Broken dreams stink! I know, I’ve had a few, as I’m sure have you. Dreams die when loved ones die or reject us. Dreams fade when jobs don’t fulfill, careers go awry, homes and businesses are lost, doctors give bad news, or children are a disappointment. During those times, dreams splinter or smash to smithereens.
Do we blame God when dreams die? Sometimes. Often.
In the midst of our disappointment, difficult questions crop up and lead to other hard questions. They're the kind our faltering faith tells us we should never ask. Nevertheless, our hearts silently weep in disappointment with God. We ask God: Didn’t you put that dream in my heart in the first place? Didn’t you open the doors of opportunity so I could pursue it? Didn’t you provide the financing (or other need)? Wasn’t it You, God, who brought that person into my life, or who gave me that child? If the answer is Yes, and the result is a broken dream, then other questions beg to be proffered. Questions that seem pretentious.
- Does God really care; does He even love me?
- Does God truly want to bless me or would He rather withhold that which would fulfill the desires of my heart?
- Is God taunting and manipulating me like a marionette, a puppet on a string, putting the prize in my hands only to take it away?
Even after knowing Jesus as my Lord for almost 40 years, I find myself in a place I've never allowed myself to go - asking similar questions. The theological ramifications of these answers are far too deep and wide to be investigated in this short blog (even if I knew how to answer them). However, the obvious truths, those I've clung to for years without even realizing it, and which have recently satisfied my longing for answers, can briefly be tackled here.
Let’s address question one first: Does God love me?
This is a no-brainer. The answer is found at the Cross. Jesus cares. He loves us! He went voluntarily to the Cross of Calvary to be tortured, humiliated, beaten, spit upon, and killed so that we could not only have a relationship with God through Christ, but a clean slate and a life of joy forever in His presence. His love for us knows no bounds. The Cross is proof of His love. John 3:16, 17. When life is hard and He seems distant, that's when I want reassurance of His love. That's when I return to the Cross.
Second question: Does He want to bless me?
This was the most difficult to get my head around. I looked at all the losses and death surrounding my life; the disappointments and shattered dreams and asked, Is my life meant to only bring You glory through my pain? Do you want to bless me on earth, or is the blessing coming later in heaven? What is blessing? Is it giving me what I want or is it providing what I need?
I took a really good look at Hebrews 11 – for the first time, really. And I saw that there were loving, godly, committed followers of God who did not have their dreams realized in this life. They were sawn in two, beaten, imprisoned, stoned, lost loved ones, and more. Verse 13 says, “They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.” Verse 39a: “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better…”
I like that last part, "God had planned something better..." That's hopeful. Blessings are not always material. Nor are they always tangible. Those people of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 lived for the promises of God...the blessings promised their forefathers. In our American culture of quick reward and instant gratification, it’s very difficult to wait on God to bless us, whether in this life or the next. Faith. Patience. Rest. Sacrifice. These are qualities that are learned through practice. They are blessings to be acquired by walking in the Spirit.
Third question: Is He taunting or manipulating us by giving us something and then taking it away? It feels like that sometimes, doesn’t it? He gives us a child who then dies. He helps us build a business only to have the economy destroy it, and on and on. In order to look at this clearly, we must ask another question: Did God promise we would not have losses or trouble in this life? Look at what Jesus said in John 16:33, "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
When we experience sorrow and disappointment, when our dreams die and our hope is souring on the rocks under our feet like old milk, remember this: It is only through suffering that we become desperate for God. In being frantic for his intervention, we reach out to Him for help. In response, He moves into our lives to offer us Himself, His love, and His peace. The result is that He becomes our hope, our lifeline, and our salvation.
Finally, as we depend more and more on Him to shape our dreams according to His plans, and as we deepen our relationship with Him, the most wonderful and lofty thing happens -- He becomes our ultimate Dream. What could be better?!
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Below are some Scriptures for meditation and prayer. Perhaps you’ll want to use this in your times alone with God this week. I’d love to hear what He tells you.
Read
- John 3
- Hebrews 11
- Matthew 5
- Matthew 11:28
Reflect
- What broken dreams need a touch from the Savior?
- What passages of scripture touch your heart with regard to God's love for you?
- Have you felt teased by God? Take a fresh look at it from the perspective above.
- Will you make a fresh commitment to not put your hope in the world, but in Him?
Respond
Father, my heart longs for what I cannot attain. My desires urge me to find fulfillment in everything other than you. I too often put my hope in people and things. Draw me to your heart in order that my hope and fulfillment will be found in my relationship with you. You are all I need. Amen.
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