Less of me, more of you Lord…
“…but I need to pursue all of my dreams…”
We live in a day where “go ahead girl, chase your dreams…” If you’ve dreamt of doing it, God must have placed it on your heart to pursue it, right?
Well what God has shown me is that, the dreams and desires that we have, often times don’t line up with what HE has for us. If you are a professing believer and HE has truly placed something on your heart to pursue…though it may be a “stretching task”, the result is going to be more unity in relationships, more peace in your home, more joy through Him…it doesn’t become an added stress with extra stressors…In the midst of the difficulty, you will have His peace.
When I read scripture, often times I see God calling us to forsake OUR dreams, for those callings that HE has placed on us, even if it doesn’t necessarily line up with our desires- that is obedience. It’s hard. It’s literally dying to self and your flesh, to serve Him- to serve the Kingdom.
Anytime I am tempted to believe that there is a “dream” or “pursuit” of some sort that God has placed on my heart, I first test it by seeing if it calls me away from the home, in a way that detracts from my first and second calling- to be my husbands helpmate and to pour into and raise my children (I’m obviously speaking to the women here, not men)…and then from there, I take it to God in prayer.
So take it to God, that dream or passion that you believe He has placed on your heart…wrestle with it. Test it. If there is tension there, seek God about whether it’s self-inflicted tension because your home and marriage are being completely neglected as a result…or if there’s tension because it’s a dream that’s sacrificial, stretching, but you know God has called you to it.
And I have to say this…to the Mom who feels like she needs an identity outside of being “Mom”, I would give you some push back and ask why? If our identity is rooted in Christ, then nothing needs to be added or taken from that. Motherhood is where He has you right now, and there is BIG purpose in that…it should not ever be held up like an idol, just as it should never be your identity. Your identity is in Christ- all that He says you are, is who you are. You are called, you are a chosen priesthood, you are a child of God, you are set apart, you are adopted in Christ Jesus, you are whole through Him, you have victory through Him…the list can go on and on. So your identity never needs to be “Mom”, but your calling and purpose is. Anything or anyone who makes you feel as though you need to add extra titles or “dreams” to that, is not hearing from the Lord. Living out your calling as a wife who seeks to serve and help her husband and a Mother who sacrificially shows up every day to tend to her kids, is enough. It’s what God intended for us, and His desires are greater than ours. I seek to please Him above myself. And the scary thing is that He will give us over to our desires…He says so in His word. So that’s why it’s so important to test whether the desire we feel is from our own self and flesh or from Him. I encourage you to seek first His kingdom, and the dreams that He has for you- not the desires and dreams of your own heart.
Romans 1:24
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts…
Ecclesiastes 5:7
For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.
Proverbs 16:3
Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Proverbs 16:9
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.