How To Trust God for Your Big Dream

In Genesis 37:5, 10 it says, “Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more . . . When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, ‘What is this dream you had?’” (NIV)

If I want to make it in a career, I need to respectfully show boldness. Sometimes following God’s dream for your life requires boldness as well! Boldness is the courage to think big, to show initiative, and to take risks for a dream while facing the possibility of failure.

In Genesis 37, we read the story of Joseph, who had a dream so incredible—so audacious—that nobody in the world believed him. He dreamed that one day he would be a great leader and all his brothers would bow down to him.

Was it the truth? Yes. Was the dream from God? Yes. Was it fulfilled? Yes. Was Joseph a little crazy to tell his brothers? Yes.

When Joseph shared his audacious dream with his family, “they hated him all the more . . . When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, ‘What is this dream you had?’” (Genesis 37:5, 10 NIV).

Like Joseph, I’m going to have to step out in faith—even when it doesn’t make sense, even when people ridicule me, even when I’m afraid, even when the odds are against me. If God puts a dream in my heart, he will honor me when you step out in faith to do it.

Even when everyone might be against you or not understand, I may need to find myself holding the line. Sometimes I just need a little bit of boldness because I believe in what God has told me to do.

Joseph made one bold decision after another in faith. As a result, he got the promotion of a lifetime—he eventually became a great leader and ruled over all of Egypt.

Where do I need to be bold? Where do I need to trust God? Maybe I need to take the initiative to step out in faith, think big, or take a risk. When I’m following God’s dream, I can know he will honor the big steps I take in faith.

Today, I’m continuing to reflect on how God wants to use me. I’ve recently been focusing on purpose, not only for my life for helping Tr to discover and fulfill their purposes. I do want to be obedient to God and make a difference in others lives. One particular audacious goal has come to mind. It combines my passion to be a personal development and financial behaviors coach. Why not expand this to helping people discover and fulfill their purpose for their lives. So I’m thinking about offering individuals and couples the opportunity to be in a coaching session with me regarding purpose. I can then branch them into thinking about a relationship with God, assistance with helping them get financial issues that may be bogging them down, or restoring relationships. I will introduce this via different methods as my goal to have 50 no-cost / no-obligation conversations between now and the end of the year. This will help not only them, but myself in having deep conversations and offering continued coaching if it makes sense to them.

Overcome Fear by Standing up for God

In review of Acts 4:29 this morning I read where the Apostles say, “Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness.” (GNT)

Boldness is not reckless impulsiveness. Boldness requires courage to press on through my fears and do what I know is right. Like the disciples, I can be more bold by praying with others for the power of the Holy Spirit to give me courage, to look for opportunities to talk about Christ, to realize that rejection, social discomfort, and embarrassment are not necessarily persecution, and to start where I am by being bolder in small ways.

Everyone has fears. In fact, right now is a very fearful time for us all. Too often, though, I let them rule my life and stop me from taking a stand for what I know God wants me to do.

Like Daniel standing in the lion’s den, I face people and situations that threaten to destroy me and my witness for Christ. But the choice is mine.

Will I succumb to my fears, or will I stand up for God in spite of them?

To overcome fear that’s dragging me down, I need to clearly understand the benefits of choosing to stand up for what God wants.

Most importantly, I need to see that doing what God wants me to do is a clear victory over the fear in my life, because fear grows. Every time I give in to a fear, it becomes more intense.

Fear grows every time I refuse to do what God wants me to do. Eventually, I’ll feel cornered. And when fear grows, my life shrinks. 

So what should I do? I follow the lead of early Christians. We’re certainly not the first generation of Christians to face fear. Early believers faced all kinds of persecution. The book of Acts shows us how they stood up to this fear. As Peter and John proclaimed Jesus boldly in Acts 4, they came up against fierce opposition.

So they prayed, “Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness” (Acts 4:29 GNT).

The answer to my fear isn’t to give in to it. It’s to move forward boldly despite it. Stand up to the fear. Fear doesn’t respond to logic, so my only chance to get rid of the fear is to trust God and face the fear.

Never, ever forget this: God won’t part the Jordan River in front of me until you take your first step (see how God did this for Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2:8). I take a step of faith, and then God shows me the path. That won’t happen if you stand wrapped up in your fear.

Take a step in faith today, and watch fear crumble in the process as God guides your steps.

