One morning a few weeks ago, I heard these words in my heart,
Don’t Stop the Dream Machine!
I was startled and began to consider what the Lord was trying to say to me. I immediately thought of some dear friends of mine who were going through a major transition in their lives and making some radical moves in life and ministry, and I knew I needed to encourage them with this word.
Then I began to think of my own life and how it applied to me, and how important dreaming has been and still is in my life. And then I thought of YOU, our friends and partners, and so many others that need to be encouraged in this arena.
I’m mainly talking about daydreams, and in particular the ones that the Lord plants in our hearts. I’m talking about our imagination, thinking about the future, daring to believe that God has good things ahead.
I’ve always loved this verse in Jeremiah 29:11:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, PLANS TO GIVE YOU HOPE and a future.”
Wow! I thank God daily that He has given all of us hope for a great future. God is for us and not against us, and He has good plans for each one of us.
Have you ever seen yourself doing something different than what you are doing? Or have you ever just seen your life different than what you are experiencing now?
Maybe it’s getting married, or a better marriage, children being blessed, a better job, starting your own business, going to Bible school or into ministry, greater fruitfulness, buying a new house or car, etc. Whatever might be churning in your heart, that’s “The Dream Machine” I want to talk about.
When I was a kid, I would get disciplined for daydreaming when my teacher or parents wanted me to do my schoolwork or chores. But I just couldn’t help dreaming and thinking about my future. I believe God was birthing hopes and dreams in my heart, and I believe it’s a part of our divine nature to look into the future and expect better things.
Paul said in Philippians 3:12(b), I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
From the time Paul was born again, he knew in his heart that God had plans and a special purpose for him. He was determined to seek the Lord, actively pursuing those things he believed God placed inside him. That’s how we need to be: Always dreaming, always pressing forward, always expectant.
Dreaming is essential. Nothing great has ever been accomplished without someone first dreaming it.
The dreaming I’m talking about is hooked to what the Bible calls Hope. Hope is seeing into the future with expectation. If things are not how you want them to be, it’s hope of seeing your future different that will keep you going.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19(a)
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:25
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalms 130:5
Everything starts with hope. Everything starts with a dream. If you have no hope or no dream, then your faith has nothing to work with.
Faith is confidence in what we hope for… Hebrews 11:1
After a few months leading thousands of people in worship every month at the Joyce Meyer conferences, a friend asked me a question, “Charlie, this is so great!
Did you ever dream that you’d be singing to thousands?”
My first inclination was to answer him with a humble response like, “Oh no man, I can hardly believe it.” But I caught myself and remembered the dreams in my heart, and answered him, “YES, I had dreamed it!”
The truth is that ever since I was a young boy, even before I was born again, whenever I would go to a concert at a large auditorium, I would see myself on the platform singing to thousands. And then after I got saved and still a very young Christian, when I would see worship leaders leading thousands into worship, I would see myself doing that same thing.
Sometimes I would try to shake off those thoughts, because in the natural I was afraid to even consider doing something like that. I was shy, insecure and hated to be in front of people. But I didn’t let that stop The Dream Machine on the inside of me. I would let my heart and spirit soar into these places, then humbly and regularly commit them to prayer and God’s perfect will and timing.
The years proved that those thoughts were seeds of things to come.
Ironically, as I would walk on the huge stages in those arenas to lead worship, I would just bow my head in humility and praise my awesome God who not only planted those seeds in my heart, but also brought them to pass in His time.
I once heard someone say jokingly that if your dreams don’t wake you up at night, then you’re dreaming too small! J Well, these dreams didn’t exactly wake me up at night but they sure did help me pursue my future.
I named this article, Don’t Stop the Dream Machine because I am fully aware of how hard life can become and how easy the dream machine can stop.
After Jill and I lost our son, dreaming was the last thing we wanted to do. We were devastated, discouraged, angry, and couldn’t see past our pain, much less dream of life ever being better on this side of Heaven. However in time and through staying close to Jesus, we slowly & cautiously began to dream again.
I UNDERSTAND how life can knock you off course and make it very hard to start again. But as the dust begins to settle and you can sense hope beginning to resurface, don’t be afraid to pick up your dreams again, even in the midst of the pain.
Following hard times, many people close their world down to ever dreaming of better things. They have had so many difficulties that they end up in survival mode and stop dreaming for fear of another disappointment. We understand because we have felt this many times. However do yourself a favor as we have: Open your heart to dream again. Dreams are the seeds of our future.
The Lord loves you and He wants to continue leading and guiding you toward His good plans for you. In fact, you were God’s dream before He ever created you. He is placing His dreams in your heart and encourages you to press on and pursue the things He has called you to. Don’t be afraid, God is with you and He will walk with you as you pursue the dreams He has planted in your heart.
We have a song for you called, Keep Pressing On, written to encourage you to not give up. It was originally recorded on our very first album (actually, it was an L.P.!), but we have an updated version for you!
We pray that this song and this teaching is a special blessing to you. We want you to keep dreaming and see all that God has for you.
CLICK HERE to download Keep Pressing On or CLICK HERE to simply listen without downloading.
We also want to thank you for your continual prayer and support of our ministry. We have just entered our 33rd year of full time ministry and we are still dreaming of many great things that we believe God would have us do. Your love and gifts are a huge part of what keeps us moving forward to accomplish all that the Lord has commissioned us to do.
Again, we appreciate your ongoing, generous support of our ministry. You are a blessing! We could not do what we do without your help.
Pressing On,
