Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
This past week I have been struggling. In one corner of my mind lurk all the longings that I have for my life. In the other lingers the bright truth that I need to yield myself to Jesus’s will no matter what the outcome.
It’s easy to say, “You just need to give it over to the Lord. He is in control.” But it is an entirely different story to rip one’s heart free from the dreams that have consumed your thinking and offer them back to the One Who gave them to you.
Sometimes our dreams can grow so large we can’t see anything else. My friend Stephanie told me, “I had to give back to Jesus the thing I wanted most–to go be a missionary in a Muslim nation.”
Now that is a rockstar dream. Why would Jesus want her to give that up? I don’t know.
But I do know that when I am holding on to a dream so tightly, I can start becoming obsessive and weird about it. (Think Gollum from Lord of the Rings: “Precious… my precious…”) When I am only clinging to my desires, I am no longer clinging to Jesus.
So this morning, I am saying, “Jesus, these hopes and dreams that You planted in me… the desires that have shaped and driven me… I am taking them (i.e., ripping my tightly clutching fingers from them) and handing them back to You.”
Tears are brushed aside, followed by a long, exhaled breath. I know it is all for the best. His hands are the only ones big enough to hold them.
Faith step: Find a quiet place to think about the things that you long for most. Saying them out loud, offer each dream back to the One Who gave it you, telling Him you want His will for you most of all.
