How To Trust God for Your Big Dream



If you want to make it in a career, you have to show audacity. Audacity is the courage to think big, to show initiative, and to take risks for a dream while facing the possibility of failure.

In Genesis 37, we read the story of Joseph, who had a dream so incredible, so audacious that nobody in the world believed him. He dreamed that one day he would be a great leader and all his brothers would bow down to him.

Was it the truth? Yes. Was the dream from God? Yes. Was it fulfilled? Yes. Was Joseph a little crazy to tell his brothers? Yes.

Joseph had an audacious dream. When he shared it with his family, “they hated him all the more …. When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, ‘What is this dream you had?’” (Genesis 37:5b, 10a NIV)

You’re going to have to step out in faith — even when it doesn’t make sense, even when people ridicule you, even when you’re afraid, even when the odds are against you. If God puts a dream in your heart, he will honor you when you step out in faith to do it.

I have a letter from the publisher of Zondervan, saying that my book, “The Purpose Driven Life,” was terrible and that it would never sell. He went through the book and pointed out all the things he thought were wrong and why it wouldn’t sell: Nobody reads 40 chapters. It didn’t have enough stories in it. It had too much Scripture in it. It’s too choppy. I wrote him back and told him I believed this is the way I had been directed by God to do it, and he didn’t have to publish it.

I basically held the line, and they said they still wanted to publish it. Don’t you think they’re glad they did? Sometimes you just have to go with a little bit of audacity because you believe in what God has told you to do.

Joseph made one audacious decision after another in faith. As a result, he got the promotion of a lifetime — he eventually became a great leader and ruled over all of Egypt.

Where do you need to be audacious? Where do you need to trust God? Where do you need to step out in faith? Where do you need to think big? Where do you need to take initiative? Where do you need to take risks?

Talk It Over
  • What would you have to do to show audacity in your job?
  • Do you think you have to be arrogant to be audacious? Why or why not?
  • How do you want God to use you? What do you want to accomplish in your life? How will you have to be audacious to accomplish those things?
~ Written by: Rick Warren ~
~ Modified by: Oleg Fabyanchuk ~

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