07 Nov Keep Dreaming
I read an article recently about how Niagara Falls stopped flowing on March 29, 1848. The first and only time recorded in history, as a result of natural causes, not a drop of water covered the falls. It is said that some people holed themselves up in churches confident that the end of the world was near.
What had actually happened was Lake Erie had froze up restricting the flow of water, but without telegraph or telephone no one at Niagara was aware of this phenomenon. This natural frozen dam stood its ground until March 31, 1848, when the wind shifted directions and the temperature rose to 16º Celsius, causing the ice to melt and break apart, releasing the water.
Some people are in a place like the Niagara was: nothing is flowing, no life, no dream, no hope. Something has you dammed up, but God wants to release the Dream that is on the inside of each of us so we can be like the mighty Niagara and flow into the lives of others.
Ruth 1:1-4 states:
Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. 3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years.
We can gather from the scripture that Naomi once had a good life: a godly husband, two sons, they owned land, and had two daughter in laws. Suddenly, through a decade of set backs we find Naomi in a tragic place. Tragedies, such as famine, sickness, financial struggles, and death tend to move people either closer to God or further from Him. Naomi, for example, was a strong woman, but tragedy had caused her to lose her vision, her purpose and her concept of God.
Maybe this is where you are. You had a Big Dream at one point in your life, but something has come to stop the dream from flowing
1. We can’t control everything that happens in our life, but we can control how we respond to it – we can choose to keep dreaming.
· We all have seasons of hurt, pain, and loneliness
· God cares about where you are headed, your future, and your destiny
2. Sometimes we have to move in order to fulfill the dream/destiny of our life.
· In order for Naomi to have any chance at all of getting her property back, she would have to return to Bethlehem.
· The name Moab (the town she was in) means – “The place that doesn’t require change.”
· Moab is a place of bad experiences and bad memories.
· God wants you to move ahead, don’t stop where you are. Keep dreaming
3. Your Dream will require you to Work Hard
Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. (Ruth 2:3, NKJV).
· Due to hard work she immediately got the attention of Boaz.
· Perhaps you are in the corner and feel like no one sees.
· He sees you in the corner.
· He is providing for you because you are in HIS field!
· Keep working toward your dream!
All the people in the town square that day, backing up the elders, said, “Yes, we are witnesses. May Godmake this woman who is coming into your household like Rachel and Leah, the two women who built the family of Israel. May God make you a pillar in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem! With the children Godgives you from this young woman, may your family rival the family of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah.” (Ruth 4:11-12 MSG)
4. Get ready!
· When reading the first few verses in Ruth, we see death, separation and sorrow.
· When we read the last few verses in the same book, we see victory, success and life.
· The things that have been blocked in your life will come rushing through and your dream will be fulfilled!