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As a youth, a child of the sixties and seventies, I was often encouraged to “dream big dreams.” So I did. And I enjoyed planning, thinking, and gathering information about how to accomplish some big thing or another.

But somehow, for all that mental activity, plans never seemed to materialize. They would just fall by the wayside or be transformed into new big dreams that never happened either.

Thankfully I learned a “secret” many many years ago in regards to this. A secret that is the key to actually making something happen rather than just dreaming about it. No, not some new-age-based and supposed “law” of the universe involving even more dreaming and thinking. Rather, it is a “secret” right from the wisdom literature in the Bible.

Often people seem to make the mistake of thinking that desiring, dreaming about, and planning out a goal is the way to bring it into being. Desire to achieve a goal can be shown in many ways: eagerness for results, positive thinking, wishful hoping, or excited planning to name a few. But any way one expresses it, desire is just not enough. It is a start, but the key to crossing the finish line lies elsewhere:

The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. (Pro 13:4 KJV)

One of the “D” words here is the key. And the other one isn’t. Unfortunately many pick up the wrong one. What matters is not the desire but the diligence in which we pursue our goal.

Diligence is the secret ingredient for moving dreams from our head and heart and bringing them to fruition. As an object lesson, everyone I know who dreams but never sees their dreams come to life is lacking in diligence toward their stated goals.

Of course, there is an extreme danger here which requires due caution on our part. Many are diligent about pursuing goals that are out of YHWH’s will, or worse, rebellious to His will. Because diligence is a key to making things happen in the world, ungodly goals are often acheived. Though they might achieve some success…even astounding success… in the world’s terms, an ultimate price is paid for doing so. As Yeshua said:

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mat 16:26 KJV)

But on the other hand, If YHWH has placed a dream within us we must pursue it with diligence. Taking the dreams He places in our hearts and applying ourselves diligently to pursuing them is a kind of good stewardship of what He has given us to work with. It’s also a sort of “partnership” with Him.

He gives us the dream, we apply ourselves to it diligently, and He opens and closes the doors necessary to make it happen. He works out His will in the world and we are participants in that.

So it is very important that we seek the Spirit’s leading in finding and evaluating our goals. But it is also important, vitally so, that we diligently apply ourselves to pursuing those goals. First and foremost with prayer, and then step-by-step and day-by-day keeping up with the Spirit until we achieve the dreams we have determined are YHWH’s goal for our lives.

And “day-by-day” introduces a “key” to successfully applying our key of being diligent. But I’ll leave that for tomorrow!

Abba Father, thank you for calling us into partnership with you as we diligently work toward those dreams you have placed in our hearts. Help us to clearly see and follow your Spirit into your will for our lives as we seek to be diligent in those things to which you have called us. We ask these things in the name of Yeshua our Messiah. Amen.

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Copyright 2010 Jim Zboran. All rights reserved.
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