To the Dreamers:
The story in totality is from: Genesis 37,39-47
A lot of times we think that God is holding back the greatest and most precious from us when really, He is saving the very best He has for us. We just don't have the eyes to see it, how the plan we have for our life pails in comparison to that of God's plan for our life. I have experienced this feeling quite a bit in my short 21 years. Just like Joseph, from time to time I feel I have been stripped of my coat of many colors and thrown into a pit left wandering where to go from there. In those moments, it felt like God was asking me to throw away my dreams but now I understand He has been redirecting my attention; He is making room for bigger ones. Dreams that I could never ever dream up for or by myself; dreams that were not even on the horizon for me initially. To pursue the dreams that God has for me, I have had to let some dreams pass me by or let go of some that were not exactly in the will of God. Now I can't tell you why things happen a certain way, why some dreams don't come true. Sometimes we find out, sometimes we don't. I've always had a dream to play college soccer and I got so close to that dream. I got recruited, I committed to play for Asbury and I played in the first two pre-season games my freshman year until I got seriously injured. The serious head injury and slow recovery led me to the decision to only play for fun and not at the collegiate level. I am not quite sure why things turned out the way they did. Needless to say, it was painful to give up that dream. I've had plans to pursue various careers, plans to spend my life with certain people, plans to maintain certain friendships but God has had a funny way of showing me that what I envision, expect and what I WANT is not always in the books for me. Rather He gives me what He knows I need. And if I look back in certain time periods of my life, I can attest to that being true. Things I never knew I needed or wanted back then, God literally laid into my lap and those have been the things that I am most thankful for. Now don't get me wrong we have a say in things. I mean come on, free will. But God allows us to have passions and dreams, He simply helps us reach them in the way that will most glorify Him. Whereas if we go in alone, we will distort His image. Despite the noblest intentions, our sinful nature sometimes does the talking. What I've come to find out (the hard way) recently is that my heart can be deceitful and does not always know what is best. Thank goodness God runs the show and not me. We do not have to let go of our dreams but we have to let go of the expectations that correspond to them. The how, when, where and why is not something that we can decide.The sooner we find this out, the better.
Yes, it hurts to let go of control of our dreams not knowing what they will become. But it hurts more to hold onto dreams that are absent of God. When dreams that have not been blessed or ordained by God come true, two things can happen. One: the dream consumes us entirely turning our attention away from God to selfish desires. Two: while the chase was fun, when the dream comes to fruition, it feels empty and wasted. The point is, it is okay to not know or understand what our dreams are. It's okay not to know what will become of the ones we do have. I don't know! I don't know where I'll be after I graduate. I have a dream job but I don't know what job I'll end up taking. I don't know who I'll be with or be without in the next phase of my life. The tendency to talk about the unknowns stresses people out. Let me tell you, not knowing the details should not be a stressor. The focus should not be on the how of the future, the focus should be on the who of the future. Who holds it? The God that holds your future, knows your future and planned your future.So when I can't see what God is doing as I contemplate on what lies ahead, I remember who goes ahead of me. I know He's taking me where I was meant to go even if it's not the way I would've chosen for myself to get there. I see this moral so clearly through one of my favorite Old Testament stories, the story of Joseph. Through the account of Joseph, I am reminded that God thoughts and ways are always higher than ours at all times even when we can't understand them. Since His ways are higher than ours, His dreams and plans to use us, are of no exception to that. We can trust God with our dreams. We can trust God to look out for us and to help us find new ones that are rooted in Him.We can trust God to help us make it to the end goal. You see, the life of Joseph is more applicable to me than I ever realized. It's not that I feel like I'm in the pit in the sense that I'm down in the dumps right now. Certainly not. I don't feel abandoned nor do I feel trapped (although there have been many times I have felt like that in life). It's the idea that I'm realizing I'm blind to what's ahead and that's perfectly fine. I'm blind sighted because I have envisioned what my future will look like and it hasn't occurred in the manner that I foresaw. I'm certain that Joseph had his whole life ahead of him mapped out too. Just look how Joseph grew up. He was the son of Jacob and most favorite one at that. This being the case, he received the royal treatment. You will probably know the evidence of this favoritism if you remember the story of Joseph and coat of many colors from your Sunday School days. Not only did Joseph have an expensive garment that set him apart from the rest of his brothers, but Joseph also had legendary dreams. He had dreams of his brothers and many others bowing down to him on multiple occasions. Joseph shared his dreams with his brothers which to me, may not have been the wisest decision...I mean to me that sounds like gloating. Sharing Joseph's God-given dreams, made jealously swell up in the hearts Joseph's brothers. Having had enough, Joseph's brothers stripped him of his coat and threw him into a pit.
