Shattered Dreams

Right or wrong, I grew up believing that dreams generally come true and that things generally work out. Maybe it's because I was born in America to a middle-class family with two parents that are believers in Christ and raised me to believe. Maybe it's because I was born on 3rd base and had pretty much everything going for me compared to the majority of people around the world. Maybe it's because most of my dreams have come true: did well in school, had great friends, participated in great activities, graduate with a degree in education from a good school, married a wonderful man in the ministry, have had the honor to see God do awesome things in and through us, etc., etc., etc. Maybe it's because I've read too many Fairy Tales.

But . . .

the more that God allows this season of Judd and my life to be prolonged and the more He seems to actually be turning up the heat instead of wrapping things up into a nice little bow, I'm beginning to question this belief.

This book:

was brought to my attention recently and after reading these quotes:

"It's hard to hear, but it is important to know that God is not committed to supporting our ministries, to preventing our divorces, to preserving our health, to straightening out our kids (or to giving us kids- katy's words), to providing a livable income, to ending famine, to protecting us from agonizing problems that generate in our souls an experience that feels like death (which is what I feel like quite often)."

"We cannot count on God to arrange what happens in our lives in ways that will make us feel good."

"We can count on God to patiently remove all the obstacles to our enjoyment of Him. He is committed to our joy, and we can depend on Him to give us enough of a taste of that joy and enough hope that the best is still ahead to keep us going in spite of how much pain continues to plague our hearts."

and these summarizing points:

1. The goal is that God be glorified in us, not that He be useful to us. Crabb says that we have taken the "Holy God of Passionate Wrath," and turned Him into the "Helpful God of Useful Principles." One thought that occurred to me in this regard is that Crabb makes the case that what we need to repent of is our desire for God to make us feel good and give us a sense of well-being. If this is the case, many probably need to re-examine their "salvation experience," since many in our day come to Christ because He has been presented to them as the "useful God." Come to Christ - He is useful to get you out of hell and into heaven, come to Christ, He is useful to give you a happy life, etc., etc.. Could it be that the Christ that many have allegedly "accepted" is not the Christ of the Bible, and could this explain why so many who have allegedly "accepted" Christ fall away? If nothing else, this insight from Crabb should cause all who name the name of Christ to re-examine their hearts to see what kind of "Christ" they are naming.

2. God is committed to bringing us the greatest joy possible, however such joy is only found in Him. Therefore, He allows, and even causes, us to have our most cherished dreams shattered in order that we will quit hoping in them and find our joy in Him.

3. Though we can now claim to be the bride of Christ, we live in the betrothal period of our relationship. The wedding feast of the lamb is yet to come - the relationship has not been consummated yet. Therefore, though we are secure in our relationship with Christ we cannot and will not ever feel as close to Him on earth as we long to. There is distance in the betrothal period that is not present once the wedding has taken place. God feels hidden from us because to a large extent He is hidden from us.

I think there may be something in this book for me.

Katy