Unclaimed Territory

“And now, Lord, what do I wait for and expect?

My hope and expectation are in You”
Psalm 39:7
Amplified Bible

I am a Wife, a Mother, and a Grandmother. These are my primary roles in life. I am also a Sister, a Grand daughter, a Daughter in Law, and a Friend. I am fulfilled by every one of these roles that make up an important part of who I am in life. However, lately there has been a “sounding” in my heart that I am more than these.

I am also a woman with dreams of my own. I have spent several years standing beside my Husband as he made his dreams into a reality. I have spent countless hours talking and counseling others in order to help them “see” who they really are. I have loved and cared for both the old and the young in my life, and that continues to this day.


I have tried to fulfill each and every “role” in my life to the best of my ability. I have always understood that the Lord “places” me into certain roles, and then He takes me out of those roles and proceeds to place me into others.


I know that I am serving Him in each of these capacities, and I have always desired to please Him. I sincerely pray that I have.


However, today I am excited to say that I know that I am more than these roles in my life. I am a woman with dreams of my own. I love feeling the strength and clarity in those words as I say them. They are fairly new to me. I have thought them in different ways, but I have never “owned” them as I do today. This has been “unclaimed” territory in my life up until very recently.

You see, all the time that I was serving others, and helping them with their dreams, the Lord was helping me to see who it is that He has made me to be. Through all of the circumstances in our life, He continues to show us and to teach us certain things. All along He was showing me the things that I needed to see in myself, in order to accomplish all that He had placed inside of my heart. I believe that even now, He is in the process of showing you the things in your life that you will be in need of, also.


Through all of the circumstances in my life, the Lord has patiently taught me, and He continues to do this. It would take me too long to tell you all of the things that the Lord has taught me through all of these different circumstances. The one thing that rings so clearly in my heart is that I am more than all of my experiences in life. I am His child, and He gave me a purpose. He gave me a purpose all of my own. He also placed a dream of my own into my heart and very recently He has shown me that He has given me the courage and determination that it takes, to go after those dreams.


What is it in your own life that could be called “unclaimed” territory? What are your talents? What are the dreams that you have kept hidden in your own heart? What are the things in your life and in your heart that you wish that you had more time to do? What is it that you have always secretly hoped to accomplish?


We all have dreams. For some of us, they have remained hidden. There have been lots of things that we have needed to do for others in our lives that have seemed to hold us back from them. Well, I am here to tell you that those dreams have not been hidden from the Lord. Not only does He know that those dreams are there, but in reality, He is the One that has placed them there!


Before you were even born, the Lord purposed certain things for your life. He had a plan. He gave you dreams. He has also given you the desire to fulfill those dreams. There have been many times when I believed that those dreams inside of me were gone. The truth is that they were not. The truth is that the Lord had been cultivating those dreams inside of me and I believe that He is doing the same with you. He knows exactly what you will need in order to make those dreams come true in your life. He is equipping you with those things, even as I write.

The Lord never does anything in a hurry. He takes all of the time that He needs, in order to properly prepare you for what is ahead. He sees every twist and every turn that you may encounter, and he places inside of you every single thing that you will need to maneuver through each one of them. He is extremely thorough in His care for you and there is nothing that can surprise Him. He is also good.

Today, I encourage each one of you to dream. Take your dreams to the Lord. Talk to Him about your dreams. Consult Him about what it is that is in your heart. You may just find out that He already knows all about those things. You may just find out that He has been waiting for you to come to Him all along. I believe that you will find that He wants to help you to not only claim, but to build upon, all of that unclaimed territory in your life. I also believe that you will be absolutely amazed at what you and He can and will accomplish together.


Written by Beverley A. Napier