The Bible says,

“Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior”

(Habakkuk 3:17-18).

Do you want to be a victim or a victor? Do you want to be comfortable or a conqueror? Do you want to see “impossible” dreams come true, to the glory of God? Jesus is coming back as the King of kings. If you want to be a king, you’re going to have to be willing to commit yourself to sacrifice and suffering. Kings process pain and pleasure differently than other people.

The Bible says Jesus “learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

Scripture adds, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10).

The apostle Paul said, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory, beyond all comprehension” (2 Corinthians 4:17). In his cell in chains, he looked at his own death sentence and suffering for Christ and said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). .

When you’re lied about and betrayed, and you forgive and remain silent rather than attempt to destroy the person who is slandering you, you still love them and suffer for Christ’s sake. The price of admission to change the world is unspeakable evil and betrayal, and when it comes, you cannot play the victim.

Are the things you’re living for worth Christ dying for? Are you willing to live your life in the light of eternity? The apostle Paul said that he wanted to know Christ and the fellowship of His suffering. If you truly want to change the world, then celebrate suffering and sacrifice. Seek the Jesus who shows up in the flames of fire.

It is in the quiet crucible of your personal suffering that your noblest dreams are born. God’s greatest gifts are given in compensation for what you’ve been through. You’re going to be betrayed. You’re going to be rejected by those you’ve loved the most if you choose the narrow path. How much rejection and pain and disappointment can you tolerate before you turn your back on the Savior? Beginning strong is not a sign of a surrendered life. Finishing strong is.

When things are going well, we see Christ as a conquering Savior. But when things go badly, do you still see Him that way? To be an overcomer, you must have something to overcome. If you don’t have an opponent, you don’t have a victory. Most who celebrate with you on the mountain will not be with you in the fire. Everyone wants a theology that celebrates those who get fire protection. How about a theology that celebrates those who choose to suffer in the fire and embraces a God who walks through the fire with us?

In one week, the crowds went from celebrating the Savior with their Hosannas to despising and rejecting Him. As the prophet Isaiah said, they hid their faces from Him. Jesus never hid suffering from His followers. He told them that if you follow Me, you’re going to have to take up My cross. The cross was a curse word. It was a symbol of shame. The Jesus I have found is more powerful in your suffering than in your celebrations. Sometimes He stills the storms, but most of the time He stills us in the midst of the storms. His word to you and me and this generation is the same: Take up My cross and follow Me.

Revelations born from suffering for Christ are the engines of God that fuel His eternal purposes on earth. It will cause you to see what He sees, hear what He hears, and do what He does. The Christian life is not about winning and being number one. It’s about Jesus being number one. If I must protect my name at all costs, my reputation at all costs, my career at all costs, my income at all costs, and my influence at all costs, it will lead to a self-inspired narrative (S.I.N.).

The Christian life is about surrendering all of our life for His glory and His story. That’s what I have learned about God’s dreams, and how they come to pass.  Sacrifice and suffering can fuel your dreams if you let them.

I’m asking you to dream big, walk on water, and step out by faith. That’s what Peter did when he was in the Galilee on the boat, and Jesus invited him onto the unknown. He stepped out by faith. Let’s read the story, and as you do, think about your dreams and what God is calling you to do. 
 
“But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ “‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ 
“‘Come,’ He said. “Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” “Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’
“And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”
—Matthew 14:27-33
 
Peter did the impossible, even if only for a few steps. And notice, when the scene was over, and everyone was in the boat together, all the glory and awe were directed to God. Dreaming big and stepping out is not about you and me; it’s about bringing praise to God. When you have a dream from God, you have to step out by faith. The dream God gave me at age eleven didn’t come to pass when I was 12 or even 21. I didn’t see the real significance of that dream until over 20 years later.
 
God-inspired dreams make room for the impossible because God is the architect and the One Who fulfils the dream. Our role is to obey what He tells us to do. And you can have the assurance that God gave you that word. One word from God can change your life forever. Faith moves the hand of God and turns the head of God.
 
Obedience and faith in God’s dreams unlock His favor in your life and in the lives of those around you. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines favor as “regard shown toward another, especially by gracious kindness; a special privilege or right granted.” As children of God, we receive forgiveness and favor—His gracious kindness. Jesus humbled Himself in obedience to the Father. He gave His life so that you and I could experience forgiveness for sin. God’s favor rests upon Him and is released abundantly in our lives when we follow in Jesus’ footsteps. One important lesson to be learned: God bestows His favor so that you may live in the fruits of His blessing. When that happens, God is glorified and you are blessed beyond measure. 
 
Sometimes the biggest dreams move God to show up in the biggest ways. And, despite our mistakes and wrong turns, God’s dreams can come to pass. 

I wasn’t fully aware of how I operated in the area of dreams until I had lunch one day with an evangelist friend. “I’ve been watching you for several years,” he said. “You say you’re going to go to New York City and meet with the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and it actually comes to pass. You say that you’re going to go to India and preach to a million people, and it actually comes to pass. You say you’re going to go preach to the Kremlin Palace in Moscow, and it comes to pass. You say you’re going to speak at the 43rd General Assembly of the United Nations at the peace conference, and it comes to pass.”

He paused, looked me in the eye, and asked, “Do you know how you do what you do?” “No, I don’t,” I replied. “It’s found in 1 Corinthians 12. It’s the gift of faith, verse nine. All believers have been given saving faith by God as the means of salvation. That’s found in Ephesians 2:8-9. But few believers operate in the gift of faith. I don’t. The Bible says to earnestly desire the best gifts. You have obviously desired this gift, and God has given it to you.”

Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:12-14, NIV). In Mark 11:23, Jesus also taught, “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” 

In my view, the greatest gift Jesus operated in was a gift of faith. One of the things I realized about the gift of faith is that you don’t just receive it and it stays with you. The gift of faith can come on you in an astonishing way, and when it comes, you can know in your mind what you’re believing for has already happened. You can’t differentiate the future promise from present reality. That’s why your faith is so important when it comes to your dreams. You must believe in this vivid way—and God will help you.

I have probably experienced the power of the gift of faith 30 or 40 times in my life. I don’t believe for a second that God chose to give me the gift of faith simply because I was special. I believe that those gifts are available for all believers, but you don’t hear much teaching about the gift of faith. You also don’t see many people hungering and thirsting and earnestly desiring the gift of faith. You do see people earnestly hungering and desiring other gifts of the Holy Spirit, but for some reason, the revelation of the gift of faith has been ignored by most believers.

I pray that God will open your eyes to it and that you will be able to truly have a purpose and favor and receive this glorious gift. The gift of faith is not normal faith. It’s a supernatural faith that God gives you for a special need or opportunity. It’s extraordinary, mountain-moving faith for supernatural results and in specific situations.

If we met for coffee to talk about your dreams and hopes, I’m sure you could tell me about them, but could you show them to me? Do you have them written down right now? It’s not too late to begin writing. There’s a powerful difference between thinking about your dreams and writing them down. Yes, thinking about and meditating on them is important, but if you don’t write them down, these God-given dreams can become less real, and they can fade. That’s why God instructed the prophet Habakkuk to write down the vision.

“I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Then the Lord replied: ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.’”
—Habakkuk 2:1-3

Writing your dreams is part of stewarding your dreams. Let’s look at these verses again and make them personal to our journey. Notice the process:

Wait on God. This requires an investment of time, focus, and humility.
Listen for what He says and the visions He impresses on you.
When it is clear, write it down. Make it simple and bold. If the vision seems too big to come to pass, that’s great! We want dreams that are too big for us—nothing is too big for God.
Tell your dream to those close to you. Post it in your home.
Believe. No matter the circumstances, hold on to the vision. That’s another important reason to have it written and visible.
Take steps to walk out your dream.

If you begin this practice, you will be amazed at how God works to bring those dreams to life. My dream journal is one of the most important tools of my life, and I know it will be for you as well.

A dream is an insight, an inspiration. It’s seeing something beyond what exists in this world. This can be something that we experience while we sleep, or while we’re wide awake. Dreams can be something you hope will happen, something that gives you a sense of peace or excitement, or something that moves your heart deeply. A dream can simply be a sense of knowing what to do next, or what not to do.

I believe in dreams and visions because the Bible is full of stories about them. One of the reasons people dismiss the idea of pursuing dreams is because the idea of acting on them can be scary or confusing. Is this just my imagination? If I went after this with my whole heart, what might happen? What if I’m wrong? Yes, we have to learn to discern between our imagination and divine spark. And through this process, we’ll occasionally make mistakes. But do you know the biggest mistake people make? It’s not following their dreams.

In late 2024, I was invited to attend the inauguration of President Donald Trump, and I felt that I should not attend. But as clearly as this decision came, I instantly had another thought. What if I hosted an event celebrating the inauguration—in Israel? At that moment I could “see” the Friends of Zion auditorium packed with people, watching a live broadcast from Washington, D.C. Then the dream-stealers arrived, right on cue. “Nothing like this has ever been done.” I called the former ambassador, David Friedman, and asked him what he thought. He said, “Mike, I don’t think it’ll work. I don’t think anybody’s going to come.” But we acted on the idea. We invited friends and dignitaries from around the world, including foreign ambassadors, and the event was a phenomenal success. Almost 1,000 people stood in line for over an hour attend.

How to we begin living a life of dreaming? In this story of our inauguration celebration, there are some keys. First comes the discernment and then comes the spark of vision—you can see it in your heart. Then comes the opposition. And you have a choice to make. I’ve learned, and you can too, to focus on what you’re going to, not what you’re going through. Yes, there’s a price to pay for your dreams. But the cost is worth it when the dream comes true.

The greatest aspect missing from my childhood was not receiving any affirmation. But I later realized that what motivates me to pursue the dreams of God is His divine affirmation. When I see a God-inspired dream come to pass, I’m flooded with a sense of awe and gratitude. It’s like a slap on the shoulder from Jehovah God saying, “I’m proud of you! Great job.” It’s the greatest high, and it all comes because of a dream. And with that affirmation comes favor with others.

My daughter has been with me when I met with the Prime Minister of Israel, and many other leaders from all over the world. Every time she’d come out of these meetings, she’d cry in the car. “Dad, they love you! They respect you. They ask you questions. It’s beyond anything I could have imagined. Divine affirmation.”

I’ve been married 55 years to my best friend. My children consider me a hero and a friend. I’ve never dabbled in drugs or alcohol and yet had one of the most dysfunctional childhoods you could imagine. When you receive divine affirmation, it fills the quest to be loved. Only then can you focus on giving love.

I’ll be honest with you. I would have never chosen me. I was the most broken child you’ve ever imagined, and certainly not one who had any gifts. I didn’t go to high school. I never took a writing course, nor a speaking course. But God is crazy about me, and He’s crazy about you. 

Some people think, I don’t have any dreams… I don’t even have any ideas! Well, I have great news for you. God has plenty. And His dreams impact your destiny and the destiny of this world. You have to know why you were born. And the only one who can tell you the answer is the One who created you. Will you ask the question? Will you expect an answer—in ways that might surprise you? To live a life of dreams, you have to engage with The Dreamer. He has dreams for your life.