Those who dream

 

Psalm 126

I'd be the world's biggest cynic if it had not been for Jesus. A cynic can't imagine anyone doing good without it benefiting themselves. And that was something I assumed about people for a long time. Thankfully, Jesus convinced me to want to be something different. I can't tell you for sure if Psalm 126 was a part of that decision. But I'm sure the feeling of Psalm 126:1 was. "We were like those who dream" speaks to my cynical heart. It tells me there are those who can dream of what could be even in the bleakness of what is. Those who dream might seem out of touch with reality. Their dreaming ability may be seen as a weakness to others who struggle to dream. But I wanted to be a dreamer. And I'm convinced God made it so. There are two things we dreamers know about dreaming. Even us wannabes drafted into the dreaming academy understand this. First, dreaming is more than rose-colored vision. It's a trust and confidence in who God is and what we know God can do. Through the prophet Joel, God once promised an outpouring of the Spirit. One of the signs of that power would be that "your old men will dream dreams" (Joel 2:28). So, why wouldn't we want to dream? Second, our dreaming is not for our sake. Yes, we may hope for our restoration and the wonderful work of God. But the dream calls us to give God glory. You see that in the psalmist's assertion that "The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced" (Psalm 126:3). When we learn to see God's power, then we can all be "like those who dream." We can begin to sense anew the possibilities before us as God's beloved. Dreamers anticipate the joy and goodness of God and know to wait for it. Those who dream teach us to trust God more. Be like those who dream and, before you know it, you'll be a dreamer, too. Stay blessed...john