We can sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that God only cares about whether or not we are following the “rules” or not. That as long as we’re attending Mass, doing our best to combat sin, and maintaining a prayer life, that He doesn’t really care what else we’re up to.

Deep down, we believe that when it comes to our dreams and hopes He is somewhat disinterested.

Even more, we might actually feel that we’re being selfish for having dreams. That our own desires and longings are not to be pursued. Or think we’re not worthy of a big dream or that God couldn’t do anything with us. But that is not the heart of a Father for His child.

But God is actually the one who gives us our dreams. He wants good things for us.

And our dreams—when authentic and based on a relationship with Him—actually point to the fulfillment of our vocation. The desires of our hearts are often there on purpose.

God knows of every hair on our heads. He knit us together in our mothers’ wombs and designed every part of our being. And like any loving parent—especially one who is perfectly loving—He deeply cares about every single aspect of our lives, hearts, and minds. He wants to be intimately involved in our lives. He wants us to be joyful and fulfilled. He wants to journey with us on the adventure that is being His disciple. And it’s no different when it comes to our dreams.

When I was not particularly involved in my faith, I dreamed of having a certain level of comfort in my life, earning a lot of money, and being successful in my career. While none of these things are necessarily bad in and of themselves, it was nowhere near big enough in God’s eyes because they didn’t take into account how God wanted me to play an integral part in building the kingdom of heaven.

Those ideas I had of a great big life didn’t take into account that God created me to give and receive love—in a variety of ways—and that only by participating in such a love would I be truly fulfilled.

It wasn’t that God didn’t want me to dream, it was that He wanted me to dream in ways that would actually lead to authentic joy and peace in life. He wanted me to dream with Him.

As I grew in my spiritual life and let God into my dreaming, not only did my dreams change but I started to dream more and more. The Lord started to give me grander pictures of my life: dreams related to writing, mentoring, and teaching others in order to share the beauty and truth of Christianity. In prayer, I began to see clearly that God was calling me to something more beautiful and for Him.

God doesn’t ever dream small, and He doesn’t want us to, either.

Let’s consider the saints. They had vastly different hopes and dreams when it came to giving their lives over to God. St. Francis of Assisi served God by renewing the church and embracing a life of poverty. St. Paul helped evangelize the known ancient world. St. Thomas Aquinas brought God’s truth to the world through study and scholarship.

In each of these cases, God responded to their desire to serve and helped them fulfill their big dreams of loving God and others. In other words, your big dreams are often put there on purpose, built into how you were created and your purpose.

None of them could surely have known just how influential the fulfillment of their dreams would be for the history of the Church and the world.

But that is also the beauty of God-given dreams. He often leads us to things greater than we could have ever imagined.

So how does God want to use your gifts and talents to bring His love to others? How might your longings actually point to how God desires you to experience His joy in the world? Just like the saints, God wants you to follow the dreams He has placed in your heart!

Have you ever asked yourself: Am I dreaming big enough? Do my dreams seem like God is calling me to the impossible? Do they feel like they could only happen if God stepped in?

Sometimes God-given dreams are the ones that scare us because they are only possible if God steps in.

It’s important to clarify God-given dreams. The dreams that God wants us to pursue are the ones that are linked to our true and genuine desires and that align with His truth. God wants to use our unique gifts and circumstances, aligned with the desires He has embedded into our souls, to do great and wonderful things built on love.

So how do we know if it’s a God-given dream or not? We have to be close enough to Him to hear His voice.

Dreams can be revealed to us as we deepen our relationship with God through prayer. It’s in prayer that we come to realize just how much He cares about our unique and personal desires—and how much He wants to be involved in our pursuit of them. It’s here that we can talk to Him about our dreams, ask Him for peace and guidance in what direction to take. It’s also here where our hearts will start aligning with His.

You may dream of starting a non-profit to bring education to others or a business to offer a valuable service to our communities.

You may hope to publish a book to inspire others or get married and have a family that reflects God’s love.

You may have multiple big dreams or only a few.

You may have a conventional dream or a less conventional dream. You may not know what your dream is yet.

Remember they can also be big to God without being “big” in the eyes of the world. What matters to God is often very different than what matters to the world. God’s “big” dream for one might be having them live a humble life as a religious monk or teaching young children at a small rural school. But within that is an adventure with Him that may be more satisfying, joyful, and rich than anything else in life. To God, these are all big because they make up an integral and unrepeatable part of building up His kingdom here on earth.

And what if you don’t have a dream but are seeking to know? We can pray and ask Him to reveal our authentic desires and how He wants us to live as a personal disciple of Christ. Or practice some discernment (I recommend resources either here or here).

Whatever they are, when they come from our authentic desires, God wants us to pursue them with faith and trust. They won’t keep you from challenges or hardships as you pursue them. The big dreams God wants for us will demand everything from us. They will require boldness and immense faith. They may even seem impossible at times. They will require that we grow in faith, hope, and love. But requiring much of us is exactly what makes them so incredible.

We can have confidence that God is rooting for us and helping us—no matter the challenges. Pursuing our big dreams may be hard at times, and there is no guarantee that we’ll fulfill them (at least not in the exact ways we might expect). But if we stay close to Christ and keep dreaming, we can have hope that God will be with us and help us pursue lives of meaning, joy, and love.

So, take heart, offer your big dreams to the Lord, and remember that all things are possible to God who loves us.