C.S. Lewis once said, “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” It’s such a simple statement, but it carries such deep meaning today. When we were younger, the only limit was our imaginations. We dreamed of becoming astronauts and princesses, exploring the world, and embarking on extraordinary adventures. In our minds, fairy tales were a reality.
Then, somewhere along the way, we lost our ability to dream.
As we grew older, the world told us that we were crazy and irrational for having big aspirations. The problem was, we believed it. Our dreams didn’t offer the relative safety and comfort of a stable job and income, so we quickly buried them in our past.
However, something that God has been revealing to me is that there is a supernatural power in our dreams. An impossible faith is only possible with impossible dreams. After all, God is the one who placed every single dream in your heart in the first place.
Instead of hiding your dreams from God, talk to Him about them and fully surrender them to Him. He delights in your dreams and knows that they hold the potential to transform the world. Every single desire you’ve had can be used to build God’s kingdom and prepare you for His plan, even if it’s in unexpected ways.
This doesn’t mean that the journey will be easy. Life is far from the picture-perfect fairy tales we’ve read, and many of our best-laid plans have laid shattered in the dust. There will be countless moments when we hit dead end after dead end. Not only do we want to give up, but we feel confused and even betrayed by God, wondering why He brought us this far just to leave us in the ashes.
But Jesus is not done with you yet.
When we surrender to God, we trust that He uses everything- from our biggest goals to our greatest disappointments- for His glory. Many times our dreams won’t unfold in the way or timeframe we expected, and sometimes our future can be the exact opposite of what we prayed for.
Through it all, Jesus is faithful. His plan is perfect. Sometimes He calls us to give up our goals in exchange for a better dream, and it can be extremely painful. Remember that Jesus cares about how you feel through this transition and is walking right beside you as you process all these changes. As you press into Him, He’ll show you how He is preparing you for what He’s calling you to do. The dream that He gave you is so much greater than anything you could ever imagine or hope for.
Other times, God will call you to be obedient over the course of several seasons and even many decades. Although the dream hasn’t changed, it feels like you haven’t made any progress and feel farther away from your dreams than ever before. The spiritual warfare you face is relentless, and you don’t understand why Jesus is allowing each door to remain firmly closed.
If you’re feeling defeated, I want to encourage you that God always keeps His promises. If He called you to a dream, then He will certainly fulfill it at the right time and in the right way. Along the journey, He is growing you in indescribable ways and allowing you to depend on His character rather than your circumstances.
As you wrestle with Jesus in the waiting, the conversations you have with Him and the perspective you gain are revolutionary. There are people out there who are desperately broken and lost, searching for fulfillment in all the wrong places.
Sometimes God allows us to wait before our dreams are fulfilled because He knows that our testimonies will speak life over the hurting and point unbelievers to the radiant hope of the Gospel.
Even when you struggle to believe that your dreams will come true, you can believe in the One who cherishes every single one of your dreams. Your dreams matter to Jesus. He loves you deeply, understands how powerful they are, and knows how many lives they will touch.
When everything within you pleads to set barriers around your heart and stop dreaming, dare to be fully vulnerable with Jesus and have a child-like faith that can move mountains.
God knows how hard you’ve been fighting. God knows that you’re afraid of getting hurt again. God knows how exhausted you are.
God knows exactly what your future holds, and He delights in the plans He has in store for you. You are not forgotten nor abandoned by Him. He cradles your hopes in His palms, and your passions are held closely to His heart.
One of the bravest things we can do is to keep dreaming. Pour out your soul before Jesus. Spend time journaling your goals and praying over each one. Be honest with Him about your doubts and struggles. Above all, give your life to God and let His will be done.
Life will never be a fairy tale, but we can still learn a lot from reading fairy tales. They show us that no matter how impossible our circumstances are or how desperate we are, there is an enduring hope. This hope changes everything and reminds us that a story with Jesus is so much better than any fairy tale ending. When we continually pursue our Savior, He can turn even our wildest dreams into our greatest testimonies.
