Why YoWhy Your Dreams Feel So Far Away (And How to Bridge the Gap)
Your current self can’t fully comprehend who you’re meant to become.
When we envision our future—maybe it’s finding the right partner, buying our dream home, starting that business, or all three—we make a crucial mistake. We picture our current selves simply dropped into those circumstances. No wonder our goals feel impossibly distant.
But what if the problem isn’t the timeline? What if it’s our capacity?
The Jar Analogy: Why “Making Room” Isn’t Enough
Think of yourself as a jar, and your dreams as water you want to pour in. Right now, you’re completely full—career demands, family responsibilities, daily obligations fill every inch of available space. When you look at your packed life, adding anything new seems impossible.
The typical advice? Empty some things out. Work fewer hours, delegate responsibilities, cut ties with draining relationships. While this might create temporary space, you’ll inevitably fill back up with a slightly different mix of the same types of commitments.
The real solution isn’t emptying your jar—it’s becoming a bigger jar.
The Heat of Transformation
Ever watched glass being made? The process involves intense heat and careful molding. Raw material must be completely transformed to become something beautiful and functional. If you want to hold more in your life, you must be willing to go through your own process of expansion.
This means:
- Making time for school when your schedule already feels impossible
- Creating space for fitness when you’re exhausted
- Prioritizing spiritual growth when everything else feels urgent
Your capacity must increase to achieve what you want. There’s no way around the work—only through it.
From Ideas to Decisions: The Progression of Faith
My pastor shared something profound recently: many people get delivered from their problems but never reach their promised land because they refuse to make real decisions about what they want from life.
Here’s the progression:
- Thinking about what you want = having an idea
- Writing it down = making a choice
- Taking action = making a decision
Most people get stuck in the first two stages, never crossing the bridge to decisive action.
Abraham’s Example: Faith in Action
The Bible gives us Abraham as the ultimate example of faith-driven expansion. Romans 4:19-22 describes a man who faced seemingly impossible circumstances:
“Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb. Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised. This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.'”
Abraham didn’t ignore reality—he acknowledged his limitations. But he also understood something crucial: God’s promises often require us to grow beyond our current capacity. Abraham went through trials, setbacks, and seasons of waiting. Yet his willingness to be molded eventually led to the fulfillment of his deepest desire.
Today, Abraham is considered the father of three major world religions with over 3.8 billion combined followers. His legacy exists because he was willing to be transformed, not just blessed.
Life as the Furnace
Here’s the truth: your dreams align perfectly with God’s plan for you. Therefore, the only question is whether you’re willing to trust the process and do the work required to get there.
Life serves as the furnace. God acts as the molder. You represent the glass.
The heat you’re experiencing—the pressure, the challenges, the seasons of growth—isn’t punishment. Instead, it’s preparation. Consequently, you’re expanding to hold everything God wants to pour into your life.
Your Choice: Expansion or Stagnation
You face two options:
Option 1: Keep hoping something will miraculously change while avoiding the work, the heat, the molding process. Furthermore, stay comfortable in your current capacity and wonder why your dreams never materialize.
Option 2: Embrace the furnace. Additionally, make the decision to grow. Finally, trust that the God who planted those dreams in your heart also prepares you to receive them.
The choice belongs to you. However, remember—the future version of yourself, the one living your dreams, exists on the other side of your willingness to undergo transformation.
Are you ready to become a bigger jar?
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