“ WE DON’ T HAVE TO ACCEPT CHALLENGES AS DEFEAT. They arise as a motivator to help push our dreams into REALITY.”
January / February 2018
19 by Tosha Brown
Hidden within every challenge is great opportunity. How true these words ring in my spirit as I think back to last year’ s events. It was both historical and life changing for many. Many lost jobs, homes, and the false security that they had built up in the world. Some are left stuck, discouraged, and have lost focus of their dreams. Many have become paralyzed by the challenges that life presented many have lost passion for moving their dreams and visions forward. That is the main strategy of the enemy, to steal your joy, to kill your dreams, and destroy your hopes for the future. But Jesus has declared that he has provided life in its abundance for us( John10:10). We don’ t have to accept challenges as defeat. They arise as a motivator to help push our dreams into reality.
“ WE DON’ T HAVE TO ACCEPT CHALLENGES AS DEFEAT. They arise as a motivator to help push our dreams into REALITY.”
This past year, I faced a challenging life situation as well. It was about 10:30 at night and my husband and I were about to read the word together … which we often do at night. He turned to me and grabbed my hands. I assumed we were about to pray. I laugh as I write this because I still can’ t believe what happened. He began to tell me that he had been laid off of his job, where he had been employed with the largest financial institution in the country. I lay there in shock, starring at him like a deer caught in headlight, and the only word I could muster up was,“ okay.”
We have only been married two years, serving in a new church, just started a new business, moved into a new home, and purchased a new vehicle earlier that month. We are newlyweds in every sense of the word! God had given us a plan for a business when we were married and we had written the vision, made our faith confessions and was unwavering in believing it would manifest. My husband and I had made a plan that would allow me to leave my job to run our business fulltime, and he would follow me the next year. Our ultimate goal was to have a successful business so we could avail ourselves to ministry fulltime. Suddenly our infamous plan didn’ t manifest exactly the way we thought it would, and attaining it didn’ t appear to be a reality. I am not about to insult you with trying to sound all deep and religious. I went through all the natural emotions that anyone could experience. The difference is in the outcome, I choose to believe God’ s word. Yes, all the valid questions were still there: Did we miss God? Will we lose our home? Will I lose my business? I found myself being the sole income earner in a family of seven!
After praying one evening, God reminded me that he wasn’ t bound by man’ s challenges and circumstances. What He had spoken shall come to pass in our lives. We were to stand in faith, remain strong and faithful in our walk and we would surely find success.( Josh 1:8-9) God said he would“ reinvent” the dream that he had given us. To reinvent means to make as if for the first time something already invented, to re-make or redo completely; to bring back into use again.
This reminds me of the remarkable story of Joseph and his dream of being a great leader and preserver of a nation in the midst of famine. His dream would present tremendous challenges and create supernatural opportunities to be spoken of forever. He didn’ t have a dream coach to push him along, and he didn’ t have a prayer partner he could call on. The only thing he had was a word from God. He was in the midst of a hostile environment and everything looked contrary to his dream manifesting. Joseph was hated by his family, sold into slavery, and placed into prison. But the dream that God placed on the inside of his heart had survived. After his dream had become manifest, Joseph glorified God by remembering how God had brought it to past. He said,“ God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”( Gen 41:52 NLT) We can learn from Joseph that when you walk in faith and refuse to quit, God guarantees your challenges won’ t prevent your vision from being fulfilled. Between receiving your dream from God and realizing its fulfillment you’ ll be tested. You have to be as Joseph did and remain faithful, patient, strong, and focused. God used every arising challenge that Joseph faced as a way to re-invent the situation for His Good.
As for me, God did exactly that. He took what appeared to be a hopeless challenge and re-invented it for His good. Instead of me staying home as we previously thought, my husband now runs our business fulltime. Our vision never died, it just manifested differently than we had planned. I have learned that challenges can’ t steal your dream without your permission and they can’ t stop God; don’ t allow them to stop you!