Dreams and Reality
by Margaret Silvester
In the Old Testament God often spoke to people through dreams. Jacob had a dream, which held promises. The first promise was affirmation of a promise given to his grandfather, Abraham, that God would give him land and descendants through whom all the peoples of the earth would be blessed. The second promise was a personal one. Despite the fact that he was running away from home God promised Jacob that He would be with him, watch over him wherever he journeyed and eventually bring him back to the promised land.
When Jacob awoke he knew he had met with God and was filled with awesome fear. On the spot he made a promise to God that he would always give back a tenth of all God gave to him. A principle to live by which assures blessing!
January 19th was the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King. My husband and I were in St. Petersburg, Florida where we found ourselves watching countless thousands of black people, who were marching to remember their hero and to proclaim that his dream was also their dream.
Banners displayed three large slogans. The first one read “I have a dream.” It was of course the statement their fallen hero made in his famous speech in 1963. The second banner read “Keep the dream alive” which was the purpose of the march. The third banner read “Fulfil the dream.” The dream cost Martin Luther King his life. He was assassinated in 1968.
The people on the streets of St Petersburg were those who had been set free from the bondage of slavery and inequality as the dream came into reality. They were determined that they would keep the dream alive and they would be the ones actively involved in fulfilling it.
People who have a “dream,” either fulfil their dream and bring it into reality or the vision dies. We might say people with a dream are people with a destiny. They know why they are here - they know God’s purpose for their life and they make the choice to fulfil it whatever the cost.
God’s purposes are kingdom purposes. It was for the salvation of the whole world Jesus died. The desire in His heart is that all peoples should experience the freedom that He alone can give. We are His followers called to have a dream, to keep the dream alive and to fulfil the dream. By His grace we can do it.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us Jesus, to die for me. By your grace please enable me to fulfil my God-given destiny and bring glory to you as I live my life day by day. Amen.
Margaret Silvester had a career as a teacher prior to being called into full time Christian Ministry with her husband, David, in 1986. They were involved in establishing a Healing Ministry in the local church and Margaret has a passion to see lost and wounded people found and restored. She and her husband joined the Ellel Ministries teaching and ministry team in 2000 after a clear call from God. Margaret`s book "Stepping Stones to the Father Heart of God" has recently been published.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
