Shattered Dreams
Photo Credit: Republica Star, via Pixabay
When I was young, I dreamed of a cozy house on a quiet street with a white picket fence. Well-behaved children played in the yard with an adorable dog as my husband and I sat contentedly on the porch swing holding hands. The skies were always blue. The grass was green, and dinner was always magically on the table.
Now, I am older and wiser. I live in a cozy house, and sometimes my husband and I will sit out back and hold hands. I have a good life. I don’t have the white picket fence or a puppy, but I have a lot to be thankful for. God is good.
This is not heaven, however. The skies are not always blue, and the grass is not always green. Sometimes, the enemy of my soul tosses a big rock right through the window of my home and seeks to shatter my peace. In fact, right now, I have a few boulders sitting right in the middle of my heart.
I am coming to the realization that I am asking the wrong questions. I should not be asking “God, when is this going to end?” Rather than asking for the rocks to stop coming, I need to acknowledge that my cozy home is not mine in the first place. I have been bought with a price. It’s God’s house, and He is more than able to shield me from the rocks. If the rocks are landing, then it’s because He has a design for them.
I need to ask, “Lord, show me how to live with my rocks.”
This year, my desire is to hold fast to Him. I am reminded that God’s servant Job showed tremendous courage and strength in the face of suffering. His whole world was crumbling around Him. and He had lots of questions, but in the end, he persevered in His faith and grew to know God more intimately.
Maybe these rocks are opening up a hole in the window of my heart to see more of Him.
The Lord said to Satan,“Have you considered My servant Job?For there is no one like him on the earth,a blameless and upright manfearing God and turning away from evil.And he still holds fast his integrity,although you incited Me against himto ruin him without cause.”Job 2:3, NASB
Q4U: Do you have shattered dreams? How do you hold fast when your world crashes in?
I am sharing “Shattered Dreams” and joining like-minded sisters at Words of Life Wednesdays, Tell His Story, A Little R and R, Testimony Tuesday, Soli Deo Gloria, Rich-Faith Rising, Sharing His Beauty, Playdates with God, and Hear it on Sunday: Use it on Monday.
Let’s hold fast together in 2014.
Dear Lyli,
When I experience shattered dreams, I go to God with my pain and my questions. I ask Him for the grace to believe He will use it all for good and to shape me to His character (Romans 8:28-29)….I lament like David in the Psalms then I recount God’s promises regardless of how I feel…Praying God will hold you and I think you are on the right path by changing your question and thus your perspective…((hugs))
God, what are you inviting me to in the middle of this mess?
He makes miracles out of messes. Right? 🙂
Lovely and authentic. Thank you.
You blessed my day, Natalie. Hugs 🙂
Helps me to remember
There is no message without a mess- no testimony without a test.
I am thinking I need to put that quote in a picture frame.
Boulders on my heart.. I love this. “Blessed is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her.” Luke 1:45. I keep holding fast to the promise that He Has made. <3 B
Thanks for pointing me to that sweet Scripture, Beth. 🙂
I have had my fair share of shattered dreams. In the midst of it, I have to hold fast to the character of God, who He says He is, and that He is always good, no matter what. Thank you for sharing your beautiful heart here.
Yes, Barbie, I am thankful that He is our firm foundation — the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So comforting!
How true that we need to know what to do with shattered dreams…..I think most of us face them to some degree. I am so thankful that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Thank you for posting this. Gentle Joy
I am glad that He goes before us. 🙂
Lyli, this is SO profound. I tweeted something like this just last week, about ‘living the right questions’, after I’d been challenged to re-think the way I was writing….
thanks so much for sharing these words; I appreciate you.
You are such an encourager, Jody. I am praying for God to give us eyes to see.
I’m so thankful that we have a God who holds fast to us, who prices that he’s trustworthy. In love the section of the beatitudes in the message that says, you’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope because when there’s less of you, you need more of him. Often, he let’s things fall apart because we can’t see him behind the edifices of security we build. Thanks Lyli for these thoughts.
Yes, Alyssa. I was reading up on Job today and found a commentary that said the exact same thing. The question is — will I stay true when the false security I’ve been relying on is wiped away?
I am beginning to believe that my rocks are for the purpose of opening a hole in my heart to see Him. Hard to accept sometimes but since more of Him is what I want, I don’t know why it is so difficult! Thanks for your encouragement and for linking up to Testimony Tuesday today.
The stripping away is painful, right?
Hmmm…”Maybe these rocks are opening up a hole in the window of my heart to see more of Him.” Very insightful, Lyli! It’s making me wonder what the rocks in my own life may be opening me up to. More of God, please!
More of Him, and less of me. Amen to that. 🙂
Lyli, Last year about this time all my dreams/plans were “shattered.” I had worked hard for retirement, company went bankrupt, lost the income right when my dad had to come live with us (and he was out of money too.) I had some specific dreams that I felt were God-given, but I just coudn’t do anything with them. One day in desperation, as I wept tears of disppointment and grief, I heard God telling me to give my dreams to him and he would hold them until I was ready for them.. It’s what i kept coming back to…the thing that gave me hope. I figured he would give them back at sometime, or if they changed, it would be because he knew something i didn’t. it’s been a year and things are still not resolved, but we are finding out way. Being able to blog again is a sign that I am in a better place. I couldnt’ do it for a long time. my word for 2104 was “unfrozen.” God has helped me unthaw and it’s all grace.
Carol, I am so glad that you are finding your way and in a better place. About 7 years ago, I remember crying out to God about a dream I thought was dead, and He spoke the same word to my spirit — Hope. A few weeks later, I was at the Bible bookstore, and I found a wall hanging of the word. It was the word hope in green cut out in 3-D. I purchased it and came home and hung it in my dining room right over the kitchen pass through where I could see it every day. A Scripture that God gave me during that season was Romans 15:13: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” I found that on a wall tapestry and put it on my living room wall. – I just started decorating my home and my heart with hope. One day at a time
Blessings to you, Carol. May God wrap Himself around you and restore your spirit completely.
Lyli, my post this week (which I will be linking up on Thursday) was along the same lines. About how I’m holding fast during a really difficult time. (Yup, got some boulders in the living room!)
For me, it’s all about realizing that I’m not alone. The Lord is with me every single moment, every single step. And now, you have reminded me once again that this is not my home, and so I’ll never be completely comfortable here. Thank you for your really encouraging words.
GOD BLESS!
(If you’re interested, on my sidebar I have a picture of a literal *hold fast* – it is the “root system” that holds seaweed fast to the ocean floor. Then, when the waves and currents flow past them, they are anchored firmly! Great object lesson, huh?!)
Sharon, I had read up on those root systems in December when I was researching this theme. Wow, I never noticed that picture on your side bar before. How cool is that? 🙂
God is my only anchor and holding fast to Him allows me to continue when my world crashes in! Love the picture at the beginning. Such a great visual!
Blessings, Mary!
Lyli, seek Him in the suffering, He will be found. He will overwhelm you with His love. He goes before you, He is with you, and carries you, and will never leave you. I know, He is doing the same for me.
Praying for you to know His comfort.
Thank you for those prayers, sweet Rebekah. You are such a blessing, and you have encouraged my spirit.