When it comes to dreams, there was no better dreamer than Joseph.
When we dream, we often dream with our eyes open, but Joseph dreamed with eyes closed. We love to daydream, don't we? As for Joseph, his dreams came from the Revealer of dreams (Genesis 37:5-9) Himself. There he was, not understanding what the dreams were all about, but he humbly submitted to the dream God has for him. And it worked. "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" (1Peter 5:6). An ingredient to dreams that always work.
At a young age, Joseph knew what he was going to be. It is astonishing, for many of us often go through life clueless. Even with hair turning gray, many still do not know our purpose. We have missed one point. Or more like, have missed connecting the points, specifically, the point of our beginning to our end. Joseph had spent a lot of time with his father, being the favored son that he was, that his father, Jacob, must have talked to him about the God he served. The God who had given him hope when he was a runaway, given him grace when he was filled with guilt, and given him assurance of heaven's love for him personally and for all of mankind. Oh, how Joseph must have listened, and how he grew in the faith that his father's God had plans for him as He had with his father, Jacob. He knew that there was no other way to start life but, to start it, with God.
We need to look back to where we come from to see the vision that God has for us. God created us. The psalmist exclaimed, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Your works; and my soul knows it right well" (Psalm 139:14). He created us for a purpose. If many could have known their beginnings, then there would have been less lives being wasted away and more lives cherished and lived with purpose.
Then there's the dream. Joseph's dream was just too grand, too big, and therefore, too absurd! His brothers and father would bow down to him? Preposterous! We often dream only of what we see--- a better house, a car, 1 son and 1 daughter, a stable job, a safe neighborhood, a comfortable existence, a happy and financially secure family. So what is wrong with our dreams?
Joseph's was given by God, ours, often stem from our needs and from the world's. Our need is not the call. Nor is the world's shifting standards are. We are called not to be comfortable, or successful or weathy as the world dictates, but to take up with courage whatever God lays down before us and be blessed with the blessings He gives. For "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17). So when Jesus asked us to "take up our cross and follow Him" (Luke 8:23), believe that He has our best intentions at heart. Whatever it may be, wherever we may be. He is our good shepherd. "The blessings of the Lord make rich, and He adds no sorrow with it" (Proverbs 10:22). We are called to faithfully trust Him whatever is the journey that He has chosen for us to take. When the Holy Spirit has taught us this, then we become too restless to settle for less than what God has called us to do.
And as for working the dream? Joseph went through all the process of seeing God's dream for him come true. He waited. He went through the in-between. He had his heart broken. He got betrayed. He was sold. He slaved through. He was tried and tempted. He had to run away. He was convicted as a felon. He spent time in his personal hole--- where it was dark and lonely. He was forgotten. And he could have given up. He could have reasoned that the dream was foolish. That God was cruel. He could have given up on God's goodness. But no, Joseph persevered. He held on tightly to God, even in the darkest hour when that dream seemed so distant and God seemed absent. He held on in faith. Then dawn came. And slowly God's dream for him came true right before his eyes. What about you and me?
How are we faring on the waiting game? Do we have the faith that starts out childlike--- tenacious and stubborn, not doubting at God's ability to see us through His dream for us? Do we stay calm and faithful even in doing harsh, routine chores that feel like slavery or even when isolated, unknown, and forgotten that there's no difference at all if we're in prison? Does God's dream for you seem so foolish, considering where you are right now?
If you're presently at the in-between stage of God's dream for you, don't give up. Hang on to God. Know that whatever situation you're going through right now, is not the end of your story, as it wasn't the end of Joseph's story when he was sold as a slave or put into prison. Whatever is your present situation, it is part of the important process of preparing you and getting you to that dream. Just as Joseph's training involved slavery and spending time in prison, our training may not be as harsh as his, but we are going through a similar training, a training that will take us to God's dream for us.
Even the beautiful butterfly had to struggle through as an ugly caterpillar and as a pupa in a cocoon to be able to transform into what God has made it to be. The apostle Paul has made it clear when he wrote: "For our light and momentary troubles, are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2 Corinthians 4:17). We can never do a shortcut on God's grand finale in our lives. Unless we want to remain a caterpillar, just feeding ourselves into oblivion, we can refuse to go through the transformational process of turning into an extraordinary butterfly. But I don't think I would want that. We are made for more than just feeding ourselves, either our tummy or our ego.
God has a dream for each of us. Ignore it not. Nor give up on it. Whatever He has planted in your heart, treasure it and pursue it. In God's time, when He has made all things ready, He will call you to what He has qualified you to do. And in such a time, take courage and know that you are where you are for God has put you there. God never makes mistakes. Yes, Paul thought Him foolish to have chosen and called us--- cracked pots that we are. But make no mistake, God's foolishness is wiser than any of ours (1 Corinthians 1:25). Trust Him. He'll get you to His dream for you.
