"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires. Commit everything you do the the Lord. Trust him and he will help you." Psalm 37:4-5 (NLT)
How many of you were told when you were children that you could grow up to be anything you wanted to be? Are you now what you wanted then? Some of you will say yes, but most, I would suspect, have undergone many changes that either caused you to rethink your desires or derailed you from the path that would lead you to those goals.
We all have dreams. My greatest was to become a wife and a mother of four. By the time I was thirty-three, I decided that either God had not heard my request, or was saying no. Little did I know that within that year I would meet and marry my life partner and that the next year I would conceive our daughter. After her birth, it became apparent that there would be no more babies in our household. I struggled because I truly had wanted more children so I had to come to terms with the end of part of my dream. Please understand that I am in no way complaining! I cherish the kind, sweet-hearted soul that the Lord entrusted to us. However, the other three children that I had desired were not to be.
Although there are preachers who use this verse as a magic wand in "name it and claim it" points of view, sometimes we just don't get everything we want. They will say that we lack faith but the truth is that the Lord knows everything about us and what His plans for us include. Sometimes by re-directing us, He is protecting us from something that might actually cause us harm.
With your own offspring, do you always say yes to everything they want? I am sure there are many times that you find it necessary to say no or offer another alternative. Why is that? Sometimes they request things that simply are outside of our reach. Other times, we as parents know that to provide what they want would lead to negative or dangerous outcomes, so out of great love we say "no" and endure their disappointment and anger. They may not understand at that moment why we have made that decision but, in time, they will hopefully understand.
So, what do we do with the dreams that have not come true? At the age of sixty-two I am beginning to realize that there simply may not be time left in my life for certain desires to become reality. Either they are not realistic or the circumstances may not allow for them. I see now that I have not consulted the Lord about everything on this list. What we should always do, with anything in our lives, is to lay them down at the foot of the cross. Our ultimate desire should be to glorify our Father through each and every part of our lives. This means that our dreams need to line up with His plans and desires for us. In this way we save ourselves from anguish over the unaccomplished.
When we find ourselves discouraged by dreams that haven't come true we need to go directly to the One who loves us immeasurably. We need to ask Him to direct our thoughts and change our hearts so that they contain the desire to please Him above all else. Earthly dreams pale in comparison to eternity. It is far more satisfying to serve the Lord than to live in a certain house, drive a particular car or take a dream vacation.
I pray that every troubled heart will be soothed by the loving hand of our Creator. I wish you His grace and mercy. God bless.
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