The Four Reasons You Aren't Following Your God-Given Dream
God is the giver of dreams, and one day He will drop one into your heart that both excites and terrifies you. You may jump all in and follow your God-given dream or hesitate to get started, but at some point at least one of these four things will come up that will make you procrastinate on your dream:
Fear
Fear is rampant, but lately, so are all the messages to overcome your fear with faith. Blog posts, books, podcasts, shirts, all declaring we are fearless, we are courageous, we are warriors, we can #doitscared.
You may be struggling with one fear or many, but fear is paralyzing and will stop you in your tracks, preventing you from doing the very thing God has called you to do.
When the fear hits, you must replace it with God's truth. Remind yourself that you have been called and equipped to do what He has called you to do. Remind yourself that you must be obedient to the calling God has given, regardless of your fear. Pray for boldness and courage and for a reminder of God's truths. You must choose to be courageous, rather than staying safe in your comfort zone.
Busyness
It's easy to get busy with life. Jobs and children and serving at church and to-do lists that seem to get longer each day, rather than shorter.
We all have the same number of hours in each day, and we can choose how to spend it. You will spend your time where your priority is, or you can waste your time without a plan. So be intentional with your time. Figure out what your priorities are and schedule in time to focus on each priority. And then honor the schedule you have set.
You can carve out time to accomplish your goals and dreams by waking up a bit earlier, or working during your child's nap-time or after your children are in bed, or give up binge watching your favorite show on Netflix.
Low Self-Worth
If you're procrastinating on your dream, nine times out of ten it's because you do not believe in yourself.
You doubt that you are qualified or good enough or that it's the right time to move forward. You doubt that the dream that is embedded deep in your heart is even worthwhile. You don't believe you are worth pursuing your dream, that other things are more important right now then your dream. You don't believe that your God-given dream might truly help a lot of people.
We say things to ourselves we would never say to anyone else. It's time to start talking to ourselves the way God talks to us. That we are fearfully and wonderfully made. That God has equipped us with what we need to move forward in our dream. That we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. That God has a plan and future for us.
Throughout scripture, so many Bible heroes doubted their qualifications. They felt too young, too weak, they weren't a good enough speaker, etc. But God considered them the right person for the job. I encourage you to write a list of all the ways you are qualified to do the thing God has called you. And when you start doubting yourself, pull out that list and remember that God called you.
Lack of Focus
It's so easy to get focused on all the things that must take place to make our dreams come true. Building a fan base or a platform. Buying business cards and other supplies. Attending conferences and trainings and webinars and reading blog posts and googling a million things along the way.
All these things aren't bad. Growing your social media platform and your customer base and your email list are good things. Personal development is important. But they're like dropping tiny pebbles in a huge lake and wondering why you are no closer to seeing your dream come true.
What you need to do is a throw a big rock in that lake. And watch the splash, watch the ripples that fan out from it. Figure out the one thing you need to do that will move you closest to reaching your dream. And do it. Then pick the next biggest task to helping you reach your dream, and do that. And so on. Then, you'll see your dreams coming true and lives being impacted for God's glory.
That's what it's all about, right? Lives being impacted for God's glory. And you, feeling fully alive, living in the gifts, the talents, the passions, the dreams that God have given you.
Which of these four areas are preventing you from reaching your God-given dreams? What are you going to do to keep persevering to fulfill your calling and reach your dreams?