Let your light shine before others.
Matthew 5:16
We all long to know that our lives are full of purpose. We want assurance that each day matters. We want to feel purposeful in our passions and pursuits, in the grand things and the little details of our days that no one sees. Know this, dear reader: your spiritual journey of pressing into Christ will become the Holy Spirit’s vehicle to impact and influence others. Your dreaming with God and thriving in the roles He has for you will bless others. Your purposes, roles, and callings were made for impact. As you dream with God, beauty will spill out in your everyday moments. You pursuing your dreams with God leading the way influences others for the kingdom.
I remember one particular morning at a park when I ran into a friend and fellow young mom. We chatted and caught up with each other as we watched our little ones explore the jungle gym, swinging and climbing. She made me feel so loved by the way she asked very specific questions about how things were going in my life. She listened intently. Her gentle eyes made me feel important to her. I felt God’s love for me through her. She didn’t preach to me. She didn’t pull out her Bible. She simply let God love through her. Her impact, I’m sure, was the result of her own dreaming journey with the Lord overflowing out onto me that day. She probably doesn’t know how much that conversation meant to me, but she inspired me to see that when we dream with God and seek Him first, kingdom moments spill out into our everyday lives.
As we draw close to Christ in our dreaming journeys, He uses us to draw others to Him. It’s a beautiful mystery how this works. We don’t have to worry about how to make an impact on others because it will happen naturally as we pursue God; and it will happen in not only our dream-come-true moments but also our everyday moments. As we draw close to Him, beauty bursts through to others in a million little ways. The natural overflow of dreaming with God spills out in everyday moments like being an encouragement to our husbands, making breakfast for our kiddos with joy, hugging a friend who’s down, writing a note to someone who needs support, or inspiring a fellow dreamer in their own dreams. Impacting others becomes a lifestyle as we press into Jesus. We may not even know we are having an effect on someone, just like that morning in the park. Your impact is a result of your heart seeking God.
I remember a time in my life when I wanted to clearly know my purposes and where God wanted me to make a difference for Him. I was gently reminded that in the pursuit of finding my specific purposes, my one and only purpose needed to be getting to know God. God slowly, over time, clarified His purposes for me, but He reminded me that His Spirit is the One who makes the impact through everyday moments.
When we make knowing God our primary focus, a beautiful thing happens—every moment becomes purposeful. Every task, every chore, every conversation, and every appointment becomes divine. When we see our moments as gloriously orchestrated by God, we live purposeful lives. We see God is involved in the little stuff and the big stuff. Each day holds different assignments. But everything has purpose. We don’t have to worry whether we’re making a difference; we can trust that the Spirit is at work through us and in us.
The Spirit at Work
I was with my family at a Christmas concert a while back. Twinkling lights lit up the stage, a full orchestra beautifully led the music, a grand piano sat front and center, and the singers brought all of us right into the Christmas spirit with their carols and songs.
One singer in particular who stood up to the microphone appeared quiet, almost shy, and maybe even a little bit nervous. She started singing softly and gently, and the whole crowd soon realized her voice was angelic. As the song unfolded, her voice reached a different realm. She had the most powerful and beautiful voice I had ever heard. Goose bumps covered my skin from head to toe, and something deep in my heart stirred. I remember thinking this woman clearly had a God-given, Spirit-filled gift. She didn’t have to sell us on her voice. She didn’t need someone to introduce her and set the stage for her. We didn’t have to read her biography in the program. Her gift just came busting out. She was fully herself, and God’s gifts came flowing from her to touch the audience. It made me think that that’s how the Holy Spirit works when we walk in God’s dreams for us. When we let Him guide our hearts and our lives, His Spirit comes busting out in ways that maybe we don’t even realize.
This singer with the angelic voice will never know the effect she had on me, although I tried to let her know as I joined in with the thousands of audience members in a standing ovation. She will never know that somehow, in a way that I cannot put into words, the Holy Spirit reached right to my heart through her voice and blessed me. That’s the Spirit’s way—mysterious, angelic, powerful, moving. We can lean back, trusting that the Spirit is within us, working in mysterious ways and touching others in ways we don’t realize, and that sometimes the most impactful moments are ones we may not even see. That divine movement of another’s emotions, that stirring of someone else’s heart—that’s the Spirit at work.
It’s easy to think that if we’re not in ministry, then our “work” isn’t as spiritual as it could be. I’ve gotten caught up in that line of thinking before, questioning my life as a professional ballerina. But, oh, how I had it all wrong. The Spirit can use each of us right where we are. We can be missionaries, soul-movers, and heart-stirrers wherever God has us. In dance, I couldn’t use words on the stage, but my hope was that the Spirit would flow right out of my soul, through my piqué turns, and directly into the heart of even just one audience member.
When I was just eighteen years old and beginning my career with my first ballet company, I joined a small group Bible study through my church. The leader was a young mom, pregnant with her second baby, and we met one night a week at her home in the hills just on the outskirts of town. Those meetings became one of the highlights of my week. Driving through the hills to get to her house felt like a little getaway from the stress of the ballet world.
The minute I walked into her inviting home, she greeted me with a big hug, enthusiasm, and laughter and ushered me into her kitchen where the smell of chocolate brownies filled the air. Her red teakettle was always on the stove, singing its tune, announcing that hot chamomile tea was ours for the taking. The other gals and I kicked off our shoes and made ourselves comfy on her broken-in leather couches. Teacups in hand, we listened to our leader share her latest funny and endearing stories about life as a mom. We sipped on tea, snacked on brownies, and dove into God’s Word together every week.
