Sunday Sermonettes #062
Joseph the Dreamer
Joseph, a young man of seventeen, had dreams of greatness. He shared that with his father and brothers. They became angry with him when Joseph’s dreams indicated that one day they all will bow down to him. Yet it took years for the dreams to get fulfilled. And his dreams seemed to die in that long gap. But God who put the dream in his heart was with him to bring the dreams to pass.
Dreamers Are Hated
If God has put dreams of greatness in your heart, know that you will be hated by even people close to you. This is because such dreams are far ahead of your times. And not many, even those close to you, dare to believe that dreams will come true for you one day. So the best thing they will do is to hate you and try to oppose you and say all kinds of negative things in your ears.
Joseph faced exactly that. When he went to meet his brothers out in the fields one day, they said, “Here comes that dreamer! Come now, let’s kill him . . . Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” Yes, this is what the world will conspire to do when you have a dream. They will try to destroy it. But God-given dreams cannot die.
The Caravan That Carried Joseph to Greatness | But God
But God. Those two words should be written in your hearts in big bold letters. Joseph’s brothers put him into a waterless pit. And then they had a change of mind. Instead of killing him, they sold him to a caravan of merchants passing by to the land of Egypt.
Imagine what thoughts might have crossed the young man’s mind. Being sold by one’s own brothers is terrible. But being taken as a slave into a foreign land is catastrophic. And probably he might have thought, “This is the end of my dreams.” But God.
The Dreamer Is Tested
The merchants sold Joseph to a high official of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The official was Potiphar, the captain of the guard. This man saw that God was with Joseph and whatever Joseph did met with success. So Potiphar put him in charge of everything in his house. And from that moment on, God blessed everything that belonged to Potiphar.
But then! See, God wants to mould the character of the one in whose heart he has deposited dreams. Potiphar’s wife started eyeing Joseph who was well-built and handsome. She repeatedly came to him asking him to sleep with her: “Come to bed with me.” But Joseph was a man who feared God and reminded her that she is Potiphar’s wife, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
And Joseph went about doing his duties faithfully. But one day she took hold of the cloak of Joseph when no one was in the house and kept urging him to sleep with her. Joseph left the cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. When Potiphar came home that day, his wife told a victim story saying that Joseph the slave had tried to make sport of her.
And Potiphar burned with anger and put Joseph in prison. Surely Joseph now felt that his dreams were shattered yet another time. Not only was he sold, now he was in prison because of his integrity. Yet God’s hand was even there. He was put in a prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. Yes, but God!
The Gift of Interpreting Dreams
Joseph, true to his character, showed excellent attitude in prison too. Soon the prison warden put him in charge of all the prisoners. For he saw that God was with Joseph and gave him success in everything he did.
And one day, he saw that the cupbearer to the king and the chief baker were looking sad. So he asked them, “Why are your faces so sad today?” They told him that they had dreams but there was no one to interpret them. Joseph asked them to share their dreams with him.
And when they did so, he told the cupbearer that the king will restore him to his former position and the chief baker that he will be hanged within three days. Then Joseph made a request to the cupbearer, “But when all goes well with you, remember me, and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.”
Everything happened as Joseph had told. But the cupbearer forgot about Joseph for two full years.
Again, God was in that act too. If Joseph was remembered and released, he might have become a slave in someone else’s household. But that was not what God had planned for him.
Surely now Joseph would have been devastated that he was being forgotten. He might have asked himself, Has God forgotten me? As each one of us with a dream have often asked ourselves.
Believe in the Power of Your God-Given Dreams
God-given dreams often have humble beginnings. A small seed of hope sown in one’s heart is what grows, produces branches and fruit and multiplies.
God-given dreams take you through opposition, hatred, and standstills. Circumstances will seem to kill your dreams. But God-given dreams cannot die.
God-given dreams will often bring unlikely people acting a part in its fulfillment. They might act against you, might forget you, might say false stories about you, and even try to shut you in somewhere. But in all these events, God who put the dream in your heart is watching over you.
God-given dreams have an appointed time when all that you thought were lost hopes will suddenly come to life, gather momentum, and roll forward at dizzying speeds. Then all watching will know it is the hand of God that has done it and he has acted on your behalf.
Joseph in the empty pit might have thought he will soon die just as his brothers had said. Joseph in the caravan might have thought the journey was taking him far away from all the dreams of greatness he had. Joseph in prison might have wondered what is the point in holding on to integrity and character. And even after his prophetic interpretation of dreams came true, when he was forgotten, he might have wondered whether God had forsaken him.
But God. Those two words make all the difference.
Joseph Becomes the Prime Minister
After two years passed by, the clock one day struck God’s hour and moment for Jospeh. Pharaoh had dreams. And no one in all the land of Egypt could interpret them. Suddenly the cupbearer remembered Joseph. He mentioned Joseph to Pharaoh. In one quick move, Joseph shaved, changed his clothes, came before Pharaoh from the prison to the palace, interpreted his dreams, and gave sound advice as to how to tackle the adverse situation in future that the dreams pointed to.
Pharaoh saw that Joseph had the Spirit of God in him and God had given him wisdom. He was immediately made second in command to Pharaoh. The dreams God had put in his heart started to come true overnight. It began when he was thirty years old.
It took another 9 years before his dreams truly found their fulfilment. Indeed all his brothers came and bowed down before him. His father too was brought to Egypt. His father refused to believe the news that his son Joseph was alive. And he thought that the news his son was Prime Minister in Egypt was a fairy tale. But when he saw the carts his son had sent him to carry him to Egypt, he believed.
Joseph exhibited forgiveness towards his brothers and told them that it was God who acted to bring all this to pass. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” What a journey it had been. God used Joseph to bless the people of the land and see them safely through a period of great famine. Joseph also realized the purpose behind God taking him through the rough road as he told his brothers: “But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”
God-Given Dreams and Lessons of Greatness
God-given dreams bring great power and authority over people and situations. If you remain humble and do not forget the hardships God took you through to make you reach there, and if you have a forgiving spirit towards those who tried to do you harm; then God will prosper you and make all that you put your hands to, to succeed.
God-given dreams need wisdom from God to act with foresight in trying situations. Such dreams demand that you guard your character and keep it without spot. When all these combine with care and compassion for people, royal doors will open for you.
Finally, God-given dreams are given to those who are tested and tried in the furnace of afflictions that their hearts might be prepared to handle fame, fortune, authority, and power that will be given them. In their hands God-given dreams will find its intended fulfillment and success!
Inspired by the story of Joseph as told in Genesis 37 and 39–50 in the Bible.
Every Drop of Blood
Would You Be Free from the Burden of Sin
