Have you been all over town, knocking on every innkeeper’s door, hoping one will find room for your dream to come forth? Do you feel like you’re ready to give birth to your dream only to have every door of opportunity slammed in your face? Well don’t worry, my friend because regardless of what you see in the natural, God has already gone before you, and He has worked everything out for your good. Your job now is to keep your vision alive and bring forth what He has promised. Because despite all those “No’s” from every innkeeper you’ve encountered, it’s confirmation that God is positioning you to find the right room so your dream can be birthed.

In Luke chapter 1, we read that the angel is announcing Christ’s birth to Mary. He tells her that she will conceive and bring forth a Son, and she is to call Him, Jesus. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son and shall call His name JESUS.’ Luke 1:31-32. The vision had been spoken over Mary and was conceived within her by God. Now, all Mary needed to do to bring forth the dream was to find the right room to give birth to that promise.

In the Christmas carol, ‘Joy to the world’, we sing about every heart preparing Him room. The question is, are you prepared to give God the room in your heart for Him to move? And, once a God-breathed dream has been conceived within you, how are you going to bring forth the promise when all you’re getting is a constant “No” from innkeepers? How do you find the right room so your dream can be birthed?  

Keep your promise hidden so it can gain strength.

In the gospel of Matthew, we read the announcement from a different point of view. Matthew writes from Joseph’s perspective. ‘Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.’ Matthew 1:19 

In those days the penalty for being an unwed mother was capital punishment. If Mary was exposed, she would be subjected to judgment and shame from the village. At this point, only Mary and Joseph knew the promise was conceived within her, and it was important that they prepared room in their minds and hearts for what lay ahead of them.

We need to understand that when a promise is conceived it’s small and fragile. Wisdom calls for you to only share your dream with people whom you can trust, so it can gain strength. Keep your promise hidden as long as you can because once Herod finds out that you’re going to birth something powerful, he’ll want to kill it before it grows any bigger. It is important your heart prepares room for God to move in your life because He will make sure that as the promise starts to grow on the inside of you, your capacity to hold it will need to expand until you cannot hide your vision from other people any longer. Your dream needs to be birthed, your vision needs space to grow and your promise needs the right room to be birthed in because ‘God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you?’ Matthew 5:15

 A “NO” FROM EVERY INNKEEPER HELPS YOU TO FIND THE RIGHT ROOM

Can you imagine the discouragement that was bubbling up on the inside of Mary as every single door Joseph knocked on to find somewhere for her to give birth to her promise was shut in their faces? How you react to the “No’s” you’ll most likely get along your dream journey will set the foundation for the dream to be built on. Only grit and determination will cement the stones together of your dream, and you’re going to need every ounce of determination you can muster to see your promise birthed.

There was no room at the inn for Mary to give birth to her promise, she got a lot of “No’s” before she got a “yes”. There’s always going to be rejection connected to your dream. Every innkeeper you encounter along the path towards your dream is going to say, “No room at the inn”. This is why innkeepers are in your story. They are there to help you find the right room. This is the test that builds character on your promise. Remember, innkeepers are only in your story to position you to where God needs you to be. If Mary had given birth to her promise in a comfortable bed, surrounded by her cheer squad and a ticker-tape parade it would not have had the same meaning. A “No” from an innkeeper doesn’t necessarily mean a “No” from God. God just uses all those “No’s” so that you’re positioned in the right room for your dream to be birthed.

The vision of your dream will turn out different from what you imagined – and that’s okay.

After arriving at the inn where an innkeeper said that there was a “room” around the back for Mary to give birth in, she would have been desperate to lay down. I can imagine the innkeeper leading them to the “birthing suite” which was a dirty stable that she’ll be sharing with a donkey and a cow. Imagine the conversation between Joseph and Mary that followed this revelation! But I can also imagine a steely resolve rest across Mary’s countenance. By this time, she was desperate to give birth to the promise, and after all she’d been through, she probably didn’t care where she birthed her promise. Mary understood that her surroundings didn’t matter. All that mattered was bringing forth God’s Son safety.

Like Mary, the vision of your dream will turn out different from what you imagined. Maybe you didn’t picture the floor of a dirty, smelly stable for your promise to be birthed, and I’m sure it was probably not where Mary had in mind either. However, one of the names of Jesus is Emmanuel, which means, ‘God with us’, and regardless of where God has positioned you to give birth to your dream, it is exactly where He wants you. When you know Emmanuel will always be with you, you won’t worry about all the “No’s” from the innkeepers and you won’t worry about your surroundings of where your dream is to be birthed.

So, as this year finally closes and we raise a glass to celebrate in the new year, just remember,

1. Keep your promise hidden so it can gain strength.
2. A “No” from every innkeeper helps you find the right room.
3. The vision of your dream will turn out different from what you imagined – and that’s okay.

   Keep knocking on those innkeeper doors until you find the right room. Prepare your heart so God has the room to move within you and for your dream to be birthed. And don’t worry. If God is all over your big dream, it’s a stable promise!

…I thank you.

Wendy xo

Where has a “No” from an innkeeper helped you to find the right room so you could give birth to your dream? Was it different from how you imagined it to be?