How to Train Your Crazy Dreams – Part 1 (Numbers 13)

Summary:

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? What are you now?

When you were in college, what was your major? Where do you work now?

A lot of people have a different answer for each question. Things change. Plans change. Expectations differ from reality.

It’s a harsh world.

Few people knew that better than the Israelites, at least in this chapter of the Bible.

It was the moment they had been waiting for. The moment they had been praying for. The moment they had been working towards and looking forward to from the very beginning of their escape from slavery in Egypt until now.

The Promised Land.

The Promised Land was within reach. They could practically see it. The only problem is that it was occupied by the Canaanites, a sinful nation.

Expectation: Enter the Promised Land, overthrow the nations that worshiped idols and did terrible things, and settle in the Promised Land for themselves.

Reality?

In real life, the group of men sent to survey the land came back with not only glowing reports of the beautiful land of Canaan, but also harrowing reports of the (literally) huge enemies that lived there.

Maybe the Israelites should do something else with their lives.

Dos and Don’ts of Training Crazy Dreams:

AKA, How NOT to be like the Israelites in Numbers 13. After all, who says every dream, every aspiration, has to disappear like a puff of smoke? Maybe you can do that thing after all.

Do explore your crazy dream enthusiastically.

Make your dreams more than just fancy fantasies floating through your head. Ask questions (verses 19-20) about your dream. What exactly is it? What will it take to get there? How will it glorify God?

The Israelites were commanded by God to do this part. They sent a whole committee of leaders to sniff out this dream. God showed them what was possible, and just how thoroughly He could bless them.

God showed them that their dreams could come true.

As we explore, as we plan, as we take our dreams to God in prayer, He’ll do the same for us.

Unless we do what the Israelites did next.

Don’t call your obstacles bigger than your God.

This is where the Israelites fumbled. They had dreams, expectations, goals placed in them by God Himself, but they got scared.

They got hung up on the number of their enemies (verse 29), the size of their enemies (verses 32-33), and the strength of their enemies (verses 28, 31).

They didn’t believe that God could do what He’d promised them.

Google “how to accomplish my goals” and tons of links about hustle and planning and routine and hard work will pop up, hyping you up, telling you that YOU CAN DO IT.

The problem with that is the little word “YOU”.

Crazy dreams are only accomplished through faith in God.

Every dream has obstacles. Big ones. And it’s just a matter of time before you come across an obstacle too big for you to handle. But we have to remind ourselves that while our obstacles are bigger than us, they are never bigger than God.

Have faith. Believe in God’s power and His love. Ask Him for strength to trust in Him and surrender to Him. Crazy dreams don’t have to be impossible dreams when we entrust them to the God who can do all things.

“We’re doing this thing together.”

A partnership with God defeats all excuses and conquers all obstacles.

You can’t say “I can’t do it if I don’t have someone to help me” – help is already right by your side.

You can’t back down when an unexpected problem slaps you across the face – the Problem Solver already knows what to do.

And most of all, we can’t put our God-given dreams into dusty boxes, hiding them away in the corners of our minds. If God put it on our hearts, it’s because He has a plan.

He has a heart He wants you to touch. He has someone on the fence He wants you to convince. He has a lost child He wants you to call home.

So what is it? What’s the crazy dream?

And what are you going to do first?

What do you think? What’s your crazy dream? Comment below or share with a friend who has a crazy dream!