What Am I Doing with My Dream?

In Ephesians 5:15-16 I read, “Be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don’t be fools; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good." (TLB)

Everyone has a dream. Maybe I’ve had it since I was a child. Maybe it came to me more recently. Desires, wishes, and ambitions are part of every person’s life. I may have hidden it deep inside of me, but, somewhere, I have a dream.

So, the question isn’t whether I have a dream. Rather, the question is this: What am I doing with my dream?

Most dreams never come true. It’s not that I’m not smart enough, not outgoing enough, or not spiritual enough. Usually, dreams don’t come true because I’m unwilling to take the necessary risks to reach them.

The Bible shares a sad one-sentence commentary about a king who failed to achieve an important ambition in his life: “[King] Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail—they were wrecked at Ezion Geber” (1 Kings 22:48 NIV).

While it’s a tragedy for my ship to never come in, it’s a greater tragedy for me to build a ship and never set sail. Imagine the energy and expense expended by King Jehoshaphat. He built an entire fleet of ships to go after the gold, and not one of them set sail. They never even got out of the harbor! Evidently a storm came up while these ships were still in the harbor; they slammed against the rocks and were destroyed.

Some people spend their whole lives waiting for their ship to come in. But God isn’t waiting for my ship to come in. He’s waiting for me to sail my ship out of the harbor.

I knew a man who for 30 years had a dream of starting a ministry. He talked about it, dreamed about it, and planned it. He spent a great deal of time on this dream, but he never took the risk to do anything more about it. He never got his ship out of the harbor. Eventually, the man died—and so did his dream.

The Bible’s antidote to that kind of tragic procrastination is as simple as an overdone catchphrase but excruciatingly difficult to apply at times: Just do it. The Bible says, “Be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don’t be fools; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good” (Ephesians 5:15-16 TLB).

The Bible urges me to seize the moment and act now. Living with unfulfilled dreams is a tragedy. Ships aren’t made for the harbor. They’re made to set sail.

Am I ready to set sail?

In summary, everyone has a dream. Desires, wishes, and ambitions are part of every person’s life. I may have hidden it deep inside of me, but, somewhere, I have a dream. The question isn’t whether I have one, but rather, what am I doing with it? Most dreams never come true. Usually, they don’t come true because I’m unwilling to take the necessary risks to reach them. The Bible shares a sad one-sentence commentary about a king who failed to achieve an important ambition in his life: “Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail—they were wrecked at Ezion Geber”. While it’s a tragedy for my ship to never come in, it’s a greater tragedy for me to build a ship and never set sail. Some people spend their whole lives waiting for their ship to come in. But God isn’t waiting for my ship to come in. He’s waiting for me to sail my ship out of the harbor. The Bible’s antidote to that kind of tragic procrastination is simple as, “Be careful how you act; Don’t be foolish; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good. The Bible urges me to seize the moment and act now. Living with unfulfilled dreams is a tragedy. Ships aren’t made for the harbor. They’re made to set sail. Am I ready to set sail?

Paul communicates his sense of urgency because of evil's pervasiveness. I need the same sense of urgency because my days are also difficult. I must keep my standards high, act wisely, and do good whenever I can.