Never Give Up On Your Dream

//Craig W. Hagin

My dad always taught me that I could do whatever I desired to do. If I put my mind to it, I could do it. I just had to decide what I wanted to do and then go for it. Now I’m passing that lesson on to my children.

My oldest son, Cameron, has a dream of becoming a NASCAR race car driver. We know it’s a lofty goal. There are 25,000 kids who vie for the three or four spots that open up every year in the NASCAR ranks.

Speed Bumps When we are striving to reach a goal or fulfill a dream, challenges are inevitable. But challenges and negative circumstances are like speed bumps. A speed bump is made to slow us down when we are going too fast, but it doesn’t cause us to stop. Challenges act the same way. The devil has designed them to slow us down when we get going too fast for the Kingdom of God and he feels threatened. But we can ride right over those challenges and keep going because the Greater One lives in us!

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Although it isn’t an easily obtainable goal, one thing is certain: for my son to reach this goal, he must practice hard and keep his dream in front of him at all times.

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Many people think God gives us only the things He desires us to have. But this verse shows us that we can have the things we desire. As long as our desires line up with the Word of God, we can have whatever we can believe Him for. What we can receive from God is really unlimited!

Sometimes people have a dream they want to achieve, but something happens and they lose their desire to go after their dream. Hard work is always involved in accomplishing a dream, and it can be easy to get discouraged along the way. When this happens, we have to push through the setbacks and discouragements to realize our dreams.

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
You might be surprised to learn that Michael Jordan—one of the best players basketball has ever seen—was cut from his high school varsity team when he was a sophomore. But this setback didn’t stop him. He worked hard to sharpen his basketball skills and made the team in his junior and senior years. He went on to play college basketball, and the rest is history.

There will always be people who feel they need to help us “face the facts.” And if given the chance, they’ll try to talk us out of what we want to do. But we can’t be swayed by what someone else thinks. What they think shouldn’t have any bearing on whether we fulfill our dreams.

Bill Bates didn’t allow other people to talk him out of his dreams. Bill grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, and dreamed of playing in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. But he was too small and too slow. After college he was invited to the Cowboys’ training camp. When it came time to cut players, the Cowboys’ management couldn’t bring themselves to cut him. In spite of his shortcomings, he was too likable, and he always made the tackle. Bill Bates had a 14-year career with the Cowboys. Pretty good for a guy who others said didn’t have enough talent to play in the NFL.

Just because other people tell us we can’t doesn’t mean that we can’t. We serve a God of the “cans,” not a God of the “can’ts.” If we’ll remember this, we’ll realize that the trials we face while working toward our dreams don’t have to determine our outcome. Although certain situations may seem impossible, we must remember that a key to achieving our dreams is to never stop believing, no matter what happens.

Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”

When we know our heritage, it won’t matter what is said against us. It won’t prosper. As we remember and do God’s Word and are merciful to others, Proverbs 3:4 says that we will have favor with God and with man. When we stand on this scripture, doors that were once closed will open.

As we strive to accomplish our dreams, we must never forget that we serve a God Who is more than enough! No matter how lofty our dream may be or how impossible it may seem, He is able to help us achieve all of our desires.