What Are You Doing with Your Dream?

by Rick Warren — May 2, 2022
From God’s Prescription for a Healthy Life

“Be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don’t be fools; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good."

Ephesians 5:15-16 (TLB)

Everyone has a dream. Maybe you’ve had it since you were a child. Maybe it came to you more recently. Desires, wishes, and ambitions are part of every person’s life. You may have hidden it deep inside of you, but, somewhere, you have a dream.

So, the question isn’t whether you have a dream. Rather, the question is this: What are you doing with your dream?

Most dreams never come true. It’s not that you’re not smart enough, not outgoing enough, or not spiritual enough. Usually, dreams don’t come true because you’re unwilling to take the necessary risks to reach them.

The Bible shares a sad one-sentence commentary about a king who failed to achieve an important ambition in his life: “[King] Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail—they were wrecked at Ezion Geber” (1 Kings 22:48 NIV).

While it’s a tragedy for your ship to never come in, it’s a greater tragedy for you to build a ship and never set sail. Imagine the energy and expense expended by King Jehoshaphat. He built an entire fleet of ships to go after the gold, and not one of them set sail. They never even got out of the harbor! Evidently a storm came up while these ships were still in the harbor; they slammed against the rocks and were destroyed.

Some people spend their whole lives waiting for their ship to come in. But God isn’t waiting for your ship to come in. He’s waiting for you to sail your ship out of the harbor.

I knew a man who for 30 years had a dream of starting a ministry. He talked about it, dreamed about it, and planned it. He spent a great deal of time on this dream, but he never took the risk to do anything more about it. He never got his ship out of the harbor. Eventually, the man died—and so did his dream.

The Bible’s antidote to that kind of tragic procrastination is as simple as an overdone catchphrase but excruciatingly difficult to apply at times: Just do it. The Bible says, “Be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don’t be fools; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good” (Ephesians 5:15-16 TLB).

The Bible urges you to seize the moment and act now. Living with unfulfilled dreams is a tragedy. Ships aren’t made for the harbor. They’re made to set sail.

Are you ready to set sail?

Talk It Over

  • For what dream have you planned but never taken action?
  • What resources do you still need in order to make your dreams reality? What resources are already available to you through God’s provision?
  • What opportunities do you need to make the most of today?

Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.