UNFULFILLED DREAMS: IS IT THE CRUMBLING OR A CORRECTION OF OUR DREAMS?

Understanding God’s Firm Refusal
As much as possible we want God to say yes to our dreams; sometimes He says NO.
“Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.”

Deut 34:1 Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2 and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 and the Negev and the plain in the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the LORD said to him, "This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants'; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there." 5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. 6 And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day. 7 Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated. 8 So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end. 9 Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. 10 Since then no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 for all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and for all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. NASB

Other than worshiping God, what is the biggest of your dreams? What is this dream that no other dream can match in terms of closeness to your heart and impact on your soul? What is this dream that outshines all other dreams, clouds into invisibility all other aspirations, shuts out all other longings, raises your hopes to cloud 9, brightens your days with assurance, fills your evenings with a deep sense of excitement for the next day? That is the so-called mother of all dreams. Moses had such a dream. True, it was also the dream of everyone of the slaves who went out of Egypt. But Moses was the appointed leader of that band of brothers and sisters who journeyed from Egypt to the Promised land. He had a clearer concept of the dream more than anyone else. The dream was TAKING THE FIRST STEP INSIDE THE PROMISED LAND AFTER CROSSING THE JORDAN.

The day has arrived. The longing kept warm and alive for forty years is now about to become a reality. They will soon cross the Jordan and take the first step inside the Promised Land. This is it. We have arrived! We made it!

Moses was brought up to Mount Nebo. From there, God showed him the Promised Land. Wow! Fantastic! This is it, the land flowing with milk and honey! The dream was about to be converted into a most wonderful, greatly satisfying, and soul-comforting reality. Then God spoke to Moses and Moses heard the words in a dream like state for it was not what was in his heart.

God said: “4 Then the LORD said to him, "This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants'; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there." What did God say? “Moses, this is the dream of your dreams. Now you’ve seen it. It’s there in front of you. But Moses, I have something to say to you: I have let you see it but I cannot and I will not let you cross over. You will die on the other side of the Promised Land but not in the Promised Land.

The dream of all dreams; Moses waited for it. It’s here and God says: No, you can’t have it. Did his dream crumble or did it get corrected? What about your own dream of all dreams? Have you asked for something so important, so precious to you and then God said no? What did you say to God? Did you interpret that as the crumbling of your dream or a correction of your dream? God is never wrong so He must have a reason for doing this. Come back and visit tomorrow for the next installment of the discussion about crumbling dreams. It will help to read Deuteronomy 34 in its entirety. PRAYER: Lord, a no to my desire, even if it is a no from You, can still be disappointing. I want to understand because I know you don’t just cause dreams to crumble. You do have a good reason. Help me to understand. In the name of Jesus, amen. (Pastor Doy Castillo)