Catalyst Track: Stop Thieves from Stealing Your Dream // Day One

We can’t just wish away thieves from stealing our dreams. We must be proactive.

Do you have a dream you feel like is hanging in the balance? Or maybe you feel like it’s just gone. Either way, where do you go from here?

In this 3-day track from the Catalyst App, Philip Wagner, author of Unlock Your Dream, shares three ways to “stop dream thieves in their tracks.”

Whether you are currently experiencing a disappointed dream or you know a friend or someone you lead who is, you can recover and keep your capacity to dream alive!

Are you ready? 

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DAY 1: Practice Gratitude

 

When thieves prowl into our minds and threaten our dreams, we have a choice in how we respond. One response is to wallow in the dark side, which leads us to become ungrateful for the dream God has created specifically for us. Ungratefulness is a powerful opponent that steals our focus, and without a bold response to reverse our attitude, ultimately it can sabotage our dreams.

 

Turning our attitude from frustrated to grateful changes our perspec­tive. It opens the heavens and makes us aware that God is actually giving us gifts every day—and that those gifts offer numerous opportunities to unlock our dreams.

 

If you are unsure of what to do in your situation right now and your dream seems to be in permanent lockdown, know that the will of God for you always includes gratitude. As the apostle Paul said, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:18, NIV)

 

In all circumstances—in everything I will be thankful. That’s a powerful key.

 

I keep a dream notebook for writing down the dreams I have and the hopes, fears, promises, obstacles, and realizations that come in the process. When I feel myself slipping into ungratefulness, the list making in my dream notebook begins.

 

When the thieves show up in our minds to steal our dreams, we need to be armed with gratitude. I did not expect this loss. I did not expect this disappointment or this pain.

 

But our enemy did not expect that somewhere inside us a whisper can arise: “I will yet praise him.” (Ps. 42:5, NIV) Even though I thought this would be easier, I will praise Him because He hasn’t given up on me.

 

The whisper becomes a shout as we recognize the power in it.