talking about the “everyone needs to be a winner idea,” I’m talking about a student who believes they can be a change in the world, and we give them the keys to have an opportunity. You need an opportunity. If you’re reading this, you’ve got dreams, you have visions for a stronger world. These aren’t simple day dreams, these are feelings written into our souls by a creator that made us in his image. We need to start dreaming bigger, believing in our creator that made us exactly who we were meant to be. Dreaming is hard, we get discouraged and often our dreams take time to be fully realized, but God made us to be dreamers, and when we step into a true relationship with Jesus, our dreams will never be the same.

Listen to the spirit.

When we enter a relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes into each of us. We need to make sure we are in tune to what the spirit is saying. In my life, I was headed in one direction, I had one idea I thought I could do best to make a difference. I was listening to what I wanted, not where I was called. I was scared of my calling, God told me full time ministry. It clicked, I don’t desire anything else, all I want is for people to step into what God has for them and empower the next generation. I was scared because I didn’t feel qualified, but God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called. We just have to listen. We have to take a deeper look at our dreams. We have to ask the Holy Spirit what these dreams mean, to get in tune with where we have been called. Maybe people in your life have told you your dream isn’t possible, that you should try something else. Don’t listen to the world, listen to what God is speaking in your life and trust him.

Encourage and empower.

Here’s the thing about being a dreamer, it’s really hard. Satan would love to get inside your head and tell you, you’re not good enough. The truth is, God says you are enough; you were made in the image of God. I struggle, dreaming big is hard. I have had this dream of being in ministry since high school, it was so deeply tied to me, for a long time I questioned because over and over I wasn’t given opportunities to lead or learn how to pastor and how to step into full time ministry. It was tough, sometimes it still is. Being overlooked or looked down based on my age or experience, I think many of you have these same hurts as well. It can be really tough to keep being a dreamer when the world around you holds back encouragement. Even now, as I have stepped into being the student ministries director, it can be hard. It’s been a long time since I have received genuine encouragement with no expectation to gain anything from it. Saying this is not meant to get compliments, it’s simply the truth, and it’s a truth that many dreamers struggle with. You are a dreamer, and God is going to use you in mighty ways. So, here’s what we dreamers do, we have been called and so have our brothers and sisters around us. It’s time for us to start being generous with encouragement; encourage often and love always. We need to look at ways we can empower others and help them achieve their dreams. We need to work together to encourage and empower other dreamers like ourselves.

I love being able to dream and I also love watching other dreamers. I like surround myself with dreamers, people who believe God can make an impact through them in this world. My parents always encouraged me, and still do, to step into the path God has for me. I know many of you dreamers are struggling, wondering if what you’re doing now will matter or help you fulfill your vision, but God will and is using you. I love the scripture I referenced above, God hasn’t forgotten about you, we just have to trust him. I love watching the Olympics because it shows dreamers who have fought for a long time over their goal, there are seasoned athletes and first-time competitors, but all are dreamers. Watching kids like Red Gerard and Chloe Kim win gold because they went for it, excites me and makes me want to help every dreamer achieve a moment like that. No matter what stage of life you find yourself in, God has a plan for you, your time is coming. We need to trust that God’s time is so much better than you can imagine, so listen to the Spirit, and as you meet other dreamers, encourage and empower their stories.

God’s not finished with you, so keep dreaming, dreamer.

-Joshua Thomas