Made, Called, And Refined

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV

I OPENED THE FRONT DOOR, and in walked my friend with a package that had just been delivered. She handed it over and squealed, “What’d you order?” We are both simple like that and find packages to be pure joy.

But I hadn’t ordered a thing; a dear friend had unexpectedly sent me this package. I opened the box and found a lovely pink mug that said, “Change the World, Girl!” along with a pound of coffee. But this wasn’t just any coffee. It was called “Amy’s Blend: Sip. Step Up. Change the World.”

I may have teared up.

Because I felt so known. Drinking coffee and changing the entire world—it’s all I want to do. I feel called to making a difference. I want to write encouragements to those in the valley, to tell the story of God to those who haven’t heard it, to inspire others to know whose they are. Those are my dreams.

But sometimes my dreams warp and become centered on my glory—not His. And I am tempted to buy into the lie that the purpose of my life is to achieve my own success. But it’s not.

The Bible tells us that our supreme purpose is to know Jesus and make Him known. Everything was made by Him, and everything was made for Him. Our lives—and everything in them—ought to center on Him.

Sister, don’t we often chase our dreams at the cost of following Jesus? Even when those very dreams are placed upon our hearts by Him? We strive for the dream and forget about the Dream-Maker Himself. Let’s not let our dreams stop us from following Jesus. Instead, let’s follow Jesus and see what He does with our dreams.

So how do we go about this?

What if we took the things that make our hearts sing and held them openhandedly before our Creator? What if we asked, “God, will you please show me what to do with these?” What if we prayed, “God, please open doors if this dream is from you”?

When it comes to our dreams, I like to think about the Father calling His children to sit with Him. As we spend time with Him, we get to know His heart and He reveals to us the condition of our own hearts as well. The more we show up to be with Him, the more our hearts line up with His.

So when He calls, lean in to Him. Carve out time to sit alone with Him and listen. Write down what you think He is saying to you. Listen as if you are leaning in closer to hear a good friend.

Grace looks like leaning in to hear God, not leaning on our own understanding. Don’t run out ahead of His voice. Stay within earshot of the Shepherd. The joy of knowing your call and following a dream is doing it with your good Father.

GRACE REFLECTION: What does your soul lean toward? What makes your heart beat faster? Take these before God, and ask Him how your calling and dreams can intersect.