“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Philippians 3:12
I’ve always dreamed of traveling. One of my first adult jobs was working in a travel agency because I loved the idea of travel.
Let me start off by saying that this particular business wasn’t a great place to work. The employees were not valued and cared for. On the first day, I was told I would be referred to by my middle name because they already had several employees who had a similar first name. Great start, huh? I never did more than help people book flights. “Why didn’t they just book them online?” you ask. Because at the time most people did not have computers and nobody had a smartphone. In fact, only a few of the agents working in this office even had a computer. The rest of us made phone calls to the airlines to book flights and hand-wrote tickets for customers who would come in and pick them up.
I didn’t work there long, but I did get an office “fam” (familiarization) trip to Puerto Rico out of it and fed my desire to travel to Alaska by fulfilling my responsibility to file brochures to places starting with the letter “A.” (Remember, no internet research. Beautifully printed brochures!)
Why am I talking to you about travel? Because going somewhere always starts with a dream. When was the last time you dreamed about where you would like to be in your life? What do you envision yourself doing that would satisfy your hunger to fulfill the potential you were born with? What do you dream of doing that would set you on the path to discovering the more you know you were meant for?
Where do you want to go in life and how do you get there? Here’s how to get started.
Dare to dream. It’s easy to stop dreaming. Let’s be honest. Life can be extremely disappointing. Just getting through day-to-day can be so much more difficult than we ever thought possible. We can get so caught up in just living that we forget that we had dreams about the things we wanted to achieve and the person we wanted to be.
Dare to begin dreaming again. Start by remembering the dreams that were but then ask yourself if anything has changed. What are your current dreams? God has placed dreams within you —His dreams for you. The way to discover those dreams is to dare to let yourself imagine a different destination than the one you are currently headed toward. Where do you want to be in another year? Five years? Ten?
Be brutally honest with yourself. The only way to make real progress forward is to be brutally honest about where you are now. If you have not yet been honest about where you are, it’s time to do it. Honesty is absolutely necessary in order to move forward and achieve your dream. The hardest person to be honest with is yourself. Perhaps a trusted confidante can help you explore your own honesty. Do you have someone who can help you acknowledge the truth about yourself?
We easily make excuses for ourselves that we would never let anyone else get by with. Today is the day to be completely truthful. Where are you? How did you get here? What do you need to change?
Change is never easy. But every journey begins with small steps. What small steps do you need to make so that you can start heading toward that dream destination? What do you need to shift so that you can begin traveling into your preferred future?
Set just one goal. What you need is momentum. That’s why you start with small steps. Reach for some low-hanging fruit! It doesn’t have to be high up on the tree to taste just as sweet. Progress is a sweet treat, so what small goal can you set to help you begin to move forward?
Setting that small goal starts with the big goal. You have to know where you want to travel to first. Then, keep that big goal in mind and start with just one small attainable goal that will steer you in the right direction and determine some steps to reach that one goal. Once you achieve that small goal, set another small goal. Every small success will satisfy that desire to move forward while keeping you hungry for the big goal.
Your dream, if it’s the dream that God has put inside you, is attainable. It may seem out of reach right now, but you can get there. Just set one small goal and get started!
My travel agency days were brief, but that desire to travel was the seed of a God-dream. Since then, I have had the opportunity to travel, not just to satisfy my own desires, but to advance the Kingdom of God. I have preached in Kenya, Uganda, and Colombia. I’ve traveled to China because God put a love in my heart for that large, lost nation and when we had the opportunity to go, I found myself tearfully asking my husband if we could take the trip. Each of those trips began with an invitation and a desire. The trip begins with a dream.
Dear Friend, God is inviting you to dream of the preferred future that He has for you. Be honest with yourself about where you are now and where you would like to be. Then set a small, attainable goal to get you started. You can do this. Just say YES!
Key Question: Where do I want to go with my life?
A Scripture to Consider: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Philippians 3:12
A YES Challenge: Imagine your preferred future as a travel destination. What does it look like? A busy city full of exciting activity? A peaceful mountain lake? Find an image that inspires you and place it somewhere that motivates you to keep dreaming and taking small steps toward that future.
Prayer: God, I want to be all that You want me to be and do all that You want me to do. Forgive me for allowing myself to get sidetracked by life. Help me to begin daring to dream of the future You have for me. Lead me and guide me toward Your preferred future for me. Amen.