Have you ever come across a person whose dream has died? You can vividly remember when they spoke passionately about a dream or vision they had over the years, and when you ran into them it seemed as if they were a completely different person. Instead of talking to a dream-filled person, you found yourself talking to someone living in the yester-years of what once was and never completed anything you were so sure they would accomplish. You realized in that moment when you wanted to ask “what happened to you?” that somewhere along the journey of life—filled with lies, loss, time, and disappointments—their dream just died.
If we want to live the fullest life God has ordained for us, we have to fight for our dreams.
Dreams were given by God and He will fulfill them in us if we don't give up and let the enemy take them from us!
When God created each of us, He intentionally created us with purpose. In Jeremiah 1:5 God said “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, and before thou comest out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet" (KJV). We may not have been ordained as a prophet, but we were ordained (or destined) for something specific and powerful that God sent us in the earth to do! In addition, this passage tells us that God “sanctified” (set us apart) for a specific purpose. It might seem unfathomable that billions of people are unique individuals with a unique purpose, gift-set, and identity, but that’s what makes God YAWEH!
So how does this tie into being a dream fighter?
Being created with an intentional purpose in God automatically puts us in direct opposition with the kingdom of darkness, so the enemy fights against our dreams and our destiny. He fights us by sending people to tell us that our dreams are stupid or that we don’t have the right enoughs (smart enough, educated enough, anointed enough, or good enough). He tells us anything we are willing to believe that will cause us to give up on our dreams!
Ephesians 4:27 says “Neither give place to the devil.” Interestingly, the word “place” in this passage comes from the Greek word “Topos” pronounced “To’-pos” meaning “any portion or space marked off, as it were from surrounding space.” In other words, God has set us apart from the world, marked our place in His Kingdom, and has given us dreams that will fulfill our work in the earth. So, we must not choose to funeralize our dreams by sitting around mourning their loss.
Partially based on Rick Renner's Dream Thieves, here’s what I believe are 10 actions of Dream Fighters:
1. Dream Fighters put on the whole armor of God to spiritually defend their gifts for the Kingdom.
2. Dream Fighters believe that the power of Jesus Christ works through them making them more than conquerors.
3. Dream Fighters never give up! They push, press, and praise God through the negativity that comes from naysayers who may be family, friends, mentors, or confidantes.
4. Dream Fighters don’t operate with a spirit of fear for they know this is NOT from God.
5. Dream Fighters don’t let the passing of time or how long it takes cause them to lose faith.
6. Dream Fighters prepare themselves now through education, experience, faith, and whatever God directs them to do for the fulfillment of their dreams later.
7. Dream Fighters verbally confess and profess their dreams to others through faith, and don’t allow their dreams to be taken for granted.
8. Dream Fighters connect with other dream fighters to form a network of faith.
9. Dream Fighters choose to become active participants in the fulfillment of their dreams with guidance from the Holy Spirit.
10. Dream Fighters understand how their dreams will result in personal fulfillment and contribute to the body of Christ.
We know that when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he defeated death, hell, and Satan’s power over us, and when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we receive the power of the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth. I am convinced that Satan does not care if we profess to be a Christian. He does care, however, if we understand what that means and actually operate in the power we were given when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord!