Africa the first time, or publish your novel. He knows that apart from Him, all these "dreams" are utterly meaningless. We've all seen Bridezilla stress over her special day, celebrities who complain about life in the spotlight, burned out preachers, and frazzled moms who just wish they were single again. I've often looked at people who are living my "dream" life, and think, "How can you possibly complain about anything!? You're the luckiest girl ever!"
But without Jesus, any of these dreams can turn into terrible burdens. Without the supernatural joy and peace of walking side-by-side with our Savior, chasing dreams can suddenly turn into chasing a cold, harsh wind. It's all dead and pointless.
So, even though our souls are to be 100% satisfied in Jesus, we cannot remain where we are at spiritually, in our relationships, and in the pursuit of our dreams. It's time we get excited about our future and start running!
God loves to play Hide and Go-Seek. There's a reason that He loves for us to seek Him. He loves the romance and adventure of bounding ahead of us on this trail, then calling our name, "Come after me, come after me! Come hear what I have to say to you! You're going to LOVE what's around this next corner!"
He could, if He wanted to, make things ridiculously easy for us, by holding our hand every second along this trail, explaining not to be afraid if a snake pops out of the bushes, or what to do if the hill gets steep...but He knows that if He did that, we would never grow. He wants our hearts to grow in courage and strength! He wants us to climb mountians of seemingly impossibile situations, and run after Him like our lives depend on it! When we experience dissatisfaction with who we are, or what our lives look like, that's His gentle way of nudging us to take a few more steps forward, peek around the trees, call out for His name, and see if we can find Him. In the same way, our dreams have been placed inside of us, so that we take action, and go after them with Jesus.
There are certian aspects of the character of Christ that we will never know or experience, until we live it out with Him. The Word of God is meant to be EXPERIENCED, and lived out loud. We can't just read about Peter walking on water, or Esther coming before the king on behalf of her people. If we want to know God, we have to walk with God, and that means doing everyday life with Him.
Yes, we can absolutely get to know Jesus through prayer, reading the Word, and worship, but there comes a time in your life when the appetite for adventure and knowing God flings you out into the beautiful place of PURSUING A DREAM with Jesus.
If we long to know Jesus in this way, on such a real, tangible level, we have to MOVE.
Every adventure begins by taking a first step.
If you're not sure what you want to do with your life, just pick a problem (this world is full of 'em). Then, choose something that you absolutely LOVE to do. It can be singing, scrapbooking, web designing, teaching, math, interior design, or anything else! Think back to life as a little girl, and ask yourself, "What did I have a blast doing? What activity do I enjoy today? What gets my heart beating faster than anything? When do I feel totally alive?"
Write down your answer. You might have one answer, or you may have ten! It's okay, when I did this at age fourteen, I had about thirty answers.
Now, put those two together (the problem you want to see solved in this world, and the one thing you absolutely LOVE doing), and use the latter to serve the former. Do you love scrapbooking? Does human trafficking rip your heart apart? Why not design scrapbook pages, sell them on Etsy, and donate all the money to a anti-trafficking organization?
What about party planning? Use your love for parties to offer a free, kids' party service for single moms who are struggling and stressed. These are just examples, but are you getting the idea? Use what you LOVE to be an answer for something the heart of God is grieving over.