"God always delivers what He conceives if we are willing to go through the labor pains."

A thought by Mark Batterson, (2013-09-24) from his book, All In: You Are One Decision Away From a Totally Different Life (Kindle Locations 473-474). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

There are many young couples who would love to have a child but they don’t want to give up what they have. She maybe has to quit her job and they won’t be able to make it. And all those sleepless nights or that pain, all that pain. There is a price to be paid to have children but as a father and a grandfather, it is soooooo worth it.

What about that dream that God has for you? It is really exciting. You really want it but do you?

I had a dream, a God given dream. There was so much pain involved in it. I gave 15 years of my life for it. They were great years but difficult years. Now my human side of the dream did not happen as I perceived it but God used it to hold me steady so that His plan would be worked out in my life and in my family’s life. Up to that point of my life I had never stayed in one place longer than five years but God needed me for my sake and my family’s sake to stay in one place so He could work out what He wanted. He conceived in me an idea that changed me, changed my family and change many people. It is still being worked out and lived out today. But it has been hard but worth it.

It is also important to note as what Mark says, that “God-ordained dreams aren’t just born. They are reborn. If they become more important to you than God, you have to sacrifice them for the sake of your soul. You have to put them on the altar and raise the knife. And once the dream is dead and buried, it can be resurrected for God’s glory.” What God conceives has to be for Him and not for us. We will reap benefits but it must be for Him.

So what dream has God conceived in you?

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