#88: What to do when you fear naming what you want [Fear Series]

I have a few dreams sprouting in my heart. You have dreams too. Dreams like starting a non-profit, adding a little girl to your family, taking people on high-adventure tours to enjoy God’s creation, going to work at a job that fills your heart and uses your gifts, and owning your own bed and breakfast– just to name a few.

All of us have dreams. All of us hold hopes in our hearts. I’m talking about the in-your-gut, I-can’t-escape-this-desire kinda hopes. But it seems like for every dream, desire or goal we have, we experience the fear of naming it.

In this episode, we’ll talk through:

Why you fear naming what you most want
What God says about your dreams and desires
And spiritual practices to lead you back to the heart of Christ.

It’s important to remember that our giftings, what we most deeply want, who we most fully are, are all training for what’s to come; it’s all a dress rehearsal for heaven.

Naming your dreams today gives you practice for eternity.

Trusting God with your dreams builds your faith.

Building community as you launch your dreams gives you a taste of heaven.

Key Quotes

One of the main reasons we are afraid to name what we want is because we have an enemy who — while not omniscient or omnipresent — is not stupid, but crafty, and he aims his lying arrows at our God-dreams, so we’re too afraid to pursue them.
Trying to stuff down your dreams leads to a soul shriveling on the vine. It just doesn’t work, and it leaves us frustrated, tired, envious of those chasing their dreams, and restless.
What you want is what you want because God planted it there. Your desires are a part of God’s design.
The Bible is a story of desire.
Naming what we most want means we lean into our identities as daughters of the Creator, who dreams and does and delights.
Our Heavenly Father doesn’t give us a passion or dream to tease us or ignore us.