Everyone talks about "dreams" these days, but Susan K. Stewart says we need to be careful when we dream and consider where we're placing our hopes. In this Spiritual Life UPLIFT, she tackles the topic with a personal story.
“I plan to go to UCLA and major in screenwriting,” the high school freshman announced.
She then laid out her plan, including what classes she would be taking in high school and community activities that will help her preparation for her goal.
Ah, plans. Yes, I (Dawn) have placed my hopes in so many personal plans, and even in people who might help me accomplish my goals. And I've learned, the hard way, exactly what Susan is about to teach us.
Susan continues . . .
“Wow! That’s wonderful,” I responded. “It seems to me you just might make it.”
When this confident young lady left the room, her dad said, “I want her to major in something that will give her a real career.”
“What!?” was all I could stammer. “What’s wrong with her goal? With her determination, she has a good chance of success.”
The response was, “Look what happened to Aunt Shirley.”
Aunt Shirley is a divorced family member who was a successful writer before the divorce, and was now struggling to make ends meet with two part-time jobs.
Has that ever happened to you? It has to me.
Why do we do that?
Compare someone’s (or our own) dream with another person’s failure.
Sometimes we sabotage our own hopes. We listen to our own negative talk.
- “It can’t happen."
- "I’m too old."
- "I’m too young."
- "No one else has ever done this before.”
Other times we have our hope in the wrong thing: education, another person, fortune, ourselves.
All of these sources of hope will fail us.
An archaic definition of hope is “trust, reliance.” Most often we think of our hope as the anticipation of something. We also build our dreams on what we or others are going to do for the fruition of that expectation.
If hope is in fact trust rather than dream, maybe our hopes are dashed because we have placed our trust in the wrong place or person.
We are told by Paul that Christ Jesus is our hope (1 Timothy 1:1). Not our dream or expectation, although we surely look forward to the coming of Jesus. Christ Jesus is where we place our trust; who we rely on.
We are told by Peter to “prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).
We are to TAKE ACTION BASED ON OUR HOPE (trust) on the GRACE of Jesus Christ.
When our expectations are based on hope from Jesus, we can’t sabotage them.
This requires taking those dreams to God before making all the plans on our own to-do list.
For years, I’ve had a dream of a having a specific book published. For years, my hopes have been built up only to be knocked down. This year I asked God, "Why?"
He impressed on me that I was trusting in my own plan, not the dreams He has for me.
I laid my desire aside. Even though a number of people gave me reasons not to, it was the right thing to do. I’m now trusting God’s vision for me rather than mine.
I’ve placed my hope in God’s dream.
When our hope—remember, that means trust and reliance—is in the Lord, no one can take them it away from us or talk us out of it. We will be able respond to negative self-talk with “God told me to do this and I trust him.”
What is your hope is built on?
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
~ Edward Mote (1797-1874)
Susan K. Stewart—when she’s not tending chickens and donkeys—teaches, writes, and edits non-fiction. Her passion is to inspire others 
with practical, real-world solutions. Susan's books include Science in the Kitchen; Preschool: At What Cost?; the award-winning Formatting e-Books for Writers; and her most recent book, Harried Homeschoolers Handbook. Learn more about Susan at Practical Inspirations.
Graphic adapted, courtesy of Daniel Reche at Pixabay.