“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25

Have any of you had a dream that you knew was from God? I know that sometimes our dreams are a result of the pizza we ate the night before, but I have found in my life that God still speaks to His people through dreams from time to time. Today I would like to share with you a dream that has greatly impacted my life these past few months.

One night I had a dream that I was lying on the beach on a hot sunny day. I was alone and simply drinking in the beautiful views of the ocean, when all of a sudden I noticed that God was standing behind me. And although I was a little perplexed as to why He seemed so distant, I did not let this bother me and I continued soaking in the rays of the sun. Then I decided to go for a walk on the beach and once again I noticed that Jesus appeared to be following me. Puzzled, I turned to Him and asked Him, “Why are following me? And why were You standing behind me earlier?” Jesus replied ever so sweetly, “Tracy, I love you so much and I long to sit and talk with you, but you expect Me to follow your dreams and plans for your life, instead of what I have for you.” Tears filled my eyes at His response and I was so grieved by the fact that somewhere, somehow I had lost the art of following God. I did not realize that I was requiring God to bless my plans, my way and my dreams. Needless to say, I told Jesus how sorry I was and then we took a walk together. This time I followed Him 🙂 He led me to a beautiful cliff overlooking the majestic ocean. I turned to Him and stated, “This is so beautiful Lord and I never knew this view was here.” Jesus looked me straight in the eyes and lovingly told me, “Tracy I have so much I want to show you – if you will follow me.”

This dream has changed my life and I pray that it will encourage you and me to continually surrender everything to God. I cannot leave our time together today without asking you: Are you following Jesus or are you expecting Him to follow your plans and aspirations? We serve an awesome, loving God who is just waiting to show us amazing things – if we will follow Him.

Prayer:
Lord, I give you my life. I surrender my dreams and desires to you this day. Please forgive me for expecting You to follow my plans. My greatest passion in life is to follow You Jesus and fulfill my destiny on earth. I choose this day to embrace what is before me. I may not like all that is going on around me at this time, but I trust that according to Romans 8:28 – You will work all things out for my good. I know that as I follow You that my best days are yet ahead! I love you Lord and thank you for your grace and mercy. Amen.