Pastor Mark Batterson

Where do big dreams come from, and how do you know if one is from God? Start with your view of God, not with the dream. The size of your dreams depends on the size of the God you see. When you delight in Him, He shapes your desires until they line up with His.

Why do you need a vision of God before a vision from God?

Because your view of God sets the ceiling on your faith. Pastor Mark Batterson grew up spiritually at Calvary before going on to pastor National Community Church. He put it this way on Beyond Sunday: we need a vision from God, but more than that, we need a vision of God.

He points to Isaiah, who saw the Lord before he received his calling.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Isaiah 6:1

Batterson tells about a spiritual father of his who, as a young pastor, was frustrated that his congregation wouldn't do what he told them. He sensed the Lord saying, in effect, quit telling them what to do and tell them who I am. When people see God high and exalted, things change.

So ask yourself: is God bigger than your biggest problem? Bigger than your biggest mistake? Our biggest problem, Batterson says, is a small view of God. We reduce Him to our human limits, but He is holy, holy, holy, in a category by Himself.

Where do dreams from God come from?

Dreams from God come from His Spirit at work in you. When the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, Peter quoted the prophet Joel, and one of the results he named was dreams and visions.

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

Acts 2:17

Dreaming and praying go together. The more you pray, the bigger you dream, and the bigger you dream, the more you have to pray. If your dream doesn't scare you, it's probably too small.

Imagination is part of how God made you. Being made in the image of God means you reflect something of His nature, including the ability to create and imagine. Animals hoard, but they don't design cities or write code. God gave people the capacity to imagine what doesn't exist yet.

Does Psalm 37:4 mean God will give you whatever you want?

No. It means that when you delight in God, He changes what you want.

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

People often read this verse as a promise that God will hand you the thing you're wishing for. Batterson says that if you aren't delighting yourself in the Lord, he wouldn't trust your desires. They're often desires of the flesh. When you delight in Him, He begins to conceive new desires in you. You start to want to do the right thing and to love people. It's change from the inside out.

Once God is shaping your desires, they can work like a compass. A question from one of Batterson's grad school professors helps: what makes you cry or pound your fist on the table? What makes you sad or mad may point to a passion God is giving you. Add one more: listen to what makes you glad. God wants to use you where you have God-given passion.

What makes a dream God-sized?

A God-sized dream is one that's beyond your ability, beyond your resources, and beyond your education. You can't do it, but God can. So don't be surprised when you can't see how to get from A to B. That's often where God shows up.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

Ephesians 3:20

Over time, one of two things happens. Either your beliefs shrink to fit your circumstances and you compromise what you believe. Or your circumstances begin to line up with what you believe as you keep exercising faith.

This isn't "name it and claim it." If a dream is outside the will of God, you don't want it. It's a non-starter. But if it's in God's will and for His glory, keep dreaming.

Why does what you believe about God matter so much?

Because everyone is a theologian. At Calvary, we say that everyone holds beliefs about God, and those beliefs shape how you treat Him, other people, and yourself. Batterson adds that each of us is either a good theologian or a bad one.

In a culture that politicizes, demonizes, and dehumanizes, he believes the answer is to theologize, to think about people the way God does. It starts with a theology of dignity: the image of God in me greets the image of God in you.

Common questions

How do I know if a dream is from God?

Start by delighting in the Lord. As He shapes your desires, ask whether the dream fits His will and brings Him glory. A God-sized dream is usually bigger than what you can do on your own.

What does Psalm 37:4 really mean?

It doesn't promise to give you whatever you want. When you delight in the Lord, He changes your desires so they line up with His.

Why does our view of God matter so much?

Your view of God sets the ceiling on your faith. If God seems small, your dreams and prayers will be small too. Isaiah 6 shows a God high and exalted, bigger than any problem or mistake.

Is dreaming big the same as "name it and claim it"?

No. A dream from God has to fit His will and serve His glory. If a dream is outside God's will, you don't want it, no matter how much you desire it.