Dream bigger: The power of surrendering to God's greater plan

We all carry dreams. Dreams for our careers, families, and future. Yet the most extraordinary, kingdom-shaking dreams rarely begin with a perfect plan. They begin the moment we open our clenched fists and pray, “Your will be done.”

The Old Testament book of Esther illustrates this beautifully. A young Jewish orphan named Esther found herself crowned queen of Persia, seemingly by chance. She enjoyed safety, luxury, and the favor of King Xerxes until a wicked official named Haman convinced the king to sign a decree ordering the slaughter of every Jew in the empire, including the queen herself.

Esther’s cousin Mordecai sent her an urgent message: the palace walls would not protect her. Death was coming for their people. He closed with words that still echo today: “Who knows whether you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther’s first instinct was fear. Approaching the king uninvited could mean instant execution. She had everything to lose: position, comfort, even her life. For many of us, that’s exactly where our own dreams stall. We freeze when obedience looks costly. We protect the small dream we can control instead of risking it for the dream only God can fulfill.

But something shifted. After three days of fasting and prayer, Esther sent word back to Mordecai: “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

That single sentence “If I perish, I perish”, became the hinge on which history turned. Esther risked everything, the king extended his golden scepter, Haman’s plot was exposed, and the Jewish people were saved. An entire nation was delivered because one woman surrendered her smaller dream of survival for God’s greater dream of deliverance.

Her story points us to an even greater surrender: Jesus on the cross, laying down His life so the world could live. When we pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done,” we step into the same legacy of redemptive risk.

Here’s the truth Esther teaches us: the size of your impact is directly tied to the depth of your surrender.

· If your dream never costs you comfort, it may not be God-sized.

· Surrender is not giving up; it’s leveling up. Esther didn’t lose her queenship, she used it to save a nation.

· When we steward faithfully what God has already placed in our hands and say “yes” even when it’s terrifying, massive doors swing open.

Today, many of us feel stuck with dreams that feel delayed, small, or threatened. God may be inviting us to lay them on the altar and trust His greater purpose.

What dream are you clutching that God is asking you to release? What risk is He calling you to take “for such a time as this”?

The biggest dreams aren’t the ones we manufacture, they’re the ones we receive when we echo Esther and Jesus: “Not my will, but Yours be done.” When we live surrendered, we don’t just discover God’s will. We step into the adventure of it—and that is where the truly big dreams come alive.

Chris Bassett is the senior pastor at Harvest Valley Worship Center. Find out more about service times and online resources at hvwc.com.