Is that dream Dead or Dormant?
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February 4, 2022
It’s up to you.
A few years ago, I went to a plant store to purchase some tree stakes for our evergreens. The store needed to get rid of their leftover stock, so they gave it away for free. I took the bag with gratitude while receiving a warning from the store attendant that most bulbs in the bag were dried out and would likely not yield any flowers.
Well, I got home, stashed the brown bag in a cabinet, and forgot about it. We cleaned out the cupboard almost two years later and found the bag. Even though we thought the bulbs had died several times over, we decided to give them a shot; we planted them.
Well, the most beautiful Gladiolas emerged. More than that, they continued to multiply. We uprooted them and moved them to another location, and even there, they thrived and reproduced in the following spring and summer. I thought the seeds were dead, convinced the bulbs had no life. How wrong I was. The bulbs were just dormant! Imagine the beauty we would have missed had we trashed the bulbs thinking they were dead. They just needed the right environment, the right season, and of course, a person to plant them to bloom. I learned a valuable lesson; to be careful not to confuse death for something in its state of dormancy.
"Don't confuse death for something in its state of dormancy."
Just like those dry bulbs, many of us have dreams and hopes, inspired by the Holy Spirit, of what we believe God wants to do in our lives. But life happens. Time passes, challenges present themselves, disappointing situations push us to define our perspective, bringing us to the place where we think what we once dreamed will never happen. It is dead. Perhaps it's the dream to meet the right spouse, the hope to hold a child of your own, the desire to have financial security, to be admitted into a graduate program, to land the perfect position at work; the list goes on and on. Whatever it may be for you, just because it hasn't materialized in the manner and timing you hoped doesn't mean it is dead; it might just be dormant, waiting for you to plant it in the right season and environment. The dictionary defines dormancy as the state of having normal physical functions suspended or slowed down for a while, to be deep in sleep. Meaning activity is still happening, maybe just not in the way we see. So don't quit on that hope or dream just yet. Instead, take a step; plant (or sow) the dream by believing in faith.
So how do we plant our hopes and dreams? We do so in Faith.
18. Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” 19. And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.20. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. 22. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous.
Romans 4: 18-22 NLT
In Romans 4:18-22, the author tells of the story of Abraham, the father of faith, who trusted God for a son. Not only did Abraham wait a LONG time for this promise to become a reality, he likely faced ridicule waiting for it. He was a wealthy man with a name that meant father of many but had no heir to reflect it. Even then, Abraham believed God and gave praise despite his body saying he couldn't have a son; in other words, Abraham continued to praise God as if he lived in the reality of his dreams. Abraham believed in faith. And he planted what looked like dead dreams in faith to God. He trusted that the God who ordered the dream would ensure its on-time delivery. Just like I planted what I thought to be a dead bulb, grow your dream in faith by believing in God. Praise Him waiting for the realization of what He has spoken to you.
There is so much to share about believing God to awaken dormant dreams. I encourage you to continue to believe Him for it. Believe Him by praising Him in the wait as Abraham did. Believe Him by declaring His word, so you continue to believe in Him. Things may not change immediately, but the faith to sustain the hope for your dream will arise, and the confidence in God's ability to do it will strengthen. And with time, wait to see what God will do in and through you.