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On Wednesdays we are thrilled to fling open the doors to all of YOU! We love hearing your dreaming stories…the lessons you’ve learned, the roads you’ve walked, the dreams He’s planted in your hearts! Today we are excited to welcome Betsy de Cruz to God-sized Dreams…she shares some reflection on what God has taught her through the sometimes-difficult walk of obedience and celebrates what He can do when we choose to keep Him at the center. Thanks for being here, Betsy!
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My husband and I embarked on the craziest, most impossible faith venture of our lives four years ago. God called us to plant a new church in a Muslim city where, humanly speaking, no one is interested in the gospel.
We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. That was a good thing because had we known, we probably wouldn’t have said “yes” to God in the first place.
We had a rough beginning. We left the warm security of the church where we’d served seven years. The only people we found crazy enough to join us was a newly arrived Mexican couple who couldn’t speak the local language yet. We barely knew them.
When we started meeting for Sunday worship in our living room, we were nine people, if we counted the kids. Sunday after Sunday we’d sit on the couch and stare at each other, wondering if anyone we’d invited would come. Visitors rarely joined us.
Not exactly a shining start.
We told ourselves not to despise the day of small beginnings, and it took two years for our church plant to gain momentum. I’d love to say we believed God every step of the way, but we didn’t. Sometimes we doubted. Sometimes we cried. God did more in us than He did through us. We learned perseverance, and we learned how to keep God at the center of our God-sized dream.
I don’t know what your God-sized dream is, but I do know it won’t always be easy. If you’re like me, your dream sometimes becomes more about you and your fear of failure than about God and obedience to his call.
Here are 5 ways we can keep God at the center of our dream:
- Be Sure He Called You
Whatever your dream, don’t rush through the first step: take time to pray and ask God for confirmation. We spent a year praying about the church plant before we started. A sure conviction of God’s calling helps us now to persevere when we encounter setbacks.
- Focus on God’s Glory, Not Your Own
When we embarked on our dream, one of the scariest things was telling other people about it. I imagined them thinking, “Yeah, right. You think you’re going to plant a church?” What if we failed? What would people think?
Our God-Sized dreams have to be more about God’s glory than about us. (<====Tweet this.)
If our motivation is to look good, we’ll shrink back when small failures challenge us.
- Keep a God-Centered Perspective:
The first year, I let our church planting dream become my lens on life. If our ministry was going well, I was happy. When things were hard, I got depressed. Finally the second year a light bulb went off.
I didn’t have to base my personal happiness on the success or failure of our house church.
As you pursue your dream, keep your life centered on the One who called you. (<====Tweet this.) Thank Him for what He’s doing. Enjoy your family, friends, and hobbies regardless of how your dream is progressing.
- Look for God’s Cheerleaders
Pouring out my heart to my closest go-to girlfriend helped me stay sane during the first years of church planting ministry. She listened to my frustrations. When I doubted, she encouraged me.
Surround yourself with people who will support your vision and cheer you on when the going gets tough. They might be the life saver you need when you’re drowning in discouragement.
- Believe God for Great Things
Even when fruit is slow in coming, keep revisiting the dream God gave you and believe Him for great things.
Our church started at home. Four years later, we have legal status and a public meeting place. We’ve grown from 9 people to 30. It sounds small, but given our MidEast location, it’s a small miracle!
Have small beginnings on your God-sized dream left you discouraged?
Keep moving forward. God can do great things through our faltering steps of obedience. Perhaps His greatest work is remodeling our hearts as we seek to keep Him at the center of our dreams.
Betsy de Cruz is passionate about enjoying God, life, and dark roast coffee. She lives with her husband and two fun teenagers in the Middle East. Most days she feels blessed and privileged to live overseas; other days she wants to pull her hair out and catch the next plane home. Betsy’s vision is to encourage women to get God’s Word in, so their faith can spill out, even during life’s bumpy moments. She knows what it’s like to have a family blow-up with fireworks during breakfast, and she writes about everyday faith at Faith Spilling Over. You can also connect with Betsy on Twitter and Facebook.
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Michael Buckley says
February 18, 2015 at 5:01 amWow ! Mike
cruz.joseleonardo@gmail.com says
February 18, 2015 at 5:09 amI enjoyed the introduction and great summary presented with great pictures of the surroundings! It seems that God grow us through the tensions. Jose
kristine says
February 18, 2015 at 6:42 amSuch great advice, Betsy, from someone who’s been there and understands! Great to see you here on God-sized Dreams!
betsydecruz says
February 18, 2015 at 7:12 amThanks, Kristine. I’m sure you could teach me a thing or two yourself about following God-sized dreams!
Meredith Bernard says
February 18, 2015 at 8:07 amSo MUCH truth and beauty here, Betsy…and I’m so thrilled to see you HERE! <3 This speaks to me, "We told ourselves not to despise the day of small beginnings…Sometimes we doubted. Sometimes we cried. God did more in us than He did through us. We learned perseverance, and we learned how to keep God at the center of our God-sized dream." I know I just hi-lited an entire paragragh, but that is SO GOOD, Betsy. And SO GOD. These are words to live by…and pursue dreams by. Love your heart and your example of obedience, even when it is not easy or immediately fruitful. His timing is always perfect. xoxo
betsydecruz says
February 18, 2015 at 9:33 amThank you so much, Meredith. Your words mean a lot to me today. Let’s run after Him together while we pursue the dreams He’s given us. Yes, his timing is perfect.
