Ruth Wilson trusted God with her dream of being a writer and one day her dream went viral. I wonder if Ruth ever believed it was possible. My guess is that she was as surprised as anyone.
Early on, Ruth’s typical blog post on Wrecked attracted a thousand readers on a good day. Ruth has an amazing writing gift coupled with a visceral authenticity. She invites her readers into the virtual reality of her soul in all its rawness. And her readers see reflections of their own experience there. It’s a beautiful thing.
As Ruth’s World Race coach, I could see and believe in her sometimes better than she could see or believe in herself. I saw her not for who she was, but for who she was becoming as she stepped into her dreams.
A couple of weeks ago, BAM! It hit. Ruth wrote a blog post that went viral. Over 230,000 people have seen it so far. 330 people have commented. God used Ruth’s gift to connect with their souls.
What we believe about our dreams says a lot about us. Let me suggest a thought experiment – think about a dream or two that you really want to see come true. Now answer these three questions:
Do you really believe in your dreams?
Do you believe that you’re worthy of them?
How much are you willing to commit to your dreams?
I may be wrong, but I’m betting that the average person doesn’t think they’re worthy of their dreams. I say that because I see so few committing to them. Maybe they fear failure more than they believe in the possibility of success.
Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book called The Dream Giver. He said that in his experience, 90% of people never did their dreams. If it’s true, it’s a terrible shame.
God is a dreamer and he entrusts us with the dreams that he wants to see come true. I believe he gives us many of the dreams that seem too big for us to ever do on our own so that we’ll partner with him to make them happen.
There is tremendous power in harnessing your dream to the power of belief. When we dare to dream big dreams, to trust God in ways that defy logic, he responds. God loves it when we trust him with our dreams.
Has God given you a dream? The world needs it. Maybe if you believe in it, it will succeed beyond your wildest imagination. Maybe it will go viral.
What’s your dream? What keeps you from committing to it?
Check out Ruth’s blog post here.
“Ruth has an amazing ability for visceral authenticity.” That she does! She is a blessing who has a unique gift for bringing clarity and putting words to the unsaid and perceived unsayable truths lurking inside her readers’ hearts.
Seth, I love this. As I’m on the cusp of seeing several of my dreams realized, this is really encouraging. I don’t think I’m in the camp of not feeling worthy or fearing failure, but rather in the camp of fearing that I have too many, and that there is not enough time for all of them. But I’m going to do them anyway, no matter what anyone else says, haha. Is it possible to dream too much? Maybe that’s an aspect to explore.
Jen, never possible to dream too much! But if you want to see your dreams realized, you’ll be disciplined in those you commit to and who you partner with to execute them. This is a lesson I’m still learning!
Seth, the day you gave the Kingdom Dreams talk at The Awakening in Dublin, Ireland 2010 – God told me I would be working with grieving children and families. That night during our 24 hour prayer God gave me a vision of a ministry house for these families. Since then I have been investing in this dream. Even asking God for a house to be paid in full! : ) Let’s just say God has been leading me to pursue a particular house. We are working with the township to see if we can get the zoning changed. If this is the house then zoning won’t be an issue! It’s exciting. But, boy does fear come roaring in when we actually start to believe in and pursue God’s dreams for our lives. I’ve never faced more fear in my life. But, God has settled my heart and has given me a bold, confident hope! Thanks for believing in our dreams and for spurring us on!
That is awesome, Michelle! Good to hear from you. Send me an email about your dream so I can pray into it.