Some Dreams Need Twenty Years
One of the biggest lies we believe is:
If it hasn't happened yet, it probably never will.
We rarely say it out loud.
But we feel it.
Too much time has passed.
I missed my chance.
I'm too old.
Life went a different direction.
That dream is probably over.
Recently, I was talking with one of my clients who shared a story I haven't been able to stop thinking about.
Over twenty years ago, God placed a dream on her heart.
Life happened.
Responsibilities grew.
Other opportunities came along.
The dream quietly got pushed to the side.
Not because it wasn't important.
But because there always seemed to be something more urgent.
Years passed.
Then one day, God brought that dream back to the surface.
This time, she said yes.
As she stepped into it, something unexpected happened.
She realized the dream wasn't just producing something through her.
God was producing something in her.
She looked at me and said,
"It became part of my healing."
I loved that.
Because that's how God often works.
We think He's trying to accomplish something through us.
Many times, He's trying to transform something within us.
The project becomes the classroom.
The ministry becomes the mirror.
The business becomes the place where God reshapes our character.
Sometimes the dream isn't delayed because God forgot about it.
Sometimes it's delayed because He's preparing the dream...
and He's preparing you.
Looking back over my own life, there are opportunities I desperately wanted years ago that I'm grateful God didn't give me.
At the time, I thought He was saying no.
Now I realize He was saying, "Not yet."
There was still work to do in me.
More humility.
More patience.
More dependence on Him.
More experiences I couldn't have gained any other way.
Ecclesiastes says that God "has made everything beautiful in its time."
Not our time.
His.
That's one of the hardest parts of following Jesus.
His timing rarely matches ours.
But it is always better.
If God gave us everything the moment we wanted it, we'd often receive the blessing without having the character to sustain it.
Maybe you've been carrying a dream that feels forgotten.
Maybe you once believed God had called you to something, but enough years have passed that you've quietly buried it.
Can I encourage you?
Don't confuse delay with denial.
God is not limited by your timeline.
He isn't nervous because another birthday passed.
He isn't scrambling because your plans changed.
If He gave you the dream, He knows exactly where it is.
And He knows exactly when to bring it back to life.
In the meantime, don't waste the waiting.
God doesn't wastes seasons.
Even the quiet ones.
Especially the quiet ones.
Because while you think nothing is happening...
He may be preparing you for the very thing you've been praying for.
This Week's Challenge
Take a few minutes this week and ask yourself:
What dream have I quietly buried because I assumed it was too late?
Bring it back before the Lord.
Don't force it.
Don't chase it.
Just surrender it.
If it's from Him, He knows exactly how and when to revive it.
And if the answer is still "not yet," trust that He's preparing something far greater than you can currently see.
Responses