When Your Dreams Become Idols

So, do you have a dream? Something that is near and dear to your heart, something that
you believe God has deposited in there, something that you can't let go of and won't let
go of you? I do too. In fact, most people do, Christians and non-Christians alike. I've
had a dream in my heart for a while now that I haven't seen come to fruition...yet!
Lately though, I've had to grapple with the issue of my dream becoming my Idol. I've
had to ask myself whether my dream had somehow morphed into my idol, whether the
fulfillment of my dream was of more importance to me than my relationship with God.
If I didn't see my dream come to fruition, would I turn away from God, thus turning
away from my relationship with the One Who gave me life? Would I stop believing in
the One Who gave me life? Dictionary.com defines an Idol as, 'That on which the
affections are strongly (often excessively) set; an object of passionate devotion; a
person or thing greatly loved or adored.' So, has your dream become your idol? Has it
become your god? In Exodus 29:1-17, God gives Moses the Ten Commandments, of
which the second and third state: 'You shall have no other gods before me. You shall
not make for yourself a carved image...for I, the LORD you God, am a jealous
God...'(3-5b, NKJV). Here, God was commanding the Israelites not to produce any kind
of idols, images, other substitutes for God, or anything that would detract from the
exclusive worship of the living God. God and God alone was to be worshipped, obeyed,
and adored by the Israelites. Again, I ask, has your dream become something of more
value than your relationship with God? One way to check if your dream has become
your idol is to evaluate if you would do anything to make sure your dream comes to
pass. So, would you? Sarah did so. Remember Sarah, in the Old Testament of the Bible?
Yeah, Abraham's wife. At the risk of being presumptuous, I will not go into much detail
about this story/history...I'm sure most of you know it already. So, God promised
Abraham and Isaac (who had been trying to have a child for a very very very long time)
their very own child, even though they were way past childbearing age. Furthermore,
God promised Abraham that his decendants would number the stars in the sky, in other
words, his decendants would be innumerable. Abraham and Sarai believed but after 10
yrs of waiting for God's promise to be fulfilled, they decided to 'help' God out by
enlisting the aid of Hagar, Sarah's servant, which produced all kinds of drama that I
won't go into (Gen. 15&16). So, like Abraham and Sarah, have you decided to 'help'
God fulfill your dream instead of waiting on God's timing? Another way to find out if
your dream has become your idol is to be willing to sacrifice it...to let it go at God's
command. Abraham was definitely willing to do this. At God's set time (when Abraham
was one hundred years old), Sarah concieved and bore Abraham a child, Isaac. Finally,
God had fulfilled His promise and now God's promise to Abraham that his decentants
would be immumerable seemed more plausible. But God decides to challenge, test, and
confirm Abraham's faith by asking him to sacrifice Isaac, the one in whom the promise
lay; the one who had brought so much joy and happiness to Abraham and Sarah.
Amazingly, Abraham obeys and was very much prepared to sacrifice his
promise/dream/Isaac in obedience to the One Who gave the promise in the first place
(Gen 22:1-19). We all know what then happens. God tells says to Abraham, 'Do not lay
your hand on the lad, or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, since
you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.'(22:12, NKJV).
 Abraham had to have a complete trust in God, esteeming God as worthy, and
His promises as true, before He could bring himself to sacrifice the child of promise,
Isaac. Are you willing to let go of the dream, if God so asks? You might be faced with
these questions as you continue to wait for the fulfillment of your dream but my
encouragement to you is stay the course. Do it God's way and in His timing. Do not
allow anyone or anything deter you from your course. Only God can fulfill His promise
in your life. No matter what the dream is, only God deserves first place in your life;
only God deserves your complete devotion and adoration. So, while it is very important
not give up on the dream God places in your heart, it's also very important not to let that
dream morph into an idol. Furthermore, Paul encourages us not to 'not grow weary
while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart...' (Gal.6:9-
10). So, as you wait for the fulfillment of your dream, the dream God has placed in your
heart, His promise to you, do not loose heart, continue to follow God's leading, day by
day, even in the midst of seemingly mundane activities. It's up to God to fulfill the
dream in His way and in His timing. Your dream is not your god, God is your God and
you were created to worship Him and Him alone. He is enough for you! You don't need
anything else to complete you or make your life 'perfect'. He is more than enough. Trust
Him. Surrender your dream to Him today. Like the heroes of faith mentioned in
Hebrews 11, who, 'having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive
the promise...'(vs 39), but continued to believe, I encourage you to continue to believe,
with a heart of total surrender to God; a heart willing to wait for God to fulfill the dream
His way and in His timing; a heart willing to sacrifice the dream if God so desires.
There is no need to fear or worry...God is ALWAYS faithful to His promises...He is not
a man that He should lie (Num.23:19)...He will fulfill His promises in your life! TRUST
HIM!!!