Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
June 6, 2012

“The Difference between Dreaming for God and Day-Dreaming”
“How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?” – Proverbs 6:9

“At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, ‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you.’ Solomon answered… ‘So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” (1st Kings 3:5-9)

"Nothing ever built arose to touch the skies unless some man dreamed that it should, some man believed that it could, and some man willed that it must." – Charles Francis Kettering
In a dream Solomon was given an incredible gift—a choice that to this day has benefited billions. What made that dream and the ensuing decision so important is how Solomon acted upon it…every day. That is the difference between dreaming with and for God as opposed to just “day-dreaming” or wishing.
In his Proverb, the sluggard represents the “day-dreamer;” one who sees what is needed but does little to act upon it. Not so with the “God” dreamer!
Inventor/Researcher/Engineer, Charles Francis Kettering was one of America’s most creative inventors and automotive engineers. He was a “screwdriver and pliers” inventor who, even 50 years after his death, continues to impact our lives on a daily basis. Take for example this sampling of his inventions: electric cash register, electric ignition system for American cars (first appeared on the 1912 Cadillac), spark plugs, Freon, leaded gasoline, safety glass, four-wheel brakes, and the automatic transmission. He acquired 140 patents in his name.
He is remembered for his
"Ketteringisms"—sayings that have made it into our vocabulary without even knowing the background of who said it. The above quote is one of them. In 1945 Kettering and Alfred Sloan founded Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in New York City, considered one of the world's leading cancer institute’s today.
The world is full of people whose best days are behind them. And I am not talking about the elderly!! You know the kind. Some of them are in our churches today. They are the ones about whom it has been said, “There goes a man who is so heavenly-minded that he is of no earthly good.” That’s not the kind of “dreamers” we want to follow.
Instead, today’s Church needs dreamers who dream God’s dreams after Him. The Church needs people who can visualize things that should be, who believe in things that could be, and who have the will to do whatever it takes to see the dream through. I think that's the way God designed us! Which one are you today? Do you feel you have given all you are going to? Do you believe you are no longer vital to the Kingdom? Think again!! Everyone has a part to play if we would just believe in a God that is much stronger and bigger than often our small dreams.
God will give each of us a discerning heart and mind if we would but ask and then act! Solomon asked and was granted his desire—but it did not end there. He used that gift many times over. That is the difference between God-dreaming and day-dreaming.
Pastor J. T. Carnell