Wednesday - "The Spark"

Genesis 37:19-20(NCV),
“19 They said to each other, ‘Here comes that dreamer.
20 Let's kill him and throw his body into one of the wells. We can tell our father that a wild animal killed him. Then we will see what will become of his dreams.’"

When I was in the Boy Scouts, we were told that we had to build a fire using a flint and steel. We had to gather firewood and tinder...and by simply sparking two pieces of metal together, we were supposed to get a fire going that we could cook on. Some scouts never got it started. Some, on the other hand, did manage to get the tinder burning a little...just a little. Smoke started to rise from that little piece of wood...but they didn't know what to do...so they grabbed a big stick and threw it on the spark...can you guess what happened?

No fire. That little fragile spark was extinguished. But it had the potential to be a roaring fire!

Dreams are a lot like that spark. What can stop a dream? I have a few ideas...we talked about them last week...

Fear. Worry. Doubt. Anxiety. Insecurity. Other people. The "big sticks" of life.

That list could go on for quite awhile. In most of us, dreams are easily extinguished. We simply kill them before they get the chance to become anything.

I talk to people all the time who say that they want to go to college...but they don't because somebody tells them that they are too old...so the dream stops.

A woman tells me she has a dream to go on mission trips and tell others about Christ...but she doesn't because she is afraid that God will send her to an unfriendly place...and the dream dies.

A student dreams of someday being a scientist and finding a cure for cancer....he's told by some that his efforts would be useless....and he stops dreaming.

It is so easy to stop dreaming. To kill that little spark that God gives us. We have to resist those dream-killers. Stand strong and be patient with the inspiration and direction that God gives us. In a world seemingly bent on dissuading us from pursuing our potential, it is up to us to rise above it and make a difference developing our life purpose.

Don't let your spark die - no matter what. That's what God gave it to you for!

Pastor Brian