Skip to main content

"So many of us have had big dreams."


A thought by Shaun Nepstad from his book, Don't Quit in the Dip (p. 68). Worthy. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

That is so true!

Shaun says, "Maybe you feel God has given you an amazing picture for your life. I love it when God opens a glimpse into His plan for our lives, but that excitement can quickly turn into frustration if we dive right into that plan without first understanding exactly where we are at the moment. If God gives a high school senior the dream to be a surgeon, he can’t just go running toward a scalpel and bribe his friends to lie down on the table for him to practice. He has to first recognize that it’s just the seed of a dream. Knowing where he is right now will help him determine the steps he needs to move toward that dream. If he circumvents this, that dream will die quickly… along with one of his practice patients!"

So true!

He goes on, "You will never know how to go for the dreams and visions God has placed within your heart if you don’t first carefully assess your 'You Are Here' location. Otherwise you will find yourself in a dip of frustration and defeat. When this happens, God often comes to us and asks us a question to help us find ourselves again. It’s the same question he posed to Adam and Eve: 'Where are you?'"


He later says, "Why is it that when the devil tempts, distracts, and sets up a plan to get us in a dip, we turn around and shake our fist at God? He loves it when you don’t know who the enemy is. God may be asking you today, 'Where are you?' He doesn’t need to know, but he wants you to know before He can get us to where we’re supposed to be. Do you realize where you are and how you got there?"

At the end of this chapter, Shaun says, "Maybe you’ve found yourself in a dip because you have been misled by thinking what you’re looking for is somewhere outside of God’s will. Some people think the answer is always somewhere else and so they start the hunt, but they’re lacking clear directions because they’ve never established where their starting point is. They’ll change churches. Change marriages. Change cities. Change schools. Change jobs. Maybe what you’ve been looking for has been right in front of you.

"When you align your life with Jesus, be honest about where you are. Start with where you are. He’ll help you. Run to Him as you’re reminded of what you mean to Him. He will help you identify where you are so He can take you to where He wants you to go. He will reveal your purpose in Him and will take you to the dreams He’s placed in your heart. Don’t run from Him. Don’t hide. Just look up and reach out. He’s standing right there with open arms."

And we constantly be reminded, don't we?

Yes, yes!




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life.   It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed.   Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life.   Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you.   You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good.   Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...
Post a Comment
Read more

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...
Post a Comment
Read more