It is brave to follow a dream. A dream, by nature, is something imagined and not yet tangible. Following after something so nebulous takes a whole lot of brave.

In today’s devotional, Annie starts to tell her own story of how what she dreamed for her life was only part of the picture God had for her. She writes, “We are meant to make a big impact on the planet. Bigger than we could ever dream up on our own.”

Do you agree with her?

Perhaps you feel your dreams aren’t the ‘big impact on the planet’ kind. If that’s case, I’m reminded of Jesus, right before his ascension to heaven, telling his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) For people used to staying in their small area of the world, telling them that their impact would be “to the ends of the earth” must have been mind-blowing. Even today, in our fast-paced, closer-than-ever world, “the ends” seem pretty far away. Perhaps we ourselves won’t travel the world to its ends being witnesses, but our stories might. Or, we might impact someone who impacts someone until the impact reaches the ends of the world. Perhaps we just need to be brave here and now with who we meet and live with and with the dreams we have, but allow space for God to expand our dreams as he envisions.

And remember, Jesus promised we would receive power; we’re not alone doing it all in our own strength.

I will repeat Downs’ brave challenge, however: List one or two really big dreams you have for your life.

Take courage, make those dreams bigger and write them down where you’re keeping your notes for this book. If you like, ask God to look at them and see if you’re thinking too small. It might take courage to dream big, but that’s what this journey is about.