Staying Alive

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive.

No, I'm not really going to talk about disco, John Travolta or the Bee Gees. In fact that has nothing to do with my topic today, other than as I was contemplating this, that song popped into my head and I could not get it out.

So, what is it?

I want to share a bit about keeping your dreams alive. Let me begin by sharing a story that I heard told recently.

There was a couple who loved mushrooms and bought several pounds of them from a roadside vendor. They had so many that they made mushroom omelettes, mushroom salad, mushroom soup, and even came up with a mushroom dessert. After their mushroom feast was over, they gave the left overs to their cat, who gobbled up the leftover mushrooms. Later that evening the lady went into her kitchen and found the cat lying on the floor, gasping for breath. She frantically called the vet who said they'd probably gotten some poisoned toadstools and advised they go to the emergency room. Several hours later, after having their stomachs pumped the couple came home with the dire expectation of finding their cat dead and they prepared themselves for the inevitable task of burying their beloved pet. To their amazement, when they walked into the kitchen thy found the cat curled up in the corner nursing a brand new litter of kittens. What they thought were death pains were just birth pains!

When it seems that your dream is gasping its last breath, keep believing God; you're closer to giving birth than you've ever been!

Remember the story of Joseph in Genesis 37? Joseph had a dream where he became great and his brothers bowed down to him. When he told his brothers, they hated him for it. Now many of us would have quit right there, where the criticism came. But rather than quit, Joseph had yet another dream (vs 9), an even bigger dream.

There is a powerful lesson in that verse. When those around you demean, criticize and try to discourage you... dare to dream again,... and dream bigger! In the face of criticism and hatred, Joseph dreamed a second dream, an even bigger one!

If you've had a dream and maybe you've abandoned your dream because of ridicule and scorn and now you have given in to fear and discouragement, I dare you today to rise up and reclaim it. Maybe you've had a dream that you have already fulfilled. If so, then it is time to ask God to give you another... and even bigger one.

Dare to do great things for God. You may feel inadequate and think that the challenge is too big for you, but I say to you that it's not too big for God!

You can never out-dream God. In the Bible He asks, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?..." (Genesis 18:14 NKJV)

Don't come to the end of your journey filled with regrets over things you never did. Dare to do great things for the Lord. Don't let your dreams be stolen from you!

If God has given you a dream, he will equip you to carry it out. If you've had a dream that is fading away, you must seek God and dream again!

Keep those dreams alive!