If you looked at this post’s title, you might think I’m talking about dreams like goals. Nope. For the last week I’ve had dreams every single night about drywall, painting, carpeting….sheesh!! I can think of pretty much every job I’ve ever had and remember that I’ve had dreams of the new job. Promise isn’t a “Job,” and it’s certainly not new, but I’ll tell you what: I’m having the dreams.
Joint compound, or “drywall mud” as it’s called. Floor splatter and clean up. Purple paint, tan paint, creamy paint. Sanding drywall mud. Grey carpet. Purple carpet. Painting the chairs. Fireproof spray cans that don’t exist out here in the real world spraying the chairs. And dust, dust, dust, and more dust. Then the floors. And there’s a zamboni for cleaning the floors that just won’t get into the cracks of the tiles. NIGHTMARE!!
But there’s a dream on top of those. A dream while I’m awake. It’s a dream of making this House of God an excellent place in our community where people come in and say, “Wow! This is nice!” Because if that’s a first impression, then they will be more open to receiving whatever the Lord has in store for them inside. It’s a dream of people coming in and NOT having anything distract them from the service provided and the service performed for the sake of their souls. It’s a dream of people being born again and growing up.
Ideally, people don’t care about construction mess, and if they really are serious about God they’ll overlook those things, right? Wrong. If Christians who have had Christ in their hearts for years get nit-picky about messy things, how much more do you think somebody who isn’t looking through eyes of faith might see?
People who come visit a church are looking for something. Many don’t know it’s the voice of the Holy Spirit wooing them, urging them to come and see. Many don’t realize it’s God calling them. So when they get to the House, it’s my dream that we have done everything we can do to take away distractions, subtractions, detractions, and give every opportunity to connect with Jesus. And when God brings Christians into Promise, I also dream of a House where they can go UP to their next level and not be pulled away with thoughts of what’s not done.
The Bible says not to give any place to the devil. I think one way to follow that mandate is to take away anything that detracts from the work of God, especially in the one place that should be a shining example of sanctuary.
Dreaming is a lot of things, and for me it’s also a way for my mind to let off steam while my body rests. We’ve been given such an advantage with this building; I can hardly wait to see how things look when it’s finished!