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Dr. Jake Smith Jr.

When the dream doesn't work out

Published 28 days ago • 1 min read

Reader,

What do you do when you have a good dream — a dream you are willing to dedicate to the glory of God — and that dream doesn't work out?

Perhaps you dream of getting married and having a family of beautiful kids, only to discover that you're infertile.

Or maybe you have a gifting, one that people have affirmed all your life, and you long to build a beautiful business or create great art to the glory of God. But every door you approach seems to slam shut in your face.

How do you reconcile those results with the goodness of your dream?

Our natural response is to think: "I'm missing my purpose. Does God not see me? Does God not love me? Does God not care that I'm failing to live out the dream that he gave me?"

I think the truth of the matter is that we've been done a disservice when it comes to the idea of calling.

We've been taught to believe that our calling — our meaning, our purpose, what our lives are about — has to do with a certain gift mix that we're going to use to God's glory or to a specific goal that we're going to achieve.

Biblically speaking, though, that's not what calling is.

Calling has to do with a willingness to show up fully to whatever God puts in front of you. By "fully," I mean bringing your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength to whatever life presents you.

Your calling, should you choose to accept it, is to walk into your circumstances — whether positive and fun or painful and difficult — and allow them to shape you into who you are.

That, I believe, is what calling is really about.

That's on display when you hear our biblical forefathers and foremothers say things like:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death. (Philippians 3:10)

Or like that:

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:19b-20)

Contrary to what some spiritual voices say, maybe God isn't upset with you. Just because he's not opening doors and giving you the desires of your heart doesn't mean that he's punishing you.

Maybe the reality is that this is what life is all about: you fully becoming who you are and walking faithfully through what God puts in front of you, all the while surrendering the outcomes.

I am for you. (Believe it or not!)

You are loved.

You've got this.

Jake

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Dr. Jake Smith Jr.

Become who you truly are + live with no regrets

I'm a faith-fueled formation coach & speaker who develops fully-formed leaders to become who they truly are and live with no regrets.

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