Dreaming Again

A devotional is an in-depth Bible study. A typical devotional should take you anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to complete. Download and print a PDF version of this devotional for yourself, or use it with a friend to create an engaging discussion.

Opening Questions

• What are your dreams for your life?
• What kind of dreams do you think God has for your life?
• Do you and God have a common dream? Or do you ignore or doubt the purpose God has for your life?

What is God’s dream?

The Spirit of the Lord, the Eternal, is on me. The Lord has appointed me for a special purpose. He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to repair broken hearts, And to declare to those who are held captive and bound in prison, “Be free from your imprisonment!” [2] He has sent me to announce the year of jubilee, the season of the Eternal’s favor: for our enemies it will be a day of God’s wrath; For those who mourn it will be a time of comfort. [3] As for those who grieve over Zion, God has sent me to give them a beautiful crown in exchange for ashes, To anoint them with gladness instead of sorrow, to wrap them in victory, joy, and praise instead of depression and sadness. People will call them magnificent, like great towering trees standing for what is right. They stand to the glory of the Eternal who planted them. [4] And they will rebuild this place from its ancient ruins; they will restore the ages-old, once-splendid structures; They will renew Israel’s ruined cities from the ashes and debris that laid untouched for many generations.
Isaiah 61:1-4 (Voice)

• God’s dream is to free people from the things we feel imprisoned by. He wants us to feel comforted, confident, and happy. He wants to shape us into people who make a difference in others’ lives.
• Do you believe this about God? Do you believe this is God’s dream for you?
• What needs to change in order for you to start believing this?

Dreaming begins with God

Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2] He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. He also trims every branch that produces fruit to prepare it to produce even more. [3] You have already been prepared to produce more fruit by the teaching I have given you. [4] Stay joined to me and I will stay joined to you. No branch can produce fruit alone. It must stay connected to the vine. It is the same with you. You cannot produce fruit alone. You must stay joined to me. [5] “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I to you, you will produce plenty of fruit. But separated from me you won’t be able to do anything.
John 15:1-5 ERV

• Dreaming with God begins with relying on him in everything. The way we do this is by deciding to obey the Bible.
• What is your attitude toward obedience? Do you fight against it? Do you see the benefits of it?
• To be a dreamer, you have to obey. Olympic athletes are dreamers, CEO’s are dreamers. They are dreamers because they stick to the plan. Dreaming with God is no different.
• What will happen if you simply began obeying the Bible everyday? What changes will take place in your life as a result of your obedience?

Stay joined together with me, and follow my teachings. If you do this, you can ask for anything you want, and it will be given to you.
John 15:7 ERV

• The promise of obedience is amazing! Ask for anything you want and it will be given to you.
• Note: this has more to do with fulfilling God’s dream for your life and not about just getting what you want whenever you want it, like winning the lottery.
• How well are you following God’s teachings? Do you believe that if you do this, amazing things will happen? (Answered prayers, lives changed, doors opened)

I have obeyed my Father’s commands, and he continues to love me. In the same way, if you obey my commands, I will continue to love you. [11] I have told you these things so that you can have the true happiness that I have. I want you to be completely happy.
John 15:10 ERV

• God wants us to be completely happy. Happiness comes from obedience to the Bible, because we are choosing to believe that God knows what will make us the most happy. When we choose to disobey what God says, we end up miserable.
• What does disobedience look like in your life?
• Religious people can make spiritually sounding excuses to get away with disobeying God, where it looks like they are obeying but it ends up just being empty words
  • “I’ll pray about it”
  • “I need to get advice”
  • “I will wait for a sign from God”
• What does obedience look like?
  • Reading your Bible because you want to not because you have to
  • Obeying the Bible because you want to please God rather than because you want to stay out of trouble or want to look good
  • Praying to God because he wants to hear from you
  • Choosing to love others (sacrifice for them, forgive them, love them, believe in them, don’t quit on them)

Choosing God’s Dream

22 After removing him, God raised up David to be king, for God said of him, ‘I have found in David, son of Jesse, a man who always pursues my heart and will accomplish all that I have destined him to do.’
Acts 13:22 TPT

• What does it mean to pursue God’s heart?
• How can you pursue God’s heart today?
• Do you believe God has a unique destiny/dream for your life?

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, [14] with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14 NET

• God’s dream is incredible and massive. As we work to fulfill it, we have to remember that change must be a constant in our lives. We must constantly work to change our hearts and lives so that we are ready to be used by God.

PRACTICALS

• Go out and pray and ask God to help you see his dream clearly. Ask Him to help you change what’s necessary so he can use you.
• What one thing do you need to start obeying today?
• Have a conversation with friends about what you can do together to give others a chance to learn about God’s dream.