Rising in unlikely places

Old Testament Joseph is one of my favorite people in the Bible.

Joseph was a big dreamer.  He had a dream that his brothers, and even his parents, would one day bow down to him.

When God gives you a dream, He doesn’t mess around.  God knows the future.  God has a plan for your life.  God knows where He is sending you and how to get you there.  God has ways of accomplishing things that we could never imagine.  

The dream wasn’t about Joseph’s “greatness.”  But that’s how his brothers misinterpreted Joseph’s dream. NOTE: not everyone will understand your God-given dreams.

The dream was about how God chose Joseph for a specific role in life, and not just in his family’s life.

God sees the big picture.  That is so comforting to me.  That character quality alone makes me want to worship Him.  He is omniscient.  

God planted the dream inside of Joseph.  I’m guessing that Joseph might have thought about how he was going to make that dream come true.  God simply smiled.

Do you have a dream?  Do you think it is up to you to accomplish it?  How much of the onus is on you?  How much of the onus is on God? 

If you want to read Joseph’s amazing story in full, please read Genesis chapters 37-50.  You will love it.

But the gist of his life story is this:

- God gave him a dream revealing that he would be a great leader one day 

- His jealous brothers plotted against him and left him for dead 

- His brothers lied to their father saying that Joseph died

- Joseph was thrown in prison where he faced injustice after injustice 

- Joseph remained in prison for around 14 years

- Joseph eventually becomes the second in command to the entire nation of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh

- Joseph reunites with his brothers and family and forgives them

This is just a nutshell recap.  I really encourage you to read the entire story in the Bible.  

I tell you all of this to remind you of a few things.

Joseph did not have to “make his dream happen.”  God had His hand on Joseph and it was all going to go down as God ordered and ordained it.  Joseph had very little, if anything, to do with the fruition of his dream.

Let’s stop right here. This is huge!  I believe one of the takeaways for us is that when God gives us a dream,  He may have us wait and go through much hardship for a very long time.  We may be tempted to think that our dreams will never come to pass.  We may think we “misheard” God, or that we really never had the dream to begin with.

Does this leave us off the hook entirely?  After all, aren’t we supposed to work hard, be good stewards, and work toward making our dreams reality?

Not necessarily.

It didn’t work that way for Joseph.  I’m just sayin’.

Joseph had the dream.  But there is no way that he could have predicted how God would bring it to pass. 

Are we willing to suffer in the seasons of waiting?  Can we discern when God is telling us to wait?  Do we have enough faith to believe that God is working behind the scenes on our behalf?  Do we believe that He is using every painful injustice that we experience as part of the dream process?

To say that God is creative is the most massive understatement of all time.  He made it all!  The universe.  Every star.  Every grain of sand.  The earth, seas, sky, animals, human beings.  Dear God!

And because His creativity is endless, He can do whatever He wants when it comes to the plans for our lives.  

He works one way with you, and another totally different way with me.  This is a good thing! 

No cookie cutter plans in God’s economy!

We are the ones who try to slap a template onto God’s plan for our lives.  This is so tempting to do, yet we must release control and totally trust God for the outcome of His plans and dreams for us.

Joseph was a victim of circumstance.  However, he persevered and he prevailed.  From his life experience, we learn that when God has His hand on you, He brings your dreams to pass without you doing anything but keeping the faith, trusting God, and staying the course. 

God was doing a work inside of Joseph before He would bring Joseph’s dream to life.

How does God prepare us for His dream?  Slowly.  Painfully. He tests and tries us.  He already knows what we are made of because He made us!  

Our part is to:

- keep trusting Him
- keep looking to Him
- remain faithful to Him
- obey Him each step of the way
- keep doing the right thing, knowing that God sees and will reward us

Are you in a “prison” of sorts for doing no wrong? I suggest that you keep seeking the Lord. You do not need answers. You need faith.

May we rise according to God’s will, purpose, and timing.

Dear Lord. Thank You for giving us dreams. Thank You for making us for a purpose. May we always remember that our foundational purpose is to know You. Help us accept every part of Your process for us. And help us trust You implicitly every step of the way. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.