Rick Warren (April-20-2023) Daily Devotional: What Great Dreams Are Made Of
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.” - Matthew 6:22-23 (NIV)
You shape your dreams, and then your dreams shape you. If you don’t have a dream for your life, then you don’t have any definition for your life.
So many people today are confused about their identity. In fact, our society is having a collective identity crisis. People are asking: “Who am I?” “Where did I come from?” “Where am I going?” “What am I supposed to be doing?” “Does my life matter?” “What gives my life significance?” “Is there any reason for it all?” Those questions shape their dreams, and those dreams just feed into the identity confusion.
The only way to have clear definition for your life is to have God’s dream for your life. If you don’t, you won’t know who you are or who God wants you to be. You’ll always be asking yourself these questions. You’ll doubt what you’re doing and why you’re doing it; you’ll wonder if what you do has any meaning.
Your dreams define you—so you’ve got to make sure you’ve got the right dream! And the only way to know you have the right dream is to find out what God’s dream is for your life.
Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:22-23 NIV).
When you have great vision, you see past what is in front of you to the long-term—even to eternity. A great dream is born of an eternal perspective and faith in God’s good plan for your life. A short vision will define a small dream. But a long vision will define an impactful, meaningful dream.
Choose your dream wisely. A dream based on God’s vision for your life will make a difference in how well you live out your purpose. And it will also point others to God and his plan, the only way to find fullness of life.
Talk It Over
- How can you confirm a dream is from God and not of your own making?
- What is the difference between a goal and a dream?
- In what ways should your purpose shape your dreams?