Live out His dream.
When we dream, we often dream with our eyes open, but Joseph dreamed with eyes closed. We love to daydream, don't we? As for Joseph, his dreams came from the Revealer of dreams (Genesis 37:5-9) Himself. There he was, not understanding what the dreams were all about, but he humbly submitted to the dream God has for him. And it worked. "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" (1Peter 5:6). An ingredient to dreams that always work.
At a young age, Joseph knew what he was going to be. It is astonishing, for many of us often go through life clueless. Even with hair turning gray, many still do not know our purpose. We have missed one point. Or more like, have missed connecting the points, specifically, the point of our beginning to our end. Joseph had spent a lot of time with his father, being the favored son that he was, that his father, Jacob, must have talked to him about the God he served. The God who had given him hope when he was a runaway, given him grace when he was filled with guilt, and given him assurance of heaven's love for him personally and for all of mankind. Oh, how Joseph must have listened, and how he grew in the faith that his father's God had plans for him as He had with his father, Jacob. He knew that there was no other way to start life but, to start it, with God.
We need to look back to where we come from to see the vision that God has for us. God created us. The psalmist exclaimed, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Your works; and my soul knows it right well" (Psalm 139:14). He created us for a purpose. If many could have known their beginnings, then there would have been less lives being wasted away and more lives cherished and lived with purpose.
Then there's the dream. Joseph's dream was just too grand, too big, and therefore, too absurd! His brothers and father would bow down to him? Preposterous! We often dream only of what we see--- a better house, a car, 1 son and 1 daughter, a stable job, a safe neighborhood, a comfortable existence, a happy and financially secure family. So what is wrong with our dreams?
Joseph's was given by God, ours, often stem from our needs and from the world's. Our need is not the call. Nor is the world's shifting standards are. We are called not to be comfortable, or successful or weathy as the world dictates, but to take up with courage whatever God lays down before us and be blessed with the blessings He gives. For "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17). So when Jesus asked us to "take up our cross and follow Him" (Luke 8:23), believe that He has our best intentions at heart. Whatever it may be, wherever we may be. He is our good shepherd. "The blessings of the Lord make rich, and He adds no sorrow with it" (Proverbs 10:22). We are called to faithfully trust Him whatever is the journey that He has chosen for us to take. When the Holy Spirit has taught us this, then we become too restless to settle for less than what God has called us to do.
And as for working the dream? Joseph went through all the process of seeing God's dream for him come true. He waited. He went through the in-between. He had his heart broken. He got betrayed. He was sold. He slaved through. He was tried and tempted. He had to run away. He was convicted as a felon. He spent time in his personal hole--- where it was dark and lonely. He was forgotten. And he could have given up. He could have reasoned that the dream was foolish. That God was cruel. He could have given up on God's goodness. But no, Joseph persevered. He held on tightly to God, even in the darkest hour when that dream seemed so distant and God seemed absent. He held on in faith. Then dawn came. And slowly God's dream for him came true right before his eyes. What about you and me?
How are we faring on the waiting game? Do we have the faith that starts out childlike--- tenacious and stubborn, not doubting at God's ability to see us through His dream for us? Do we stay calm and faithful even in doing harsh, routine chores that feel like slavery or even when isolated, unknown, and forgotten that there's no difference at all if we're in prison? Does God's dream for you seem so foolish, considering where you are right now?
If you're presently at the in-between stage of God's dream for you, don't give up. Hang on to God. Know that whatever situation you're going through right now, is not the end of your story, as it wasn't the end of Joseph's story when he was sold as a slave or put into prison. Whatever is your present situation, it is part of the important process of preparing you and getting you to that dream. Just as Joseph's training involved slavery and spending time in prison, our training may not be as harsh as his, but we are going through a similar training, a training that will take us to God's dream for us.
Even the beautiful butterfly had to struggle through as an ugly caterpillar and as a pupa in a cocoon to be able to transform into what God has made it to be. The apostle Paul has made it clear when he wrote: "For our light and momentary troubles, are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2 Corinthians 4:17). We can never do a shortcut on God's grand finale in our lives. Unless we want to remain a caterpillar, just feeding ourselves into oblivion, we can refuse to go through the transformational process of turning into an extraordinary butterfly. But I don't think I would want that. We are made for more than just feeding ourselves, either our tummy or our ego.
God has a dream for each of us. Ignore it not. Nor give up on it. Whatever He has planted in your heart, treasure it and pursue it. In God's time, when He has made all things ready, He will call you to what He has qualified you to do. And in such a time, take courage and know that you are where you are for God has put you there. God never makes mistakes. Yes, Paul thought Him foolish to have chosen and called us--- cracked pots that we are. But make no mistake, God's foolishness is wiser than any of ours (1 Corinthians 1:25). Trust Him. He'll get you to His dream for you.
Live out His dream.
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