Somehow being in that house gave me a sense of comfort. Maybe because I was living in an apartment at the time, the walls of the house reminded me of the coziness of my childhood home. Somehow sipping that tea calmed me (and the teaspoonfuls of sugar did something sweet to my heart). Somehow my leader’s joy and enthusiasm and cheerfulness for life, for us, and for God touched my soul. She set an example for me. She made me feel so welcome, and so loved. I felt God’s love through her. Those weekly meetings became a sanctuary for me, a home away from home, an escape from the sometimes pressure-filled ballet world, and a place to get to know God better.
Looking back, I realize the Spirit was moving through my leader and loving on me in the meantime. The Spirit used the simplest things—a homey house, the smell of brownies, a hot cup of tea, sweet fellowship with other believers, and my leader—to bring me closer to Him. My leader didn’t have to manufacture anything. It was all just the result of her own pursuit of God and dreaming with Him about how she could use her gifts to love others for Him. By pressing into Christ, the overflow of His love came streaming down on me. That’s the beautiful mystery of the Spirit. I’m sure my Bible study leader loved to bake, loved to make her home a sanctuary, loved to teach God’s Word, and loved being a mom. The Spirit gathered all those sweet delights of her heart, strung them together, and used the result to bless me and other young women who were hungry for God. It’s so sweet. It’s so good. The Spirit has a way . . . a way of stringing together the delights of our hearts for something we may not even realize is actually making an impact for God.
These memories make me think of my role as Mommy to my boys. I read them Bible verses and stories, play songs about Jesus for them in my car, and show them Bible-related DVDs, doing my best to answer their questions about faith, God, heaven, and walking with Jesus (they have lots of questions!). I try to do the right “spiritual” things to pass on my faith and incorporate it into our lives because there is something about the power of God’s Word . . . hearing it, reading it. But some days not one Bible verse is spoken or read. Some days we learn more about superheroes than God. But I’m discovering (oh, and my heart constantly needs this reminder) that as I make knowing God my number one purpose, my boys will be impacted for Him. It may not look how I think it should some days, but that’s okay. In fact, the Spirit can use many things to influence them for God. For instance, my oldest son may feel God’s love through me as I listen to him rattle off facts and stats about the NFL. My middle son may feel God’s love through me when I cook him a good meal and listen as he practices the guitar. My littlest guy loves when I simply swing with him out in our backyard. The Spirit’s gentle, divine touch is in and through it all. As we dream with God, the Spirit spills out of us, overflowing and touching others in ways we may not be able to put into words.
You Were Not Meant to Blend In
As a child of God and a dreamer with God, you are meant to be a light in the world. If you are walking with God, pursuing Him as He is pursuing you, studying His Word, and dreaming with Him, then you are going to stand out as a light. Not in a “famous” way . . . no, that’s not what I mean . . . but in a God-size way.
Early in my dancing career, I worked hard to blend in with the other dancers. As part of the corps de ballet, my job was to look like, dance like, and move in perfect unison with the other dancers. I often received corrections to tone down my dancing so I would blend in better. I worked hard to dance smaller and make sure I didn’t draw too much attention to myself. But then a funny thing started happening; every teacher, ballet master, and director started pushing me to “dance bigger.” One particular ballet master quietly whispered to me with a grin across his face, “You were not meant to blend in.” In that moment, he unofficially gave me permission to stop blending in and start dancing big. I felt giddy at the thought of dancing with a bit more abandon and freedom. Over the course of my dancing career though, my tendency was always to try to blend in, which sometimes felt easier and safer.
In life, we often try too hard to be like everyone else and do what everyone else is doing. Our tendency is to try to blend in, to go with the flow of everyone around us. Oftentimes in the studio, on the stage, or wherever I am in my daily life, I have to give myself a mental fist bump and remind myself, You were not meant to blend in. You are a follower of Jesus, pursuer of Christ, and dreamer with God, and as His Word gets in you and you get your heart in His Word, your life is going to look different. Your heart is going to look different; you will stand out not in a self-promoting way but in a drawing-people-to-Jesus way. And this is work that only the Spirit of God can do. I think of people in my life who stand out not because they are famous or boast of huge success or even have it all together but because they have a presence about them. A sweetness, a kindness, a gentleness, and a beauty.
These things are the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives. These people stand out, and they can’t seem to help it. They are people such as my friend at the park and my Bible study leader, who stand out because of their joy and love and the way they give me a glimpse of Jesus. Oh, how I want to be a fruit-bearer. But I realize this doesn’t just happen all on its own. Bearing fruit takes time, seasons of growth, pruning, and tending; it also takes spending time with God, trusting Him, praying to Him, obeying Him even when we would rather blend in, walking with Him, and letting the Spirit work inside us. When we dream with God, we bear fruit and God uses us to be a light in the world.
You are a light in the world. Press into Christ, because the result of seeking God and dreaming with Him is that you’re going to look different. His light will radiate from inside you and shine for others to see. You were not meant to blend in; you were meant to shine for Him!
I pray you see today that God will use your dreaming with Him to impact others for His kingdom.
Prayer, Scripture, and Reflection
for Your Dreaming Heart
Lord, thank You that You will use my pursuit of You to make a difference in others. I pray that as I seek You on a deeper level and begin to dream with You, Your Spirit will impact others through my life. I pray my life ultimately draws others into the intimacy and joy of knowing You. Thank You that Your Spirit is at work in me as I draw close to You.
“Let your light shine before others.” Matthew 5:16
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” Acts 1:8
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” 2 Corinthians 2:14–15
“You will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” Philippians 2:15–16
1. Can you think of a time when someone showed you the love of Christ in an everyday moment?
2. In what ways that you have never thought of before might the Spirit be impacting others through your life?
3. In what ways do you find yourself trying to blend in? How can you embrace letting your light shine?
4. How does seeing the result of dreaming with God affect your perspective of the dreams He has for you?