I'm reading an amazing book called "Shattered Dreams" by Larry Crabb. I'd love to summarize everything he said, but that would take way too long. So, I will summarize his main points (or at least I will try to).
God sometimes lets our dreams shatter - we discover we don't have enough money to take that last course to graduate, or someone close to us dies, or friends pull apart.
God is all we need. We think we want a nice home that's safe and we want a beautiful, happy family and enough money to go out with friends and live comfortably. And those things aren't bad, but we don't need them. Easier said than understood or believed.
Can I desire God over a gorgeous green mountain and the ocean beyond? Is God enough for me? Sometimes our dreams shatter so that we discover that we can't do anything on our own and that God is enough and really is all that we need.. We are shown that this life doesn't work... it fails us. Bad things happen to good people. But, this life was never meant to exist solely for making us happy - usually we don't understand that... subconsciously we think we deserve to live in peace and happiness. But, that doesn't happen and we get discouraged and wonder why God isn't doing anything to make it better.
God is not here to fulfill our human desires and He is not required to. Yes, God has come to give us life to the fullest, but do we understand that life to the fullest does not mean owning a boat, having a secure and steady income, or being able to enjoy every opportunity that comes our way? Those are nice things and perhaps we will get them and there's nothing wrong with that. But, life to the fullest is a life that is filled with desire for God and for His desires.
When that happens I believe we can live contentedly in a one-room hut while constantly killing large spiders. I still hope that God doesn't call me to that, but I am learning how, over everything else, I'd rather have God - He is becoming my greatest desire.
Larry Crabb says all of this much better. If this sounds interesting, read his book!
Over the past few weeks and months I have thrown so many of my old possessions away. I'm learning how they don't matter. This life will end and nothing will come with me when I go on to the next. Some things that I thought would be hard to part with, were actually simple to place in the "give-a-way box." I realize that anyone can do that (non-Christians, too), but it's my attitude that is impressing me. I'm getting rid of stuff not just because it's cluttering my house and I don't need it, but I'm getting rid of stuff because it's unimportant and I don't need it. To be honest, there are still plenty of things I'd rather not throw away even for such reasons as mentioned above, but I am hopeful that if God told me to get up and leave them all behind that I would.
I don't mean this to sound boastful. I want to share what I'm learning and how I'm growing. A new perspective that abandons earthly-gain and immerses itself in God's character and will needs to be shared! (I haven't gotten fully there yet, but I'm hoping to)
I'm not perfect (is that even necessary to write?) and so I know I will fail sometimes in giving up my own dreams when they conflict with God's and I probably won't always give up what I am told to... but I hope I will.
When life doesn't impress me or when it frustrates me and makes me cry, I rejoice that this life is not the end. There is so much hope for joy! Joy that doesn't always make us beam with peace and happiness, but a joy that fills us with hope. And hope will not disappoint. (I don't think I understand what it means to really have joy. But, I know it's not synonymous with happiness and I'm fairly certain it's got something to do with hope.)
I wonder if dreams always have to be shattered for us to discover our desire for God.
Larry Crabb writes that despite our circumstances we can fly and only our striving to obtain our own dreams keeps us chained to the ground. Because we assume it is our right to feel good.
Larry Crabb writes the following that nicely summarizes a bit of what he has said so far.
Something bad happens. I hurt. I feel unhappy. I long to feel good. I ask God for help. I am resolved to feel better. I do whatever I can to make at least a few dreams come true. That is the way of the flesh
Something bad happens. I hurt. I feel unhappy. I long to feel good. But I trust God. His pleasure matters more than mine. But His pleasure includes mine. I believe that. So I abandon myself to His pleasure. I live to please Him. I work hard and live responsibly and strive to put balance in my life because that pleases Him. Making Him feel good is a higher priority than making me feel good. And somehow, inevitably, at some point, I discover joy That is the way of the Spirit.
If you want to read more about that, read the rest of "Shattered Dreams" by Larry Crabb. I have never recommended a better book than this. Not that you have to agree with everything that Larry says, but you will gain a new perspective on God, on our lives, and on God in our lives and you will gain a new humility that places God far above our own selves. I think you can find true joy when you discover all that this book can teach you. I'm still learning (and trying to put into practice) as I continue to read it. I hope I will discover what it really means to have joy (even if it means I have to endure some shattered dreams)
Well... I think this blog is long enough now. I have so much more inside that's yearning to pour out, but I'm not sure exactly how to write it yet. I'll save it for another blog.
