The Road

I took the road less travelled by —

      Not consciously I chose,

But followed, without knowing why,

      The path that upward rose.

It hasn’t been an easy course,

      My progress often blocked,

But I look back without remorse

      For walking where I walked.

When stumbling in some dip or hole,

      To passion much inclined,

I’ve felt the weakness of my soul,

      And seemed so far behind.

I’ve wondered if I’d chosen right

      To take a path so rough,

But viewing now in clearer light,

      I see ‘twas well enough.

I overcame the dips and rocks,

      And many trials withstood;

The stones I thought were stumbling blocks

      Were there for my own good.

They made me stronger in the race,

      And though I wasn’t fast,

I made some progress by God’s grace —

      And I'll reach home at last.      

~ Nita Brainard

Following Dreams

Follow your dreams is the cry of our day. We all have dreams. There is nothing wrong in that. But there are different kinds of dreams, and they should not all be treated alike.

Some dreams are directly from God. If you have a dream from God, as Joseph had, you should hang on to it and not despise it --- But hanging on to a dream is a different thing from following it. If Joseph had been following his dreams, he wouldn't have chosen slavery in Egypt --- and he probably wouldn't have had his dreams fulfilled.

Most of the dreams that people love to follow are not from God at all and have nothing to do with Him and His concerns. They are not necessarily wrong things --- just self-centered things. These, if we hang on to them at all, must be held with a loose hand by those who die to themselves and follow Christ.

Other dreams that godly people cherish really are centered in God and the things that pertain to Him. They are dreams for His work to be done His way. --- But often our perception of 

what is His work

and

what is His way

is skewed. There is no perfection under the sun, but our dreams tend to be idealistic and are often intermingled with selfish prejudices. Because of this, even these dreams must be held with a loose hand, so they can be refined as our minds are renewed by the word of God. They should only be followed to the degree that they conform to the things which the Bible commands us to follow:

                       The Lord Jesus  Luke 9:23; John 10:27

                       The things which make for peace Rom. 14:9
                       That which is good 1 Thess. 5:15; 3 John 1:11

                       Those who follow Christ 1 Cor.s 11:1; 2 Thess.3:7-9; Heb. 13:7; Rev. 14:13

                       Righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness 1 Tim.6:11
                       Righteousness, faith, charity, peace 2 Tim. 2:22

For a poem about dreams not followed, see Dreams.