Don't Stop Dreaming

1 I will stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

2 And the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it.

3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come; it will not tarry.

4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.

Introduction

Your dreams are planted deeply within your heart, all of us whether we care to admit it or not have a dream, however, along this journey of life, while hoping and waiting for our dream’s fulfillment, we will face challenges and even discouragement. When and if this happens it can be easy to lose hope and cause us to think about giving up. Giving up on your dream might seem like an easier way out but we need hold on to our dreams because when we give up on them a part of us dies.

Our text tells us of a man named Habakkuk, and very little is known of him, the only other information we have of him is what he himself tells us, because in Habakkuk 3: 1 he calls himself a prophet. In this second chapter and in the second verse, the Lord speaks and commands Habakkuk to “write the vision” and write it clear enough to read. In other words, place it on a billboard if you will—with letters large enough for everyone to see. These instructions were given to Habakkuk following a few complaints lodged by him concerning his beloved Judah’s vulnerability to the much better skilled Babylonians who have already conquered several large nations.

The rise of the Babylonians was a deep dark burden and threat to Habakkuk; just like Job he had a problem understanding why God would allow this threat and this evil to come upon His children in Judah? All through the first chapter we find Habakkuk lodging his complaints to God. And here in this second chapter he wonders, “What's God going to say to my questions? I’m braced for the worst. I'll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon. I'll wait to see what God says, how He'll answer my complaint”

And how does God answer? He simply instructs him to write down his dream. The Word ‘vision’ in the original Hebrew language can also be translated as “dream”. This was God’s response to Habakkuk, to write the dream down and make it clear. Why would God want Habakkuk to write down his dream? Is there something special about writing down our dreams? Well if you think about it we do it almost everyday, even if it is something as small as a grocery list, we write them down don’t we?

The business community in order to be more politically correct calls it “goals” and they constantly write down their goals for the coming year, the next 5 years, or decade if need be, and they expect their employees to follow these particular goals (dreams) to the letter. Habakkuk was instructed to write down his dreams because it would help his mind to understand and embrace what it sees. In short, he was to write it down in order for him to see the big picture. The Apostle Paul understood this concept very well, because in 1 Corinthians 13: 12 we read, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

What Paul was trying to make us see is that the state of our knowledge concerning spiritual things and/or divine things is imperfect and incomplete. Quite often Christians become guilty of the very things they accuse the world of doing, such as focusing on temporary things instead of the eternal. Far too many of us glory in the material things rather than those things that are eternal. We reach for an earthly answer of a spiritual matter and when we do this it only adds to our distress, confusion, and misunderstanding.

And so the Lord simply instructed Habakkuk to write down his dream. Once you begin to write down your dream, your dream will grow wings and the fulfillment will surely come. I once worked for a growing company, and during the orientation session, after being hired one of the first things they asked the new hires to do is to write down their goals for the next five years—the reason for this is because it will force you to clarify what you want. And it will motivate you to take action, provide a filter for other opportunities, help you overcome resistance, and most importantly it will enable you to see—and celebrate—your progress. Under the right conditions and at the “appointed time” and so Habakkuk was encouraged by God Himself to hold on to his dream.