Psalm 37:4 says, “delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” But when we do that and God gives us new desires, what’s next? How do we pursue these unique dreams? Diane Jago answers these questions and more in her book, A Holy Pursuit: How the Gospel Frees Us to Follow and Lay Down Our Dreams.
When it comes to dreams, the world typically says to chase them at all costs, even if it means killing your unborn baby (*cough Michelle Williams cough*). This message is also pervasive in the Church. I have seen many pastors encourage us to pursue our God-given dreams or unlock God’s purpose in our lives. There is, however, a competing message in Christendom. And it says to lay down your dreams and deny yourself.
So which one is the right way? Should we be ambitious and chase after our dreams? Or should we lay them down and deny ourselves?
In A Holy Pursuit, Jago invites us to discover the answer ourselves using the Holy Scriptures as a guide. She says, “while each one of us is called to a different life with different circumstances, and while God’s Word may not address your dream specifically, there’s one thing we can be sure of in this dream-chasing world: Scripture does provide trustworthy wisdom to help the Christian navigate when to move forward or not.”
Jago uses her dream chasing experience to point us to the ultimate goal we should chase, being rooted in Christ. She wrote this book to “remind you of who you are in Christ first and then to encourage you to use the truth and hope of the gospel as a lens when pursuing a dream.”
A Holy Pursuit has nine chapters: “The Way of the World Does Dreaming,” “When God Becomes Your Genie, and Your Dreams Become Your God,” “Does Dying to Self Mean Dying to Our Dreams?,” “The Bigger Story,” “The Fruitful Dreamer,” “You Aren’t filler,” “The Christian Dreamer’s Secret Weapon,” “Discernment for Dreamers,” “God’s Will for the Christian Dreamer.”
Each chapter explores Jago’s journey pursuing her dreams of photography and provides valuable lessons she learned on the way.
I loved that Jago doesn’t give us a formula or tells us which route to take. Instead, she points us to the gospel and gives us tools to help us think biblically about our dreams. She is faithful to the Holy Scriptures and reminds us throughout the book to seek God’s glory, not ours. To work for His Kingdom, not build our own.
Jago addressed many other topics in A Holy Pursuit, such as prayer, Bible study techniques, and more. I thought it was a bit too much and made the primary topic—how to chase dreams biblically — less substantial.
This book interested me because I have been wondering whether to pursue my new dreams and how to proceed. Though it provides useful information — particularly the chapter on discernment — I didn’t get as much from it as I hoped.
Nevertheless, I recommend A Holy Pursuit. It’s easy to read, relatable, and provides sound wisdom to live according to God’s Word.
*B&H Publishing graciously gave me a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. *
