All In Devotional - Matthew WestSample

Dream Again – Matthew West

The Israelites were in exile. Forced from their home country of Judah to live among foreigners in Babylon under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. After the king of Judah had been exiled, the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Jerusalem, the workers, and the artisans, the prophet Jeremiah sent a word from the Lord: “‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jer. 29:10-11). 

They were words of hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. Israel was in despair. They had lost their home and because of that, they feared losing everything else. But God said that was not his will for them, they could look toward a bright future. They could dream again. 

The end’s where the future begins

Just open your eyes

Open your eyes

And dream again

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” This is why it was so imperative that Jeremiah relay this message to the Israelites. If they gave up on their dreams of prosperity, they would surely perish. It is the same with us. The moment we stop believing, all is lost. If we have no vision, we will perish. But if we can believe, if we can dream in the form of vision, we will see God’s promise fulfilled. 

Sometimes that promise is delivered in the form of what we want, that thing that we stopped dreaming about. Sometimes that promise is fulfilled with an even bigger dream coming true. But often, that promise is delivered in more subtle ways. Through the daily gifts of grace and mercy, through peace and forgiveness—the things that Jesus made possible through his sacrifice. But we cannot see them unless we open our eyes. 

The Israelites were delivered from Babylonian captivity. They prospered, just as God said they would. It took time. Seventy years, to be exact. It was difficult and discouraging but they kept their vision. They held onto hope. They kept dreaming. Not because they could see their future, but because God had told them they had one, and they believed him.