In other words, what will your dream cost you? Do you know? Are you even aware it will cost you something or do you think you will get it for free? If you do not know what it will cost you, then you may be in for a big surprise. Nothing of value is free; if your dream is of any value it has a price tag on it. It is not free and it will not be yours until the price has been paid. You will have to pay a price to get it and you may have to make that payment more than once.
Many people fail in the realisation of their dreams because they do not know this truth. They have a dream and they get very excited because they see only the end of the dream. Like Joseph, they see the sun, moon and eleven stars bowing before them but they do not realise that between the dream and the actualisation of the dream, is a payment; a payment that they are not only unaware of but unwilling to make. When it is time to pay for that which they claim they want, they chicken out and abandon their dream because the price is too high, or so they think. As a result, they never see their dream actualised.
Jacob’s dream was to marry Rachel and he offered to work seven years for her but at the end of this period, he was given Leah and asked to serve another seven years for the woman he wanted. His dream cost him more than he had initially bargained for, far more than he had initially been willing to pay, but because he was ready to make a second payment, he eventually got what he wanted.
Joseph dreamed of greatness; he saw his entire family bowing before him but there was a price to pay. He was separated from his loved ones and everything familiar to him. For his dream, he became a slave and was taken to live in a strange land where he knew no one and where he had no hope of ever seeing his loved ones again. Just when he found favour with Potiphar and things began to look up for him, he was required to make a second payment for his dream; Potiphar’s wife framed him and he was jailed. However, his dream of greatness became a reality because he paid the price.
David was anointed king of Israel and must have thought he would sit on the throne easily when Saul died but, not so. First, he had to abandon his father’s house and his place of comfort in exchange for many years of living in caves as he ran and hid from Saul who sought desperately to kill him. Eventually, because he persisted, and did not renounce the anointing, the throne was his.
Whatever you want, life will ensure you pay for it; it is that simple. Until you pay, the dream will not be yours. The bigger the dream, the higher the cost and the more times you will be required to make a payment. So, before you get excited about that dream sit down and count the cost. Consider what it will cost you, and what you are willing to pay. Also, determine what you are not willing to pay.
