Don't Give Up on Your Dream!Uzorak

DREAM ANYWAY

Another key to making your dream a reality is to have some guts. If your dream is so easily cast aside by people discouraging you, then it wasn’t in there very strong. You must have some guts! Other people have had discouragements along the way – you’re not alone:

·Walt Disney got fired from a local newspaper for not being creative enough.

·Oprah Winfrey was fired by a Baltimore TV producer and told that she was "unfit for television."

·Elvis Presley was told by the manager of the Grand Ol’ Opry that he couldn’t sing and should go back to driving a truck.

·Abraham Lincoln failed twice in business, suffered a nervous breakdown, and lost eight elections before becoming president.

Listen, people will rain on your parade – dream anyway. Circumstances will come against you – go ahead and keep moving forward. If you study the lives of any successful person—in the Bible, in ministry, in sports, in Hollywood, or in the business world—you’ll find most of them, like those above, have had opportunities to quit or give up their dream.

Despite their traumas or disappointments, they survived and moved on. When they were knocked down, they got up. They persevered through heartache, persecution, and trouble until they came out stronger.

Look at Jesus’ disciple Peter. In Matthew 26, he vows his undying loyalty to Jesus (see vv. 33-35), but then, almost right away, three times Peter denies he even knows Jesus (see vv. 69-75).

Peter didn’t let that embarrassing moment define him. He didn’t give up on the dream. Even after Jesus was crucified, Peter chose not to quit. Instead, he rose and went to the upper room with the disciples on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2), and after being filled with the Holy Spirit that day, he preached the sermon that won 3,000 people to the Lord! (see Acts 2:14-41). That took guts!

We all have setbacks and disappointments. We all fall, but it’s not too late. Get back up and dream anyway. Leave the past behind, be encouraged, and have some guts. With God on your side, you can do it!

Did this plan help you? For more help and encouragement, check out Karen’s website at www.karensalisbury.org