“I’ve been hearing a lot about “follow your dream” and ‘the only thing standing between you and your dreams is you.’ Stuff like that. Y’all, STOP IT!”

I read that on Facebook from an old friend that I grew up with and I paused, suddenly startled and immediately disagreed with this statement. I read a little more of this post, knowing full well that I would disagree with it.

“And I chased after that dream, nothing and no one could stop me. But it wasn’t what God had planned for me. DON’T follow your dreams… FOLLOW CHRIST! Chase after HIM like your life depends on it, because it does.”

This lit a fire in my belly as I found a preaching-good sermon rising up within me because I totally and utterly disagree with this. And just to be clear, I am a Christian and I follow the same God that this person does and I have a totally different perspective on following your dreams.

If you have been wondering, as a Christian, this whole following your dreams is a God thing or not, I am here to tell you (in my humble opinion), it is and here’s why:

Your Dreams were Given to You by God Himself

God put those dreams inside of you! Did you know that God has given each and every single one of us talents to be used to bring Him glory? 

^“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.” -1 Corinthians 12:12

As the body of Christ, we all have different talents, gifts, and thus, are part of one body, but the body has to function with different parts (arms, legs, eyes, ears, nose, etc.). The way I interpret this is that the body of Christ cannot and will not function if we don’t act on our gifts and talents, which was given to us by God Himself.

Thus, we have a function to do and we cannot do these function if we don’t have any motivation (like a DREAM!). We need to have something that burns within us to help us make our talents happen, like having a dream.

When I have a dream, it means it’s the way that God can use me to accomplish His will for my life – a life that will be fulfilled and played at a bigger game than everyone else. Because God wants me to be EXTRAORDINARY, not ordinary. He didn’t create me to be ordinary and I believe that is why He has given me dreams to reach for because that will teach me to reach out to Him. I cannot accomplish His Will for my life if I am to follow my dreams (remember, my dreams are scary, outrageous and plain out awesome).

This leads me to my second point:

God uses Your Dreams as a Vehicle to Accomplish His Will

I cannot and will not accomplish His will for my life if I do not have a dream, a path, to follow. The dream to play a bigger game and to be free from debt, money, worries, and location independent, are too big for me to accomplish on my own.

Can I do it without God? Sure I can. Will I be as fulfilled or learn to see myself as God sees me? Probably not.

But when I recognize that God is going to use my dream as the vehicle to accomplish His Will, I can chase after it AND Him, knowing that He’ll teach me, show me, and mold me into a greater version of myself than I could ever imagine.

It is THEN and ONLY THEN that I can fully fulfill God’s purpose for my life and bring ultimate glory to Him. You know why? Because He wants us, the ordinary people, to become Extraordinary so that we can live BOTH a life fulfilled and a life that brought Him glory.

To Live a Life Fulfilled, Following Your Dreams is the Right Path

Listen, we NEED to stop living a life of “OR”. Have you found yourself feeling/thinking these because it’s the “Christian” thing to think or do:

I can only be a Christian OR be rich. 

I can only be a Christian OR chase after my dream.

I can only be a Christian OR start my own business.

It’s time to change the language in our heads and mouths to start saying AND. 

I can accomplish God’s Purpose for my life AND be location independent, making tons of money, and living a fulfilled life.

I can be a Christian AND serve God AND chase after MY GOD-GIVEN Dream that leads to earthly processions.

I can be a Christian AND live a life-fulfilled while following Christ AND constantly growing in Him and His Word AND serving His Kingdom!

Your Dreams are God-Given AND they are the vehicle to become an extraordinary human being that sees him or herself as the way God sees you while accumulating earthly processions and furthering His Kingdom.

I believe that not following after your dreams is being disobedient to God and adheres to His growth and plans for you.

And you are the ONLY one who stops yourself from living your best God-Given Life. Period.

I fully believe that God designed us to LIVE bigger than what we are living now. We allow fear, society, and pride to get in the way. So yes, you are the ONLY thing that blocks you from accomplishing God’s Will for your life. PERIOD.

I believe that God wants us to follow our dreams because following our dreams is being obedient to Him. It is then we can make the greatest impact and push past what “society” says (God was never the One who did was society says or wanted). 

What do you think? Can you serve God AND follow after your dreams to further His Kingdom? Do you think you need to stop following your dreams because you’re a Christian?

Share your thoughts either below in the comments or head on over to my Facebook Page and let me know your thoughts there. I want to hear what you think.