I’m amazed by how patient the Lord is and how much He honors our free will. He values process. He doesn’t rush things or hurry us along our path of maturity. He is content to give us space to seek Him and learn from Him and to slowly, sometimes imperceptibly, become more like Him in how we think, how we talk, how we treat others and in what we value.

I think we all probably go through a season of realizing our desires or dreams are misplaced. We want things that are meant to satisfy our pleasures, provide for our comfort and generally make our lives easier. That’s not to say the Lord is anti-pleasure. Cinnamon rolls, sex and sunshiny days tell me I’m wired for pleasure. But physical pleasures are a gift from the Lord, not masters to be served.

The longer we walk with the Lord, the more we discover who we are, how He has gifted us and the desires and dreams He has placed within our hearts. Those dreams begin to take the place of our old ones. All good things. Until…the dream takes a place in our heart it was never meant to have.

It’s subtle at first. We believe this desire we have is from the Lord. And it may very well be. It could be the desire for a spouse. Or a child. Or a particular job. Or healing. Or a house. It can be anything.

And so we begin to pray and believe for the dream to be fulfilled. We imagine what it will be like when the Lord comes through. We decree or declare promises over our dream.

As time goes on, it’s easy for the dream to become more prominent in our heart and mind. Sometimes it may be all we can think about. The very thought of it never coming to pass causes discouragement, anger and even panic.

The longer we have to wait, the more tempting it is to be overwhelmed by the seeming impossibility of our circumstances. Our desire for this thing God has placed in us continues to grow, but so do the obstacles in our path. We waver between hope and discouragement, between confidence God is going to come through and wanting to give up.

Robyn once asked me how I’d feel if a certain dream I have was never fulfilled. My immediate answer was, “That’s not acceptable.” That was a red flag waving in my heart that I failed to acknowledge.

Desires are wonderful things…when subordinate to the Lord. When they’re not, they become idols that cannot fulfill or satisfy, but can distract and frustrate us to no end. I must be careful to guard against my dreams and desires becoming primary and the Lord becoming secondary. I’ve found it’s a dangerously subtle switch.