Capturing Those Dreams and Making Them a Reality

“We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.”

(2 Corinthians 10:5, TPT)

A few years ago, I entered a new season in my life. To be honest, I had been at loose ends. My cousin and I had been caring for our uncle for about five years when he passed away. Suddenly, for the first time in many years, I was not responsible for the care of anyone other than myself. For as long as I could remember, there had been someone in my life I cared for in one form or another. At first, of course, mourning consumed me. This uncle was the closest thing to a dad I had ever known. Gradually, I realized I finally had the time and solitude to do more for God; I was just not sure what or where to begin.

I began praying fervently for more guidance about the direction my ministry needed to go from that point on. There were some specific things I had in mind, but I wanted to make sure it was God’s will and not my desires or wishes. I agonized about what I could do to reach more people with the gospel, especially in my community. After my prayer and study time one morning, the Lord spoke to me plainly and said, “Stop living in your head!” It stunned me for a second, and as I was mulling it over, it came to me again: “Stop living in your head!” I was about to ask what He meant when the realization hit me—"I had been living in my head.” I was contemplating many changes for me and my ministry in my mind, but not following through to make them a reality.

Before this encounter, I thought about different ways I could serve the Lord. I would envision myself providing this service, volunteering there, and adding this type of ministry or that type of ministry. Of course, in my mind, it was all well-received and successful. In other words—fantasies. Fantasies because the reality was terrifying. What if no one comes? What if I don’t have the right messages for the ones hurting or needing salvation? What will people think? Will they say, “Who does she think she is?” “Why should I go listen to her?” Hey, I’m just being real here. We’ve all been there. My sister, who was my pastor for many years before she passed, used to tell the congregation, “If nothing else, we’re going to be an honest people.” I loved this. She was an open book and so brave. Me? Not so much. BUT I’m getting there. The wake-up call from above made me realize I needed to stop “living in my head” or fantasizing and get busy working for the advancement of His Kingdom.

If you have a desire and passion to do more, be more for the Kingdom, or if you have a dream of starting a business, writing a book, volunteering—no matter what it may be in your imagination—make sure you do what it takes to bring it into reality. God will take it from there.