Keeping Yourself On Track

Harry Kemp said, “The poor man is not he who is without a cent, but he who is without a dream.”(1) I will say that the poor man is not he who is without a dream, but he who has lost his dream. If you’ve ever felt that what God has laid on your heart has been lost, then tonight’s passage is for you; for we will hear a message of hope about recovering from setbacks.

How are we supposed to handle those times, when what God has asked us to do doesn’t come to pass; or when our vision is temporarily put on hold? How are we supposed to respond when it seems as though a dream has died; one that we’ve poured our very heart and life into? What’s the next step? Well, these questions are answered in Hebrews chapter 12, with words that encourage us to never give up.

Allow Wounds to Heal, Not Be Dislocated (vv. 12-13)

If we suffer a setback, we can become spiritually wounded and cut to the heart. We can become discouraged and grow weak in our devotion to Christ. The Bible shows us that at such times we need to exercise our spiritual muscles through – not physical therapy – but spiritual therapy to get back in shape. We read in verses 12-13:

Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed (Hebrews 12:12-13).

These verses are reminiscent of Isaiah 35:3-6, which is a passage that shares a prophecy delivered unto the inhabitants of southern Israel. Isaiah’s message to the people of Judah was this:

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert (Isaiah 35:3-6).

If you’ll recall, Israel was once given an amazing vision from the Lord; one given to Abraham when God promised him in Genesis 22:17-18:

Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 22:17-18a).

The Lord also promised King David, “Your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you, [and] your throne shall be established forever” (2 Sm 7:16). Israel had been given a promise, a vision, and one enormous dream from God; however, because of repeated disobedience, this calling kept being put on hold, time and again.

The words spoken in Isaiah chapter 35 were given to encourage God’s people, who were experiencing a time in captivity under Assyria. He told the people of Judah to look up, for a Deliverer would soon be coming to reestablish Israel’s hopes and dreams, and that the Lord would arrive performing miracles never before imagined!

The Lord was telling the people to hang on and not give up hope; and we too must not grow weary, but instead keep looking unto Jesus (Heb 12:2). God wants us to keep on hoping and keep on dreaming, for He doesn’t want setbacks to weaken us in our faith. What we’re to hope in is Jesus Christ. You see, dreams may vanish, but the Savior’s love for us is forever strong.

If we allow ourselves to become discouraged, and give up on serving God, then we will become spiritually weak. We learn here that when a person’s hands hang down and are left unused, they can lose their strength; and also, unused legs can lead to weak knees (Heb 12:12-13). This is called “muscular atrophy,” which is defined as, “a wasting or decrease in size of a body organ, tissue, or part owing to disease, injury, or lack of use.”(2)

A lack of use can lead to dislocation, the Scripture says; and also to being wounded or broken (Heb 12:13). I have noticed that when I’ve been inactive and haven’t exercised for a while that my back will sustain pulls and injuries from lack of use. If we lose a dream and our heart becomes broken, it’s tempting to give up and do nothing at all. However, if we sit down and become spiritually inactive, then not only will our “heart” be broken, but our “spiritual life” will end up broken, as our relationship with Jesus suffers.