God has inspired you with many wonderful hopes and dreams. As time passes, there may be many setbacks, but if you focus on your eternal destiny with Him, you will never get distracted. God would not have given you a purpose unless He already had a way to make it a reality. Knowing that God has chosen you to share in his plan will imbue your life with great meaning. We bring God glory when we are fully active in fulfilling His dreams for us.
The story of the Chinese bamboo plant illustrates this. For the first four years, the shoots scarcely pierce the ground. You see very little change. Even though it is watered, fertilized, and given enough sunlight, it seems like a waste of time. However, beneath the ground a massive root system is developing, spreading out in every possible direction. In the fifth year, once the roots are properly established, the plant will take off and shoot up as high as eighty feet in the air—from zero to eighty feet—in only one year.
In a similar way, you might say that you have been faithful, helped many and worked day and night to realize your dreams, without noticing any progress. Maybe this caused you to stop hoping and praying. Stay faithful; become rooted in the ways of the Lord and together you will reap a bountiful harvest. In due course, God will shoot you up higher than you ever imagined, in ways you did not expect.
Consider the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. God blessed him with prophetic dreams, yet when he shared his visions with his brothers, they derided him. All his detractors joined in putting him down. Consumed with jealousy, they threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery in Egypt. Despite his faithful service, Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him and he was imprisoned. Yet, he remained faithful to the Lord and assisted his fellow prisoners to comprehend their dreams. When Pharaoh, the king, was troubled by a dream, which no one else could interpret, they remembered Joseph’s unusual talent. Subsequently, Pharaoh appointed him as his chief adviser. Joseph was raised from the pit to the palace because of his faithfulness to God’s purpose which had been revealed in the prophetic dreams he would fulfill.
During the great famine which Joseph had foreseen, the people of Egypt were saved by the stores he had collected. When his brothers bowed before him begging for food, Joseph remembered those dreams and, by forgiving them, was able to rescue his whole family. God is bigger than any obstacle which stands in the way of fulfilling His dreams for you.
Don’t complain if there is a setback. You must have unshakable confidence. When your focus is on God and the dream He shares with you, instead of your circumstances, amazing things can happen. Although there may be many impediments to God’s plan, each stumbling block can turn into a stepping-stone for victory if you walk in His Way. The forces for us are much greater than the forces against us. Earthly adversaries are temporary, but God’s glory is eternal.
“Persevere, even if your efforts seem barren. Prayer is always fruitful.” — Saint Josemaria Escriva
