Unborn Dreams

I Sam 1:10-11
And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

s there a deep dream in your life that is still unfulfilled? A dream that you long for and desire with all your heart? But for some reason it seems no matter what you do or try to do, it just will not be born?

Is this a dream that you have carried for years? A dream that others look at and say is impossible? Do others say to you like Hannah’s husband did to her, “Why do you want this so badly? Don’t you already have enough? Why can’t you just let go of this dream and enjoy what you already have?”

But you know that this dream is what you want. It burns in you like a fire, even when you have prayed for it to be taken from you.

So what do you do?

First, make sure that you have surrendered yourself and this dream to the Lord. If it is of Him, you can rest assured that He will work with you to bring it about in His way and His time.

But that is easier said than done. It means a daily laying of that dream on the altar. Sometimes you’d like to just get rid of it and walk away because it is so hard to keep carrying. It is like a child waiting to be born – and as any pregnant woman will tell you, it can sometimes be a very uncomfortable experience. It isn’t easy.

I know. I have been carrying a dream for years. To the best of my knowledge it is a dream from God. It hasn’t gone away no matter how many times I have asked God to take it from me and let me get on with a life.

All I can tell you is to encourage you to do like Hannah did with her dream – to pour out the anguish of your heart to the Lord, to continually give over that dream to Him and to trust that He will work out what is right and best for you.

My prayer for you is what Eli told Hannah after her prayer. “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” (I Sam 1:17)

And someday, you and I will say like Hannah did after God gave her Samuel, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.” (I Sam 2:1)

Blessings,
Evelyn Grace Marinoski