Years ago I believed that if I prayed enough and said
the right scriptures for what I was believing for, my dreams would come to pass.
I did everything I knew to do with the hope if I just did the right thing,
maybe God would hear me and cause my heart’s desire to come to pass. I tried
fasting, having other people intercede for my situation, following what other
people did to get their “blessing,” I have begged and pleaded with God too many
times to count, stood on the Word of God and truly believed that I could have
what I ask for if I did not doubt, and I have broken generational “curses” off
my family line. I have been standing and believing for certain situations for
over a decade.
When your dreams get shattered in half, you are left
with tiny pieces of your life that you try to pick back up. You don’t know
where to begin. You may feel lost as what direction to take now. What do you do
when everything you wanted is far out of your reach, and people who are not
even serving God get the very thing you have desired? It seems all is lost and everything is lifeless. You have been left
with a pile of “dead, dry bones.” You think, “Can these dry bones ever live
again?” Picking up the broken pieces of your now dead dream can feel
impossible. You might think, “What now, how can I move on?” Holding onto a
broken dream that has been crushed, is not something you can repair. God alone
can pick up your broken pieces that now have been scattered and He can begin
the rebuilding phase. If you try and rebuild your broken dreams, it will most
likely lead to disappointment. The story of Ruth in the Bible is a great
example of God’s redeeming broken dreams. I’m sure Naomi’s dream did not
consist of losing her husband and son and have no one to provide or take care
of her. BUT GOD, took her shattered dreams and caused great blessings to come
from her tragedy.
Perhaps you have endured many broken dreams, a failed
marriage, infertility, miscarriage, a prodigal child, being single when you
want to be married, or death of a loved one. We all have our dreams for our
lives. Some of our dreams we have had since we were children. Most little girls
dream about becoming a mommy and wife. When our dreams go unfulfilled, a deep
longing can persist and a void for that dream. A longing that goes unfulfilled can
bring great anguish to the soul. Our faith during this time will be tested. You
can experience various degrees of grief and sadness over what did not take
place, or perhaps what did take place. Searching for meaning and purpose after
dreams are broken can become overwhelming, especially when you did not have a
back-up plan!
Reflect
and ponder: Where is your hope found? People, your
job, money, or in Christ. Have you felt disappointed that your dreams for your
life have not come to pass or have your dreams have been broken?
Counselor’s
Corner:
Accepting your life does not mean you never hope.
Acceptance means what does happen in your life is out of your control.
How to begin accepting the broken dreams
in your life:
1. Give
all your dreams (the broken ones and the ones you are still hoping for) to God.
Ask God to “Give you only what He wants you to have.” If you beg God enough for
something, He may give you what you want but you may soon realize what you
thought you wanted is not good for you.
2. Begin
to enjoy the life that you currently have, not when you get married, have
children, or your prodigal comes to their senses. What in your life is good, is
a blessing? Enjoy those things and not be so consumed with what you don’t have.
Don’t say, “I’ll be happy when__________.” Be content with your life as it is.
3. Grief
is important for releasing broken dreams and the way that you thought it would
have turned out.
4. Use
your pain for gain. After you have healed from the broken dreams, ask God to
show you how He can use what you went through for your good.
5. Believe
that God is a redeemer and He does restore. You may not get exactly what you
thought you would, but He can still bring great blessings to you despite your
heartache. Read the book of Ruth to gain greater insight into God redeeming
lost and broken dreams.
God
grant me the serenity (peace)
To
accept the things I cannot change
Courage
to change the things that I can
And
the wisdom to know the difference.
What is in your control to change? Are the broken
dreams in your life out of your control to resurrect? Only God can breathe life
back into dead dreams.
Broken dreams are
opportunities for new beginnings.
MEDITATE
ON THESE SCRIPTURES:
He
heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Psalm
147:3
The
Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the
affiliations of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He
keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.
Psalm
34:18-20
