“A million dreams are keeping me awake. I think of what the world could be.” These words are sung by P.T. Barnum in the movie The Greatest Showman. Barnum had a tough childhood, but he didn’t let his past or his challenges stop him from dreaming. He dreamed of entertaining people in a whole new way and went on to develop the modern-day circus.

In another song Barnum talks about coming alive and “dreaming with eyes wide open.” Sadly a lot of people aren’t doing much dreaming and, in a way, they are not doing much real living. They are frustrated with how things are, but they haven’t been inspired by God’s grace to dream of how it can be.

Last May I was in Cuba and I met some Christians there who kept on dreaming, even during years of persecution and struggles. They dreamed of one day being able to worship the Lord in freedom. They still deal with some restrictions, but compared to how it used to be, many of their dreams have come true.

In July I visited places where great dreamers walked 500 years ago. I was with a group that toured sites that were significant in the history of the Protestant Reformation and the life of Martin Luther. Luther and the Reformers dreamed of a church where people were not deceived into thinking good works could get them right with God. They dreamed of people being able to read the Bible in a language they could understand. They dreamed of a church where leaders served people instead of manipulating and using them. They dreamed of people hearing the good news that you can find forgiveness and get right with God by faith in Jesus. Those big dreams changed the world.

Do you have any dreams or have you let the trials of life and broken dreams of the past cause you to give up dreaming? In Acts 2, on the day we call the birth of the New Testament Church, it says, “… your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” The Spirit of God has come and set the church free to dream.

Sometimes the only dreams people have are of making more money and getting more stuff. Those are small dreams. Because of God’s amazing grace we can dream big dreams. We can dream of broken relationships being healed; people plagued by anxiety finding peace; those enslaved by addictions being set free; those who are apart from God coming to know Jesus and finding new life.

Pray that God gives you a dream “of what the world could be;” a “come alive” kind of dream; a dream big enough that it wakes you up in the morning, inspired by the thought of seeing the dream come true and witnessing what God can do.