The Dream Thief
Being able to dream, or we can say, hope, separates mankind from the rest of the animal world. It is a God-given quality that allows our soul to soar to the highest peaks of imagination. Our dreams create the best of worlds, the perfect marriage, the absence of sickness and pain and so much more. I know that some dreams can cross over to the realm of fantasy, but primarily one’s dreams are within the confines of a sincere desire for the “good” life.
Job was one of those people who was living his dream. He was rich, had a large family, many friends, great influence and a relationship with God. Everything about his life was “good”. Then one day appeared the dream thief. Everything he had was taken from him; his children died, his riches were stolen away, his friends turned against him and even his wife stopped believing in him. This thief, Satan, tried to pollute Job’s mind with negative thoughts and turn him against God. The enemy’s dream is to “steal, kill and destroy”, (John 10:10).
This dream thief has become quite efficient at destroying man’s dreams. At times he comes as a thief in the night and one day to the next all is taken away or he may just delay the realizing of one’s dreams, creating disillusionment and despair. Yet, there is a dream he cannot touch and that is God’s dream. God’s dream is that no one would perish and that all would come to repentance. God desires a broken and contrite heart and it is through such a person that He shows forth is power and might.
The dream of God is birthed when one dies to his own dream. God’s dream is so much better than man’s and to experiment it one must choose to let go of his own. As long as Job defended and held on to his own dream, he was susceptible to Satan’s attack, but when he died to his own dream and repented before the Lord, he became a part of God’s dream. With this new, broken and repentant Job, God could bless. He received twice as much as he had before. He was used by God to pray for and bless those who had wrongly judged him. Job received a new family that was a blessing in the whole land.
When one’s delight is in the Lord, when one commits his way to God and trusts in Him, when one remains faithful and does good, the promise we have is that the Lord will give us the “desires of our heart.”
Scriptures to meditate on:
Job 1:1-5; 4:13-20; 42:1-17; Prov. 13:12; Ps. 51:17; 37:3-5