What if I told you there was a tree you could sit under that would give you the capacity to dream again? Life is hard and because it is hard, many people have lost their ability to dream big dreams and experience all of God’s plan for their lives. God knew life would be hard, which is why He had Jesus crucified on a tree outside of Jerusalem to secure his blessing for our lives. Look at Galatians 3:13-14:
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
The Apostle Paul said that Jesus became cursed in our place when He hung on the cross 2,000 years ago. He did this to ensure the blessing of God would come upon anyone who would believe in Him.
I bring this up because many people believe they are cursed. They believe nothing ever works right in their lives because they are unlucky, unblessed, or always mess things up. The truth is once a person gets “in Christ” they are no longer cursed. They have been redeemed or bought back from the curse and now walk in the blessing of God. I know that can be hard to wrap your head around if it seems like nothing ever goes your way, but the reality is that is the truth. When we learn this truth and apply it to our lives it will eventually change the facts.
This truth changes the way we do life because when we learn to see ourselves as blessed, it gives us the capacity to dream again. People that know they are blessed and highly favored by God are more open to hear His voice to accomplish big things and dream big dreams. When we know we are blessed, it takes the limits off of God and we quit looking at circumstances because we value His word and the Holy Spirit above natural limitations.
I’m a testimony of this truth. The reason Grace Life Church exists is because I spent three years at Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, Colorado and God renewed my mind. I got so overwhelmed by His love and power, I knew my wife Ashley and I could start a church back in North Carolina even though we had no money and no people. All we had was a dream.
I had people try to talk me out of starting a church because they told me how hard it is to do, but it didn’t matter to me because I was aware of God’s blessing on my life. I knew God would draw people’s hearts to come along side and help us and that others would give to us financially because I knew I was blessed. It wasn’t that I was unaware of the fact that the vast majority of church plants fail; I just didn’t care because I had a greater truth of God’s blessing and that truth would trump the facts.
At this point you may be asking, “Ok, Brian, I see the truth that we are blessed and not cursed, but I don’t feel that way and nothing seems to be working out in my life. What do I do?” Look at Song of Solomon 2:3
Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down in his shade with great delight, And his fruit was sweet to my taste.
This passage compares the king (symbolic of Jesus) to a tree. The Shulamite girl came and sat down under the shade of this tree and feasted off its fruit. If you have gone through a prolonged period of difficulty, you probably just need to sit down under the shade of the cross. This means you don’t need to do anything right now. You need to rest in the shade which protects you from the heat of the sun and you need to eat from the fruit of the cross. This means to spend time in the word, worship and prayer.
Many people don’t take time to rest and receive from God and try to do a work for Him too quickly before they are ready. It’s not wrong to work for God. We are supposed to work for God, however, we need to serve from a place of wholeness. Later in Song of Solomon 2, the king invited the Shulamite woman to come away with her and do a great work, but He waited until she was ready. Look at verses 10-13:
10 My beloved spoke, and said to me:“Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away.
11 For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. 12 The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs, And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away!
The woman’s beloved invited her to rise up and see things from His perspective. He wanted her to see that winter (a time of hardship is past) and a new season is here that is filled with flowers and singing. When she could see that reality, the king then invited her to come away with Him (and begin to do great works.)
We have to sit under the shade of the dreaming tree and let Jesus make us whole. When we do, we will see our winter has past and we are stepping into a new season where we can dream big again. Our personal wholeness is a prerequisite for dreaming at the capacity that God wants us to dream from. I hope this article has both challenged and inspired you to spend time in God’s presence and let Him make you whole so you can dream again. If you’d like to learn more, check out this message I recently taught at Grace Life Church.