In summary, Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow me, your servant, to speak your message with all boldness. Now boldness is not reckless impulsiveness. It requires courage to press on through my fears and do what I know is right. I can be more bold by praying for the power of the Holy Spirit to give me courage, to look for opportunities to talk about Christ, to realize that rejection, social discomfort, and embarrassment are not necessarily persecution, and to start where I am by being bolder in small ways. Right now is a very fearful time for all of us. Too often, though, I let fear rule my life and stop me from taking a stand for what I know God wants me to do.To overcome fear, I need to clearly understand the benefits of choosing to stand up for what God wants. For doing what God wants me to do is a clear victory over the fear in my life, because fear grows. Fear grows every time I refuse to do what God wants me to do.  And when fear grows, my life shrinks. The answer to my fear isn’t to give in to it. It’s to move forward boldly despite it. Stand up to the fear. Fear doesn’t respond to logic, so my only chance to get rid of the fear is to trust God and face the fear. God won’t part the Jordan River in front of me until you take your first step. Take a step of faith, and then God will show me the path.

Today’s devotion is an encouragement for me as I face a new situation with my work and my team. I pray Father for boldness that I lead my team through this, having faith in you and doing what I know is the right thing to do. Send your Holy Spirit to remind me of being bold and to use what happens as a way to show others who you are. I want to choose to trust and stand up for you, not give into fear. I will take the first step and then allow you to lead me. Father I also pray today for wisdom and guidance in how I handle things today, my work tasks, my leadership and my interactions with others. These things I pray in your Son Jesus name, Amen.

Learning To Take a Step of Faith in Spite of My Fear

In review of Acts 4:29, it says, “Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness” (GNT).

Today’s verse is Acts 4:29, in it the disciples are praying and ask the Lord, to take note of their threats and to help enable them to speak the word with complete confidence.

What I’m learning is that boldness is not the same as reckless impulsiveness. Boldness requires me to have the courage to press on through my fears and to do what I know is right. To be more bold, I can follow the example of the disciples, I can (1) pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to give me courage, (2) look for opportunities in my family and neighborhood to talk about Christ, (3) realize that rejection, social discomfort, and embarrassment are not necessarily persecution, and (4) start where I am by being bolder in smaller ways. 

Everyone has fears. Too often, though, we let them rule over our lives and stop us from taking a stand for what we know God wants us to do.

Like Daniel in the lion’s den, I face people and situations that threaten to destroy me and my witness for Christ. But the choice is mine. Will I succumb to my fears, or will I stand up for God in spite of those fears?

If I want to overcome fears that drag me down, I need to clearly understand the benefits of choosing to stand up for what God wants. Most importantly, I need to see that doing what God wants me to do is a clear victory over the fear in my life.

Because fear grows. Every time I give in to fear, it becomes more intense.

Fear grows every time I refuse to do what God wants me to do. Eventually, I’ll feel cornered.

So what do I do? Follow the lead of early Christians. I’m certainly not the first generation of Christ followers to face fear. Early believers faced all kinds of persecution. The book of Acts shows me a bit about how they stood up to this fear. As Peter and John proclaimed Jesus boldly in Acts 4, they came up against fierce opposition.

So they prayed, “Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness” (Acts 4:29 GNT).

The answer to my fear isn’t to give in to it. It’s to move forward boldly in spite of it. I stand up to the fear. Fear doesn’t respond to logic, so my only chance to get rid of the fear is to trust God and face it.

Never forget: God won’t part the water in front of me until I take my first step (reference how God did this for Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2:8). I take a step of faith, and then God shows me the path. That won’t happen if I stand wrapped up in my fear. I should take a step in faith today, and watch my fear crumble in the process as God guides my steps.

In summary pray for confidence and move forward with boldness. Boldness requires me to have courage to press on through my fears and to do what I know is  right. Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit, look for opportunities, realize that rejection, social discomfort, and embarrassment are not persecution. Start where I am by being bolder in smaller ways. Understand the benefits of choosing to stand up for what God wants. See that doing what he wants me to do is a clear victory over the fear in my life. Fear become more intense every time I give into it. The answer to my fear isn't to give in to it. It's to move forward boldly in spite of it. Also I need to take the first step, as God won't part the water until I take it. When I do, he will show me the path. 

Fear is something I face all the time. I keep holding back, waiting for the right conditions. I need to take small bold steps each day to push beyond fear. You have promised if I do, you will show me the next step. With this, I pray this morning for me be bold when I face any kind of fear today. I ask for your wisdom and guidance in my work, my leadership and my interaction with others. I pray this in your Son Jesus name, amen.