Keep on Believing

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12, NIV).

I have a pretty big family. My Mom is one of eight kids, while my Dad has five brothers and sisters, which means lots of cousins at family gatherings. I have three brothers myself, including a twin, which guaranteed constant playmates growing up. We spent countless hours playing outside, letting our imaginations be the guide for our fun. Now that I’m an adult, I am blessed to see that truth being played out in the lives of my nieces and nephews. When I see them spending hours playing games, led by their imaginations, I am reminded of some of the dreams the Lord put on my heart as a very young girl.

I grew up a tomboy, which means I love sports and being outside, and I’ve never been afraid to get my hands dirty. That likely doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me. I feel incredibly fortunate to have seen so many of the dreams I once had as a young girl come to fruition in my life. I was a collegiate athlete who attended Georgetown College on a full-ride scholarship playing basketball. My time there provided the education to prepare me for acceptance into physical therapy school at the University of Kentucky. And, upon graduation, I was offered a job at a company that provided all the opportunities I could’ve asked for in regard to my professional career. It has been a place that has allowed me to grow, both personally and professionally, over the last eight years.

I am so grateful. But, as many of you can probably relate, the Lord has placed a desire in my heart that has yet to be fulfilled in my life. Though I am ultimately defined by my identity as a child of God, since I was a little girl, I have always longed to be a wife and mother. What’s the dream you have tucked inside your heart that you pray about daily and continue to wait expectantly for the Lord to fulfill? Maybe you’ve longed for a child or an opportunity to start a new business venture. Or maybe you have prayed for your prodigal son or daughter to return home, or have asked God for healing from a chronic health condition. Regardless of what it looks like for each of us, I am sure we can all agree that waiting is hard. Waiting requires patience. And, if we look to the Word, we see in Romans 5: 4–5 where it states: “And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us(NCV).” That is such a beautiful reminder that, while we are waiting patiently and hopefully, God pours out His love on us and fills our hearts continuously.

I love the Word of God because it provides such beautiful reminders of God’s undeserved gift of grace, mercy, and love that is constantly bestowed upon us but is especially important during our most difficult seasons. As I have learned lately, it is during those seasons where clinging to our faith and allowing ourselves to hope and dream for the future is of the utmost importance. Hebrews 11:1 describes it this way: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (NIV).” So what’s the dream that’s on your heart that the enemy has somehow convinced you to push beneath the surface and not talk about? I don’t think I’m the only one who struggles at times with unbelief. In fact, when we turn to the pages of the gospel of Mark, we are reminded through the story of a father and his child that unbelief has been a struggle since the time of Jesus, and I know it continues today.

So, how do we overcome that unbelief? Prayer, trust, faith. All good answers, but today, I propose that you allow yourself to begin speaking into existence the things God has placed on your heart. Recently, I shared with a close friend about my desires of being a wife and mother. We spent time talking about the details of a wedding, but not just any wedding, my wedding. It was so much fun talking about all the possibilities and actually envisioning myself in a beautiful dress, saying yes to the man God has picked for me. Dreaming like that is something I haven’t allowed myself to do in such a long time. And, what I didn’t realize until this most recent conversation, that by keeping those dreams in the dark, I was providing a foothold for the enemy to feed me lies about being unlovable and unworthy. Have my actual circumstances changed since that conversation? No. And, while there are no guarantees about how my future will come to pass, the posture of my heart has shifted as I have found myself feeling more hopeful than I have in a long time about how God might fulfill the desires He has placed on my heart.

When we feel overcome with unbelief, it can lead us into a dark and isolated place where the enemy lurks, feeding us lies that oppose the truth of what God says about us. So, instead of allowing ourselves to travel down that path of isolation, we must consciously choose to stay on the narrow path and trust God’s plan for our lives, despite how difficult that may be at times. Today I challenge you to find yourself an Aaron and Hur who will provide a safe space for vulnerability, who will be your support, hold you up, and believe for you on the days where you can’t seem to muster the energy to hang onto God’s promises for your life. Keep dreaming. Bring those dreams into the light and wait with expectant hope for the future, as God will exceed anything we could ever hope for or imagine.