When God puts a dream in your heart, you do not need to ask Him over and over, "Are You sure this is from You?" If your dream is not from God, He WILL TELL YOU! If you think you are on the wrong path, He'll direct your path.
There are some simple questions to ask yourself to test if your dream is from God or from your own ambitions:
1. Will it glorify God?
2. Does it line up with the Word of God?
3. Will it improve your relationship with God?
4. Will it encourage and edify others?
5. Will it draw others closer to God?
6.Will it cause your life to excel and prosper?
When God places a dream within your heart, He obligates Himself to help you fulfill it. But, this dream MUST BE a reality to you! If you can't picture yourself fulfilling this dream, you never will!
I believe the number one rule in seeing your dream come true is to seek the "Dream-giver" first, and not the dream itself. Many people become so consumed with fulfilling their dreams that they quickly forget the Author of the dream. Apart from God your dreams will quickly turn into nightmares, but with God, you will experience victory!
Genesis, chapters 37-47, shares the story of a man named Joseph who had a God-given dream. Joseph experienced great opposition in fulfilling his dreams. After sharing his dream with his family, he was criticized. Many times, when you share your dream and vision with others, you will be criticized, ridiculed, and mocked. Don't get discouraged!
Delay after delay seemed to plague the fulfillment of Joseph's dream, but he never lost sight of it. He was thrown into a pit by his brothers, sold to the Ishmaelites, sold as a slave, accused of immorality, and thrown into prison. Do you think Joseph had the opportunity to get discouraged? He could have said, "Forget it! I guess I missed God. I don't know why I ever thought I was capable of doing something like that anyway. God didn't call me to do that!"
We can get so discouraged sometimes and end up talking ourselves out of our dreams because it looks IMPOSSIBLE! That's when we begin questioning God, "Is my dream really from You?
We can try talking ourselves out of our dreams, we can turn our backs on them and walk away, but if it's a God-given dream from the beginning - it will never go away! You cannot get it away from you! It's always there!
In the natural, it may look like you are going in the opposite direction of your dreams, but in reality, you are getting closer and closer every day (as seen in Joseph's life).
Joseph kept pursuing: he kept his eyes on God and didn't let the circumstances around him discourage him (even though he was in prison). Finally, the day came when his dream was fulfilled, and he became the ruler of Egypt. He never let his dream die.
As you launch out to fulfill your dreams, and everything does not happen as you expect, don't get discouraged! Don't talk yourself out of your dreams. Always keep the hope of fulfilling your dream before you. The image of your dream will always provide the hope for fulfillment which will eliminate the thought of discouragement.
As you devote yourself to studying God's Word, and fulfilling His call on your life, you will obtain qualities such as: integrity, patience, forgiveness, faithfulness, persistence, responsibility, diligence, and a positive attitude. These qualities will enable you to go after your dreams, and not be hindered by the things around you. Most importantly, if you have a heart after God, you can be assured, God will see to it that your dreams come true!
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