Episode 12: Permission to Dream

Welcome back to The Power of Permission.

Today, we’re talking about permission to dream.

A dream is a mental picture of a future possibility. It’s high on inspiration, but often low on structure. It’s a deep desire for how we hope the future could look.

But dreaming takes courage.

Because to dream, we have to be willing to imagine something that does not yet exist. We have to risk disappointment. We have to live with uncertainty. We have to believe that the future could look different than the present.

And maybe that’s why all the permissions we’ve talked about throughout this series matter so much.

We need permission to belong so we don’t have to prove our worth through the dream.

Permission to be human so we can have limits, setbacks, emotions, and needs along the way.

Permission over perfection so we can begin before we have everything figured out.

Permission to rest so we don’t burn out before the dream has time to grow.

Permission to play so we don’t lose our joy and creativity.

Permission to tell the truth, set boundaries, forgive, break old agreements, and rewrite the stories that have kept us stuck.

And finally, permission to begin—to take that first faithful step.

All of those permissions create the freedom we need not only to dream the dream, but to become the person capable of carrying it.

Joseph gives us a powerful picture of this. He received a dream when he was young, but the fulfillment came years later—and not through the route he would have expected or preferred. The dream was real, but the process shaped him. God used the waiting, the disappointment, the leadership, the loss, and even the detours to prepare Joseph for what the dream would eventually require of him.

So today, we’re not just asking, “What do I want my future to look like?”

We’re asking:

What has God placed in my heart?

What have I stopped dreaming about because I was afraid to hope again?

Who do I need to become to faithfully carry what I’m asking God for?

And am I willing to trust God if the fulfillment looks different than the picture I originally imagined?

Because faith gives us permission to dream big—but surrender keeps our hands open.

You have permission to imagine what could be.

You have permission to hope again.

You have permission to dream.

Book The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery: Connecting Neuroscience and Faith to Radically Transform Your Life https://a.co/d/0fSBowY4

Andy Stanley Visioneering https://a.co/d/0dYDJMr9