Sabra Penley says
February 18, 2015 at 8:56 amNeeded your words today, Betsy! “A sure conviction of God’s calling helps us now to persevere when we encounter setbacks.” I’ve had to seek God’s clarification on my God-sized dream of writing. Feeling bogged down in all the “marketing” side of blogging–so many “expert” voices saying “you must do this,” “you must do that.” I need to turn down the volume on all those voices and turn up the volume of God’s. Writing is my call–of this, I’m sure. Stepping out in faith on the next step HE shows me is where my focus needs to stay and my obedience needs to walk. He will bring the outcome. He will make the destination sure according to His will. Thank you for your encouragement today. And I thank God for you and your family stepping out in faithfulness to our Lord. I know many have been blessed because of your obedience.
betsydecruz says
February 18, 2015 at 9:34 amOh Sabra, I understand where you’re coming from. May God give you a long term vision straight ahead towards Him and the goal of knowing Him more closely. May He encourage you to persevere as you pursue His call.
Ellen Chauvin says
February 18, 2015 at 10:13 amOh, what wonderful words! A smile came to my face when you said to surround yourself with people who will support your visions and cheer for you! I’m so happy and blessed to have you as a cheerleader in my life! Thank you Betsy!
betsydecruz says
February 18, 2015 at 3:11 pmEllen, you’re a wonderful cheerleader yourself. I’m grateful for you too. Support from friends is so important, isn’t it?
Kristi says
February 18, 2015 at 12:11 pmOh Betsy, your words have brought a huge heap of encouragement. I love how you outlined five steps as well. You keep it practical and applicable at the same time. (I’m applying this to my writing.) And girl, I simply can’t imagine walking in your shoes. Praise God for brave women like you (& men like your husband). I love hearing about your “small miracle” and am giving God praise.
betsydecruz says
February 18, 2015 at 3:07 pmEllen, I draw lots of parallels between my writing dream and my church planting dream! So many of the same lessons apply. You’re a brave woman yourself.
betsydecruz says
February 18, 2015 at 3:09 pmSorry, Kristi, I got the comments mixed up! 🙂 Thanks for being here today.
Lisa says
February 18, 2015 at 12:29 pmIt’s so good to know that God loves us through every step we take with Him. He is not a boring God. He loves to take us on adventures!! Your story inspires me to step outside of my comfort zone.
betsydecruz says
February 18, 2015 at 3:04 pmNo, God is definitely not boring, Lisa. I’m with you there!
Kelly Balarie says
February 18, 2015 at 8:22 pmBetsy, I so admire you. You are a woman of the Lord. I love your tips for how to keep God at the center (because that is the most important thing). You have such wisdom to share. I cheer on your words and your story here!
betsydecruz says
February 19, 2015 at 1:23 amWe’re in this together Kelly! I can’t wait to see how God unfolds your dream. Let’s set our hearts on Him as we pursue all He has for us.
TJ says
February 18, 2015 at 9:43 pmThanks for the reminders. I need the last one the most. Believe God for great things. When things are hard, it is so easy to get discouraged but it is in the hard that God is seen best. Thanks for sharing.
betsydecruz says
February 19, 2015 at 1:25 amYes, TJ, the last one is the hardest for me too. It’s difficult to keep believing when our ministry or dreams don’t seem to get off the ground. Blessings to you as you pursue your dreams. May God be glorified in you!
Carmen Horne says
February 19, 2015 at 8:25 amBeautifully written Betsy. I was cheering you on and couldn’t wait till you gave us an update on how the church was doing.
My church leadership always says missionaries are heroes and I agree! So inspiring to never give up. Love this, “Even when fruit is slow in coming, keep revisiting the dream God gave you and believe Him for great things.” Yes and amen! Love you friend.
betsydecruz says
February 19, 2015 at 9:09 amThank you, Carmen! I look forward to seeing more fruit in the future! More fruit for you as well. We’re in this together. Let’s believe for great things!
Abby says
February 19, 2015 at 2:07 pmBetsy, you inspire me. This is such a beautiful God story. I am reading a book called Contagious Disciple Making and the author said it took them years in some areas before they made any progress. 30 is a miracle! Praise God! So wonderful to see you here today, friend.
betsydecruz says
February 19, 2015 at 2:59 pmThank you, dear Abby. I’ll have to check out that book, Contagious Disciple Making. Sounds interesting. In our country we’re seeing so many things more happen compared with 10, 20, and 30 years ago. I’m praising God!
Tarissa says
February 24, 2015 at 10:20 amBetsy, I’m so inspired and encouraged by your words here. Praising God for all He’s doing in your life and the lives being changed by your willingness to follow Him! 🙂
Jen says
February 25, 2015 at 9:21 amWow, you are very inspiring and I hope that I can keep my God-filled dream in focus like you suggest.
Arold says
March 2, 2015 at 11:56 pmExcellent article! In all honesty, keeping God at center of our dream can be very challenging due to our fallen nature as well as how we conceive circumstances in the natural realm. In many cases, when God doesn’t move when we expect Him to do so, we have a tendency to go forth with our own agenda instead of waiting upon Him to guide us. Living for Christ really compels us to let go of our own will, so that God’s perfect will can be materialized in our lives. Keeping God’s at the center of everything we’re doing is not only the perfect thing to do but one that will save us from lot of headaches and regrets down the road.