One of my all-time favorite Disney movies is Tangled. The most iconic song in the movie is called “I’ve Got a Dream”, where all the ruffians and thugs sing about their dreams of becoming pianists, falling in love, baking cupcakes, and doing interior design, and Rapunzel declares her dream of finally seeing the floating lanterns gleam.

What about you? What’s your dream?

Maybe you dream of owning your own photography business or creating things to sell in your own shop. Maybe you dream of being CEO of a large company. Maybe you dream of falling in love with the most perfect guy and getting married. Maybe you dream of becoming a mother and staying at home with your children as they grow up. Maybe you dream about traveling the world, seeing all the beautiful sights and experiencing all the different cultures. Maybe you dream about furthering your education. Maybe you dream about building a house on a large piece of land out in the country. Or maybe you just dream about paying of all your debts and retiring well.

I have a dream. I dream of falling in love and getting married. I dream of traveling to faraway places like Hawaii, Greece, and Australia. I dream of writing and publishing books and articles.

But what if God’s plan and God’s will for us doesn’t quite line up with our dreams? What if it’s not in His will for me to get married? What if it’s not in His will for me to travel around the world? What if it’s not in His will for me to write and publish books? But what if it is? How do I know?

These questions are what Dianne Jago addresses in her book A Holy Pursuit. The world often tells us to chase our dreams no matter the cost. But this causes our dreams to become our idols, and we begin thinking of God as our own personal genie who should give us all that we desire. The Bible does not teach that we should follow all our dreams; it teaches that we should die to self because – 

“The chief purpose in our lives is to bring God glory and to follow whatever He asks of us no matter what”^[1](Italics are mine).

This does not mean that we cannot have dreams at all. It just means that we have to hold our dreams loosely and trust God with them. The world doesn’t revolve around us and our dreams. We’re part of a bigger story, and we must use our special giftings to first honor God and serve the Church. Throughout this book, Dianne uses personal stories and biblical examples to help believers discern whether they need to pursue, pause, or surrender their dreams and to remind them that – 

“The reality is that the Christian’s ultimate dream is to hear a ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”^[2]

If you have a dream and are not sure whether it is in God’s will or only in your personal agenda, I highly recommend reading Dianne’s book A Holy Pursuit.

^[1] Dianne Jago, A Holy Pursuit: How the Gospel Frees us to Follow and Lay Down our Dreams (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2020), 75.

^[2] Ibid., 157.