July 03, 2017

Daydreams

Devotion for the Week...

Do you read the book of Proverbs? I think it was Chuck Swindoll, of Insight for Living Ministries, who said he once knew a man who read through Proverbs every month, reading the chapter that corresponded with the day of the month. For a while I did that and, though I'm not doing it now, I do sometimes read the day's chapter in Proverbs before any other Bible reading. It's amazing how many nuggets of truth are packed into those 31 short chapters.

Consider this, for example: "Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty" (Proverbs 28:19).  When I read this verse last week I just stopped and thought about it for a while. Most of us aren't working the land to produce the food we eat, but the same principle still applies. Doing the work = food on the table. Lazing around and thinking about doing the work someday = no food. Simple enough, right? 

For some reason, though, I couldn't get the verse out of my head, mostly the 'those who chase fantasies' part. I have to admit, I don't often daydream about going grocery shopping, or having firewood to heat our house, or buying clothes for the boys or any of the other necessary things our jobs provide the money for. If we didn't have the money for those things, I probably would daydream about them, but we definitely know the work = food formula and the income from our jobs keeps us comfortably fed, clothed and warm through the winter. I hope the same is true for you.

But there are things I daydream about. Things like turning my quilt design business into my full-time job, having a more consistent Bible reading schedule, going to QuiltCon someday, writing a book of devotions, a big vegetable garden...I could go on and on (I've always liked to daydream 😉). You probably have things you daydream about too. Maybe your dreams include a better relationship with a family member, or a bigger house, or a smaller waistline. 

It doesn't matter if we dream about big things or little things, either way, those dreams won't come true unless we do the work. Whether we want to lose 10 pounds or write a book, dreaming of the day it's done won't make it happen. If it did there wouldn't be an obesity crisis and I'd be the author of about 1000 books by now.
Weekly devotions on Christian living | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
Unfortunately, it's a lot easier to dream than it is to actually do the work. But this verse in Proverbs reminds us that unless we do the work, we'll have our fill of poverty. Sure, it may not be financial poverty, but what about relationship poverty or health poverty or even just dream-fulfillment poverty?

It's time for us to stop just dreaming and start putting some work behind those dreams!

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