Dreams, Tears And A Song

Dreams, Tears and A Song

Scripture Text: Psalm 137:1-4

Focus: HOPE, PURPOSE, and RESTORATION

The hopes and dreams of people are often shattered by the unexpected or the undesired events of life. This is a word about the process of restoration. We have dreams that are interrupted by situations that result in tears. But praise God, he gives us a song of hope and a pre-determined purpose. The words of the psalmist say it best from Psalm 40:1-3 (AMP) I WAITED patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime), and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings. And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see and fear (revere and worship) and put their trust and confident reliance in the Lord.

Dreams are wonderful in that they often take us to places to which we can no longer travel. They take us back to our childhood with all of the innocence and carefree times. They also allow us to project ourselves into the possibilities of great tomorrows without the burdens of today. Dreams are defined as those things for which we hope and long to obtain. They include our ambitions and aspirations. The beauty of dreams is that they may also include those things that may be difficult to obtain and far removed from the present circumstances.

Such was the case when the people of the Lord were taken away captive from their own land. The experience was devastating. Many had died. Families and been separated and scattered. Those who were children were now senior citizens, and had never seen the city of David. It was indeed an unhappy time. It all seems to have been a long bad dream. The grief, sorrow and humiliation would be forever etched in their minds. They had been saved by the goodness of God, but could never forget the humiliation of defeat. They could not erase the hardships of the long journey. They would never forget the years of being homesick.

When we read the chronicle of their experience, we hear the loneliness and agony of their loss. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we [captives] sat down, yes, we wept when we [earnestly] remembered Zion [the city of our God imprinted on our hearts].” In their captivity the view of a free-flowing river caused dreams to come alive in their minds. Daydreaming can be more powerful than dreams in the night. One is in control of dreams in the day. They took a position of grief. They stooped down in a position of the mourners. They wept. They remembered. The good of it was that they remembered. They recalled the joy and peace of home. You must have a visual image of what you desire before you can move toward it. Somewhere in the world of the internet came a story about a prisoner of war (POW) in the Vietnam war who survived by daily practicing golf shots in his mind daily to protect his sanity. It is said that when he was released or rescued, he returned home. When he resumed his favorite activity of golf, he became a champion player. He did not let captivity steal his dream.

No matter what is happening or what has happened, we cannot allow anything to steal our dreams. Our dreams provide motivation for the underlying purpose of God in our lives. Dreams give birth to vision. When we recall the former years, it allows us to compare yesterday with today. This leads to projecting how to improve the present situation tomorrow. There are plenty of dream stealers in the land. Often they are disguised as well-meaning relatives and friends who want to caution you to “hope for the best but expect the worst”. What a ridiculous mindset! How can one be motivated by expecting what is not desired? Don’t listen to them.

Do not allow present conditions to vaporize your dreams. Dreams often contain our suppressed desires. Desire is the primary ingredient for faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for [desired] and the evidence of that which have not yet seen. The Amplified uses the following language: Heb. 11:1 (AMP) NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. Faith does not ignore reality, but allows us the fuel to move forward in spite of the limitations and obstacles in the way.