When Dreams Die

Read John 12:20-36

Have you buried any dreams lately? We thought our dreams were God’s dreams.We prayed, believed, made plans and worked hard. However, now it is over. So here we sit, graveside, by our lifeless hopes. As we sit, we begin to doubt… “Did I miss something? Should I have prayed or done more? Or perhaps I never really heard God in the first place…if this was not God’s will, then how can I trust myself to ever think I hear Him?”
The disciples knew exactly what you are going through. They had a dream that was cruelly crucified right in front of their eyes. They were looking for the Messiah and they thought they had been following Him. However, after a few years their dream was shattered by the penetration of an iron spike into the hands and feet of that dream. They scattered in fear, thinking that all hope was gone and there would be no real tomorrow. They felt that everything they had put stock in was faltering. The sealed tomb confirmed the fact that the dream had died – Jesus had died. Speechless, Jesus’ followers kept watch until the very end. They held on to flickering hope until its flame was extinguished. Then they gave themselves permission to bury their dream.
Burial is a symbol of respect. When dreams shatter, we too need to give ourselves time to gently collect the broken pieces and wrap them respectfully in tears. This is not about prematurely abandoning hope. This is about accepting reality. Denying Jesus’ death would not return Him to the disciples. It was healthy for them to permit a burial. Faith is not threatened by funerals. Take the time. Prepare the spices. Preserve and honor the memories. Rest. Rest is essential—a need, not a luxury—if we are to remain healthy through the burial of dreams. The exciting part is that just like the seed that dies in the ground, and just like Jesus died, in just a few short days the dream that seemed dead will sprout to life in an even greater fashion. What dream seems to have died in your household? Have you buried it yet? When you do finally bury it, get ready because a great resurrection is about to take place.