I feel like mediocre has taken over our world and we don’t even know it. Instead of dreaming big, most of us have already settled for a boring, unimposing life or maybe even less. The media and the people around us have made this type of living NORMAL, when really it is far from it. The world has given “dreaming big” a whole other definition; it is associated with making it big; having a good-paying job, a nice car or being famous. But no, it’s much bigger than just ME and YOU. It is thinking of a generation, making a difference in a whole nation and basically changing the world. That’s dreaming big. But the world has set the standards very, very low that changing the world has become just another cliché.

When I asked myself why I haven’t been able to dream big, I realized that it was because I was afraid of how actually big it was, afraid I wouldn’t make it. There’s a saying, “expecting too much disappoints too much.” But every time I expected less and tried to roll with the mediocre standard people had set for me, I understood that I was disappointing God, I was undermining what He can do. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can imagine or ask. Mind you, it says ‘exceedingly’. This means that He actually needs something to exceed. So if you dream, at least make it count, make it bigger. Raise your standards, dare to dream and you will see Him exceed those standards and do mind-blowing and incredible miracles. If you don’t, then He’ll meet you right where you expected, at the level of your abilities, but not His.

Of course it’s not easy to dream big. It takes courage to believe that you can be the solution for the things that annoy you. It’s hard to stand up and fight when you can easily sit and complain. It will require you to have strong faith to trust God with everything you have. Because when God gives you a vision, it is not just for you but for the whole generation and ones yet to come. It could mean giving up your own dreams for it. It also means that you will need to stand only on his promise when situations get tough. It will pay off at the end, and in between!

So I encourage you to dream big dreams, God-sized dreams. Do not be afraid for He is on your side. If you trust God with the vision He has given you, then you will see Him exceed it beyond what you could possibly imagine. So let us rise up Africa, let’s raise our standards, fight against mediocrity and take our rightful places. The time is now and it is not a joke. The world is waiting.