Keep Dreaming Great Dreams

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” Ephesians 3:20 (MSG)

God gives everyone different dreams so that all his purposes are fulfilled in the world. That’s why I'm passionate about some things and couldn't care less about others. God made me to be me. And I'm responsible for fulfilling the dream he gave me.

But how do I know if my dream is from God? There are two ways I can tell. One, a God-given dream will somehow help others; it won’t be self-centered. And, two, a dream God gives will be so big that I won’t be able to achieve it in my own power. It’s as if God says, “The dream I have for you is so big that you’re bound to fail if you don’t depend on me.”

Many people hold back from dreaming great dreams, and I’ll often hear them say one of three things:

1. "I don't have a dream because they’re scary.” Well, of course they’re scary. That's why dreams require faith. Decide to not base life on fear; instead, just do the thing I’m afraid of.

That's what courage is. If I'm not afraid, I don't need courage. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is when I do what I know God has told me to do even though it scares me.

2. “I’m not going after my dream because I don’t have peace about it.” The truth is that I'm not going to have peace about a dream until I take the first step towards it. God doesn't give me the peace I need before I make the move. Of course I'll have fears, but when I step into the water and watch the waves part, peace comes.

3. “I used to have a dream, but it never happened.” If God has given me a dream and it hasn't come true yet, don't despair. There's always a delay between the dream and the fulfillment.

In fact, delays are part of the journey because God uses them to build my faith. God's timing is always perfect.

The Message paraphrase says, “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” (Ephesians 3:20). 

God uses your dreams—the scary dreams, the dreams you don’t have peace about, and the dreams that haven’t happened yet—to grow your faith and do great things!

In Summary:

Ephesians 3:20 anchors the believer's vision not in personal capability, but in God’s boundless power to accomplish far beyond what human imagination can conceive. There are two reliable filters for discerning a God-given dream: it serves others rather than fueling ego, and its scale requires complete reliance on God rather than self-sufficiency. It also identified the primary internal roadblocks that stall forward momentum—such as waiting for fear to vanish, expecting emotional peace before taking action, or growing discouraged during inevitable delays. Authentic faith does not wait in comfort for certainty; it moves forward despite fear, recognizing that peace follows obedience and that delays are intentional training grounds designed to stretch my trust in God's timing.

Bottom Line:

A God-given dream is always larger than my personal capacity and centered on serving others, requiring me to act in courageous obedience before fear disappears or peace arrives.

Next Step:

Identify one specific, God-aligned ambition or calling I have been postponing due to fear, uncertainty, or lack of immediate peace, and execute a tangible, measurable first step toward it within the next 48 hours—treating obedience as the prerequisite to clarity rather than waiting for comfortable conditions.