My husband and I love the HGTV show Lakefront Bargain Hunt. Lately, almost every night after the kids go to bed, we turn on an episode and dream. We’d love to have a house on the water, nothing fancy, just a place to get away and enjoy being outside—fishing, fires for s’mores, and maybe even a boat someday.
We start by dreaming and before we know it, we’re looking up lakes within driving distance and checking real estate listings. The discussion moves from dreams to how can we make this happen someday.
There’s nothing wrong with dreaming. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with planning and making responsible decisions. But each night as we watched the show, we were doing something wrong.
We weren’t inviting God into our dreams and our plans.
One Sunday in the middle of our Lakefront Bargain Hunt binge, our pastor reminded us that this world and all the things of it are temporary and will fail to leave us satisfied. The bigger house, the new car, the awesome vacation, the better job, and even the lake house—they won’t satisfy our souls. Only Jesus can do that.
Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with those things or enjoying them. But we want to involve God in the decision to pursue them. We need to involve Him in the process, right from the beginning, even when we’re just dreaming.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul encouraged them to involve God in everything they did, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17, emphasis mine).
In whatever we do—the big decisions and the small ones, the dreams and the plans.
Do it all in the name of the Lord—asking for His guidance and praying that our desires, plans, and dreams align with His will.
Giving thanks—no matter what decision is made, we can be grateful for our God who wants to be involved.
But how do we practically do this? How do we involve God from the beginning? I think it’s simpler than we think.
We invite Him into the decision-making process and the dreaming.
We ask God to search our hearts and reveal any desires we’re expecting to fulfill us or to take the place of His peace and the ultimate fulfillment we’ll experience in eternity. We ask Him to show us how we can honor Him in our decisions and our dreaming.
As we pray we can reflect on these questions, replacing "this" with the dream we're chasing or decision we're making:
God, is this what you want from me and for me?
Is this where you want me?
Is this how you want me to use my time, skills, money, and resources?
Is this an empty way of fulfilling my desires for earthly pleasure?
Is this something I need to let go of because you have a different plan for me?
Is this something that can be used by you and for you?
God, how can I bring you glory in this dream or decision?
And then we must listen. We must ask these questions and allow God to speak through the answers.
We can discuss these questions with people we love, people we trust to give us wise counsel, people who will pray with us. And then we must trust God to reveal His will and be confident in the direction He is leading.
Friends, God wants to be involved in all we do, in all our decisions, in all our dreams, and in all our plans. Invite Him into the process and expect to hear His voice.
Lord,
Thank you for being a personal God. A God who bends down to listen. A God who desires to do life with us—in all things. I pray that You would guide this dream, reveal Your will in this decision. Help me hear Your voice and follow Your lead. Thank you, Lord, for Your presence and Your provision. Remind me to seek you in everything. I pray all these things . . .
In Your will, through Your power, and for Your glory,
Amen
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