“Chasing Dreams to Find Your Purpose”
By Dayna Bickham
Dreams are big.
They are bigger than any one person. They sit somewhere in the unknown. They fill our hearts and our imaginations with all their possibilities. We work for them, we long for them, and as we reach them, we realize they often outgrow us and change into even bigger and better dreams.
But chasing dreams is not all fun and lollipops. No, sometimes it is scary. Sometimes you run into…
Fear.
Fear is like that annoying kids’ show character Swiper the stealing fox. Fear sneaks in and tries to rob you of your dreams before you reach them.
Fear is sneaky and intense. He wants what you have. He wants your hope, he wants your joy, and he wants your expectation. The crazy thing about Fear is he isn’t a real thief — not in the truest sense.
Thieves take what isn’t theirs when no one is around. They hold you up at gun point and avoid getting caught. Not Fear. He just shows up and stares you in the face. Fear is not demanding — he is lurking. He leers at us and waits. He waits for us to recognize him. He waits until we freeze. He waits until we become afraid.
Fear waits for us to give up and hand him all of our dreams. That’s right. Give.
Fear does not have to steal, because when we grow afraid of him we hand over our future. One dream at a time.
Remember this — your dreams are not self-created. They come from a God who is both the dream giver and the dream maker. He already defeated every foe that stands between us and our dreams. He guides us and leads us beside still waters. There may be giants in the land — one of those giants is named Fear — but we can use them (instead of hiding from them) to propel us toward purpose.
How do we overcome him? How do we beat Fear? Instead of handing him our hopes and dreams, we need to embrace him. We use him. Fear becomes the unwilling partner in our pursuit. He becomes the proof we are on the right track.
Fear left unchecked ruins, but fear embraced propels.
Look at David
David was just a young man. Scholars say between thirteen and fifteen years old when he wandered into a battle. He knew he was called to (one day) be king. (Sounds like a big dream for an untested shepherd boy, doesn’t it?) But in reality, he was about to meet a giant. Defeating Goliath would propel him toward purpose. It would send him onto the fast track of dream chasing.
Did David ever meet another giant again? Yes, one named Fear. But every time he looked to God as his source of courage. You can too.
If we know the plan maker — the One who makes dreams and places them in our hearts — the One who orders our steps, then we can trust He knows where we need to go, what we need to do, and how we need to do it. Chasing after God and his best for us gives us courage.
Courage is not the absence of fear, but the acknowledgement that on the other side of fear is something worth risking everything for. Courage embraces fear and moves ahead anyway. Courage knows that failure is an option, but the chance of reward is worth the battle.
David embraced Fear on the battlefield that day. He weighed the risk and he thought it was worth the reward.
God does not call us all to be kings. So sometimes, we think dreaming isn’t as important for us. We may not have dreams we consider great. We may have already handed Fear our hope. We can take it back. Fear is really a wimp dressed up in a bully’s clothes. When we realize this, we can begin to dream again with confidence.
Matthew 6:33 says to chase (we chase those we love until we catch them, right?) God, to love people second. When we do these things to the best of our ability (in a way only we can) we find purpose.
The formula is simple.
Chase God + Love People – Fear = Purpose.
Look at your life and do the math. Your future is waiting for you to find — and live — your answer.
I believe so strongly that every single one of us has a purpose that I wrote a book about it. Chosen for Purpose: Overcoming Giants and Living Your Dreams is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, CreateSpace, and on my website You can also find my devotional companion workbook in the same places. Equip yourself to live your own dreams. Buy a copy today.
Dayna Bickham is a wife of nearly 20 years and a mom of two teen girls. She is a blogger and author. Her latest book Chosen for Purpose is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, CreateSpace.com, and here, on her website. Dayna also contributes to other blogs and sites around the web and loves to take missions trips around the world. Follow her on social media, or drop her a line in an email. She loves to engage with her readers. (Ask her about Doctor Who and you may have a friend for life!)
