I wrote this a few years ago, and have already re-posted it once. But I needed to again....
Please take the time to watch the following youtube video before reading the blog post - start to finish. It is well worth your time!! You will probably have to hit your back button on your browser to get back to the blog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
I have watched Susan Boyle’s video at least ten times. And I cry every time.
These are some of the lyrics to the song that she sang:
I Dreamed a Dream
There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I’m living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed
This blog post is dedicated to all of us who have had our dreams turned to shame, for all of us who have been visited by “the tigers at night”. For those of us whose dreams were so vivid and bright and possible when we were young… but they somehow disappeared, got lost, were stolen, or were trampled underfoot by the misdeeds of men and the destructive work of the enemy of our souls.
“Life has killed the dream I dreamed.”
My personal experience has shown me that “life” is not always kind. But our lives are not destined to end the way of this song. There is no pain, no wound, no trauma that God cannot restore. It is never too late. What the enemy tried to steal and kill and destroy is the very thing that God wants to heal, restore and make whole. What is that dream? What is that purpose that God created you for?
Susan Boyle’s voice was held captive for 47 years. But when her time came, she shone before millions of people. It is your time to shine. Be brave. Has “life” crushed you? Have your dreams (or maybe even the very essence of who you are) been ripped to pieces? Are the things that should be bringing you joy, bringing shame and reproach instead? Has your heart been broken? It is time to find yourself. It is time to walk past the fears and the prejudices and the past and your circumstances that have held you captive. Isaiah 54:4 says, “Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.” There comes a time that those things that have haunted you need to be put aside. It is time to look forward. It is your turn to shine. Don’t worry what anybody may say. Don’t listen to the jeering, taunting voices around you or within you. It’s time to take your stand.
God is in the business of restoring the impossibly shattered heart, of healing the mortal wound, of curing the incurable. Jeremiah 30:12 and 13 says, “This is what the Lord says: Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing. There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you. Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure?” Two verses later, in Jeremiah 30:17, the Lord says, “But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds!” What is impossible for man is God’s specialty. So, dust off that dream and pull it out of the deep recesses of your inner closet. Put your life and your dreams into the hands of your Heavenly Father, the One who created you and put those dreams in you before you were even conceived. This is your day. When asked what advice she would give to those who want to pursue their dream, Susan Boyle said, “Just do it.” Yeah. Just do it. And then sit back and see what the Lord will do through you. No one was laughing after Ms. Boyle sang her first note. Take your stand. Just do it. God will showcase you for the sake of His Name.
