When it seems your dream is on hold!

“The 10 Absolutes of a Dream in the Making”

Yesterday was a day of flying for me from Nebraska to California.  As I was sitting at the airport, waiting, I couldn’t help but think about how hard sometimes it is to wait.  I don’t know anyone who likes to wait!  It is frustrating sometimes to know where you want to go and have a destination in mind but feel like getting there is taking much longer than you expected.  It was on a weekend in May 2012, as I was preparing to minister at a church in Houston, Texas, that I first heard the Lord say He would awaken a Remnant in America. It seems just like yesterday! Yet, I also know that we have yet to see the fulfillment of the vision given to us four years ago.  Have you ever felt like your dream was on hold or delayed? I know that Karen and I have. I truly believe that we are all on the cusp of seeing many dreams fulfilled. Yet, I know first hand that many times the unfulfilled vision can be so discouraging. This scripture has kept me steady through the waiting seasons of life!

”But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!" Habakkuk 2:3 (LB). 

I want to encourage you today. Many times it is in the delay of the vision that you were actually getting prepared to handle the weight of the promise! There are so many that are receiving this message that might feel as if God has forgotten you, or that the dream you possess will never happen. The Lord sent me to tell you that He hasn’t forgotten your promise, but rather the runway had to be lengthened to handle the magnitude of the promise when it lands!  In fact all through God’s Word  His messengers often had to wait to see their promises fulfilled. 

• Noah waited 120 years from the time he started building the ark until it began to rain.

• Abraham was told he would be the father of a great nation and didn’t have a child until he was one hundred years old.

• God told Moses he would be the leader to lead his people out of four hundred years of slavery, but then made him wait in the desert forty years.  

• Joseph spent years in prison before God raised him up and he became the ruler God wanted him to be.  

• God had David anointed as king, but then David waited for years until he actually got to be king.       

Please allow me to share some personal revelation that I have learned over the years concerning awaiting the arrival of your promises.  I call this: 
”The 10 absolutes of a dream in the making!”

1. Never allow your dream to become more important than the place you presently reside! There are so many that chase the dream and miss the important moments! (Ecc. 5:3)
2. Serve where you are at and others won’t whisper when you arrive! It is the heart of servanthood that actually qualifies you for promotion. (Matthew 23:12)
3. God’s timing demands trust (Prov. 3:5-6)! The calling of God…. Without the timing of God…. Will result in the absence of God! Don’t get ahead of God it is much safer if He is leading. God is not slow in keep his promises (2 Peter 3:9), but remember Kairos does not always line up with Chronos! 
4. It is in the waiting that you learn to be content with what you always took for granted. That is a sign that God is about to bless you! (Is. 40:29) Remember: Delay is not denial! 
5. If the dream was easily obtained by you then you would have never learned the power of activating your faith. (Hebrews 11:1)
6. You must protect the dream, by producing fruit of righteousness that you will eat upon when you arrive at your destination! (Phil. 1:11)
7. If ever you must harm others to get to your dream you have now become someone’s nightmare. Keep the attitude of gratitude! (Phil 4:6)
8. Don’t try to kick open doors that God has locked from the other side! Rejection is many times protection. (Revelation 3:8) If the dream was birthed by God then you must rely upon Him and not others to make it happen!
9. When the man dies…. And the dream dies…. Then God is able to resurrect the man and the dream for His purpose. (John 12:24)
10. If your dream doesn’t require you to change your wine skin along the way then you will leak all over your promises. (Matthew 9:17)

Remember, we all have to go through these waiting periods. Even Jesus waited for thirty years in the carpenter’s shop before setting out on His public ministry. I challenge you to stay grounded where you are at and let God work it out! Faithfulness is a sign that you still trust the one who knows your ending from your beginning (Isaiah 46:10)! The greatest tragedy that can befall God’s messengers is when we settle for the consolation prize of good effort, but fail to stay in the race long enough to wear the victors crown!

James 1:12, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”