Whether your dream for 2010 is to kick-start a credible youth service in your church or to impress Simon Cowell with your bump 'n grind rendition of 'Millennium Prayer' (best seek the advice of a church elder on that one) you're going to need plenty of iron in your soul.
Every dream will taste the pin-prick test sooner or later. But it's not the pain, it's the praise that will say whether you survive. Early church hero Paul dreamed of spreading God's happy-clappiness around the ancient world.
After 16 months of being chained in a Roman dungeon, you'd expect him to be all 'woe is me', but this guy's happy-clappy is still going strong.
Listen: 'Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, rejoice' (Philippians 4:4 NAS).
How did he keep his smile when the world was telling him to frown?
Extra brownie points for all you who answered: vision.
Vision says: It's not over till God says it's over.
Circumstances and people don't have the last word; God does!
He is 'the author and finisher of our faith ...' (Hebrews 12:2 NKJ).
With God, quitting is not an option. When you quit without his permission you're 'AWOL'; you abandon His protection and provision.
Vision also says: Nothing can defeat you without your permission. You can't control what happens to you, but you can control what you say and do.
Take control; hold onto vision.
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