Dream Power

I can remember the time and place as if it were yesterday. Mother was washing dishes by the sink at the end of our small kitchen. I wandered in and stood by the table, deeply perplexed.

“Well, I guess I have to be a preacher,” I said.

“That’s wonderful, George,” Mother said.

Then, quite embarrassed, I wandered back into the living room and continued with my half muddled thoughts, sinking into the large overstuffed chair and rocking back and forth gently. As a boy, I took nothing lightly, probably thinking way too much and playing way too little. I was 12 at the time.

There had never been a preacher in my family line, at least one that I knew of, because the history of our lineage going back further than my grandparents was a complete blank. We were not a religious family, although Mother encouraged us to go to church, but persuading any of us to actually go was an uphill battle for her. That’s why I was embarrassed to say I thought I had to be a preacher. I had attended Sunday School enough to be exposed to the call of God, even back then.

As a senior in high school, I went public, quitting my rock group to follow Christ. But at the age of 12, I had a secret admiration for Billy Graham and dreamed about being a preacher someday, preaching to large crowds and seeing hundreds, if not thousands answering the call to follow Jesus. It was strange to have this kind of dream, given the kind of family that we were.

Yet, thirty-some years later, God brought this dream to reality. There were some differences, but never-the-less I was the person who put in motion large outreach events where thousands came forward to give their lives to Christ.

The difference was that I was not the evangelist on stage that gave the Gospel message. I was the one behind the scenes putting it all together.

I often made jokes about the whole scenario. I would say to anyone interested, “I work for months behind the scenes to make the event a reality. The Evangelist comes to town, stands on the stage for a half hour, gives the Gospel message and an altar call, and gets all the credit. I would grin good-naturedly as I said it, because really it didn’t matter to me. The work I put in for months made the whole thing possible.

Well, looking at the bottom line, the important thing is that God gave me a dream as a 12-year-old boy, and then he fulfilled the dream. I had dreamed about being the one who would bring thousands to Christ at large evangelistic events, and in the end, I was. Our school assemblies and large events reached over 40,000 people in a five-year period and the television broadcasts in which I was a guest, reached millions.

I could retire now, and say, “It is enough,” but I cannot. Like the great preacher, George Whitefield, something within me says, “Give me souls, or I die.” Though I am older now, I feel about 40, full of dreams yet to be attained. The next years may be the most fruitful of my entire life.

The dream continues! What will God do next?

If you are a committed Christian who walks with God, then you are a candidate for dreaming, and you also are qualified to have God “blow your socks off.” He is capable of bringing you into the most outrageous achievements that may only be dreams for many years.

Dreams are the substance of life. My pastor of 25 years used to say to me, “If you stop dreaming, you are as good as dead.” His dream was to see 10,000 people attend his church’s worship service on Sunday. God gave him this dream while he pastored a congregation of 400. The little church bought property across the street and put up a large building. He didn’t see the 10,000 happen in his lifetime, but he did see over 4000 pass through the church on a Sunday morning, and his predecessor now could easily see the 10,000 number happen in his span of service as pastor of the church.

Dream! It’s good for you!

God deeply embedded the desire to dream in our DNA. It’s what makes most of us tick!

I refer to the story of Joseph often. Remember, he had a dream and his brothers were bowing down to him. He made the mistake of sharing the dream with them and they were outraged. They were so angry that they sold him to some travelers, who took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, a high official in the Egyptian government.

Joseph was a handsome young man, and Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him. When Joseph refused and ran out of the room, Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph of rape. The result was 13 years in prison for Joseph, an innocent man.

But Joseph couldn’t forget the dream all those years in prison. To that he clung, and undoubtedly the dream kept him from despair. Then Joseph interpreted a dream for two of Pharaoh’s servants who had been thrown into prison, and the word spread of his amazing gift. Pharaoh eventually called him out of prison to interpret his dream. Then he was freed and put in charge of all of the grain reserves of Egypt. He became the second in command to Pharaoh, and soon his brothers, caught in a terrible famine, came to Egypt for help. They ended up before Joseph, their brother, and they bowed down to him in homage.

The dream came true, just as Joseph had seen it.

Don’t be afraid to dream. God has special, incredibly loving plans for everyone who will listen to Him and follow His ways. If you don’t have a dream, ask God for one. If you have one and it hasn’t yet come to pass, trust in the great God of the heavens, who knows exactly how many hairs are in your head.

Maybe you think you have blown it so bad that God can no longer bring your destiny into reality.

Maybe you’ve fallen off the wagon a few times.

Join the crowd. I have thought many times that I had missed it so bad, my life would never reach what God had intended.

God can and will restore the years that the canker worm has eaten (Joel 2:25). He can turn your circumstances around so fast, it will make you head spin.

Remember Peter, who denied Christ three times. He thought it was over. He thought his terrible actions had sunk his ship for good. He decided to go back to what he was doing before Jesus called him.

Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” He thought this was now his destiny, to fish until he died. But Jesus appeared on the shore. Peter and the other disciples weren’t catching any fish that day. Jesus said, “Cast your nets on the other side of the boat.” They did, and they caught so many fish that the net threatened to break.

Peter then recognized it was Jesus. He plunged into the sea, clothes and all, and went to Jesus as fast as he could. In the conversation that followed, Jesus restored Peter fully (John 21). After Jesus’ ascension, Peter became the leader of the disciples.

God has great things in store for anyone who will surrender to His Lordship and seek Him with his whole heart.

Am I talking to you? Have you fallen off the wagon? Seek Him with all your heart. God has a dream for you He is longing to bring into full bloom. You might think it’s over, but He’s just begun.

Photo designed and taken by Lorraine

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