Hope After Broken Dreams
What I have learned in 20 years of ministry is that He is there in obscurity. He’s there when I can’t see Him, or feel Him, and when I don’t see Him moving. He’s there in the lowest moments when I feel abandoned and alone. He’s there when I blame Him, pull away from Him and hide in my pit. And He’s not just there. He working on my behalf—for me.
...obscurity doesn't always mean the death of dreams.
He’s producing something in me, stretching and growing me. He’s accomplishing His plan for His kingdom, even when I don’t like it. Because it’s not for me. It’s all for Him. I had to learn that the dreams He birthed in my heart were not for me, but for Him. And when I learned to stop focusing on me, my feelings, my situation and what I could see with my human eyes, I realized I could look up and set my eyes on Him. I could search for Him in all the disappointing times and look for Him and what He could be doing for me and through me.
I have learned that despite feelings and emotions that we all have, God has never left me. He is before all things, in all things, and holding them all together. He has always been there working, and moving and loving me.
I have learned that...God has never left me.
Take a few moments and watch this four-minute video (press 'play' just above) through which I recently shared how I have learned that obscurity doesn't always mean the death of dreams. It may be the breeding ground for God-shaped dreams. When my husband Justin and I planted Foundations Church nearly ten years ago, I was broken, weak, and disappointed with God. But through the painful process of simply trusting His hand to guide me, step by step, I have discovered new things about myself, His Word, and how I can cooperate to fulfill God's plan.
Hope After Broken Dreams is Part 1 of our January 2018 series, If There's One Thing I've Learned, from the Sanctuary leadership team. Stop back by next Monday for Part 2.
Casey Graves is a wife, momma to two girls, and co-pastor/planter of Foundations Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She enjoys a good cup of coffee with a friend or a family date day when she finds some spare time. What draws her to Sanctuary is her desire to truly share her vulnerabilities and struggles to help others dealing with similar wounds and insecurities that come with ministry. Casey recently published her first book, Perfectly Weak, now available at Amazon, and blogs at We Are Perfectly Weak.