And here's where I see myself. Joseph is all of a sudden unable to see how his dreams will come true. He was on the path, everything was looking good. Things were falling into place and then BAM! CURVE BALL. Now Joseph is clueless. He's in a pit, not what he had in mind. Joseph is in a state of pure helplessness in which he cannot do anything to get out of the situation. He is completely dependent, at the mercy of God. While it might have felt like eternity that Joseph was there, in the scheme of things it was merely a pit stop (pun definitely intended) in Joseph's life that God used to refocus Joseph and prepare him for how God would have him live out his dream. We see that God allows the pits in our lives to help position us to reach our purposes in life. You remember Joseph's dream that foreshadowed his brothers and many others bowing down to him? God proves to be faithful to that dream. But through the pit, God makes the point that Joseph's dream will occur in the manner that God desires it to. God uses the pit to help Joseph reach the dream's destination. God does this with dreams still today. He exemplifies His own power through extreme conditions paired with ordinary people. I'll keep it short but still continue with the rest of Joseph's story. After Joseph is thrown into the pit by his brothers, he is sold into slavery in Egypt. Joseph works for a wealthy man named Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard. His hard work elevates him to hold a powerful position for Potiphar. Potiphar made him overseer of his house and belongings. Potiphar's wife had taken a liking to Joseph and when Joseph turned her down, she framed him. Joseph was thrown into prison. But here comes the providence of God. Because Joseph worked for Potiphar, he was put into prison where all of the Pharaoh's personal prisoners were. It was in prison that Joseph foretold the meaning of the dreams of the Pharaoh's cupbearer and chief baker. Just as Joseph had foretold by the dream, the cupbearer's life was spared and he was reassigned to his job. While Joseph remained in prison, Pharaoh had a dream one night. Pharaoh consulted many people to decipher the meaning of his dream but no one could. Then the cupbearer mentioned his encounter with Joseph. Joseph was brought before Pharaoh and he interpreted the dream. Egypt would have 7 years of plenty then 7 years of famine. The Pharaoh believed Joseph and dubbed him 2nd in command. It is from this position of royalty that Joseph would reconvene with his brothers. Israel was suffering during the famine because they did not see it coming like Egypt. Thus, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to get some food because they were starving.
Family Reunion!! Little did they know they were bowing to their little brother Joseph, second in command of Egypt. Because of Joseph's position, he was able to help save the lives of his family and ultimately the nation of Israel. So see? It's all in the details. God orchestrates all of them when it comes to our dreams. It's all planned out. It might not look how we would want it to during the journey there and we might not ever know or understand what's happening during certain periods. But when we can't understand, let our faith be our sight. God is faithful to see our dreams through but we have to hand over our directional expectations if we want amazement. When we are in the pit and we don't know what's going to be next, we can look at God's faithfulness to us in our past to help us not worry about our future. He has always provided and always came through and He always will. That's enough assurance to keep persevering and working towards that dream today without fear of what tomorrow might hold. BELIEVE that God manifests Himself so clearly to the dreamers who invite Him to make something of feeble dreams, who have faith, who have the courage to entrust to Him the details, who keep their eyes on the prize even when they find themselves in a pit. Let your dreams be a sign of your faith so DREAM BIG.
Yes, it hurts to let go of control of our dreams not knowing what they will become. But it hurts more to hold onto dreams that are absent of God. When dreams that have not been blessed or ordained by God come true, two things can happen. One: the dream consumes us entirely turning our attention away from God to selfish desires. Two: while the chase was fun, when the dream comes to fruition, it feels empty and wasted. The point is, it is okay to not know or understand what our dreams are. It's okay not to know what will become of the ones we do have. I don't know! I don't know where I'll be after I graduate. I have a dream job but I don't know what job I'll end up taking. I don't know who I'll be with or be without in the next phase of my life. The tendency to talk about the unknowns stresses people out. Let me tell you, not knowing the details should not be a stressor. The focus should not be on the how of the future, the focus should be on the who of the future. Who holds it? The God that holds your future, knows your future and planned your future.So when I can't see what God is doing as I contemplate on what lies ahead, I remember who goes ahead of me. I know He's taking me where I was meant to go even if it's not the way I would've chosen for myself to get there. I see this moral so clearly through one of my favorite Old Testament stories, the story of Joseph. Through the account of Joseph, I am reminded that God thoughts and ways are always higher than ours at all times even when we can't understand them. Since His ways are higher than ours, His dreams and plans to use us, are of no exception to that. We can trust God with our dreams. We can trust God to look out for us and to help us find new ones that are rooted in Him.We can trust God to help us make it to the end goal. You see, the life of Joseph is more applicable to me than I ever realized. It's not that I feel like I'm in the pit in the sense that I'm down in the dumps right now. Certainly not. I don't feel abandoned nor do I feel trapped (although there have been many times I have felt like that in life). It's the idea that I'm realizing I'm blind to what's ahead and that's perfectly fine. I'm blind sighted because I have envisioned what my future will look like and it hasn't occurred in the manner that I foresaw. I'm certain that Joseph had his whole life ahead of him mapped out too. Just look how Joseph grew up. He was the son of Jacob and most favorite one at that. This being the case, he received the royal treatment. You will probably know the evidence of this favoritism if you remember the story of Joseph and coat of many colors from your Sunday School days. Not only did Joseph have an expensive garment that set him apart from the rest of his brothers, but Joseph also had legendary dreams. He had dreams of his brothers and many others bowing down to him on multiple occasions. Joseph shared his dreams with his brothers which to me, may not have been the wisest decision...I mean to me that sounds like gloating. Sharing Joseph's God-given dreams, made jealously swell up in the hearts Joseph's brothers. Having had enough, Joseph's brothers stripped him of his coat and threw him into a pit.
And here's where I see myself. Joseph is all of a sudden unable to see how his dreams will come true. He was on the path, everything was looking good. Things were falling into place and then BAM! CURVE BALL. Now Joseph is clueless. He's in a pit, not what he had in mind. Joseph is in a state of pure helplessness in which he cannot do anything to get out of the situation. He is completely dependent, at the mercy of God. While it might have felt like eternity that Joseph was there, in the scheme of things it was merely a pit stop (pun definitely intended) in Joseph's life that God used to refocus Joseph and prepare him for how God would have him live out his dream. We see that God allows the pits in our lives to help position us to reach our purposes in life. You remember Joseph's dream that foreshadowed his brothers and many others bowing down to him? God proves to be faithful to that dream. But through the pit, God makes the point that Joseph's dream will occur in the manner that God desires it to. God uses the pit to help Joseph reach the dream's destination. God does this with dreams still today. He exemplifies His own power through extreme conditions paired with ordinary people. I'll keep it short but still continue with the rest of Joseph's story. After Joseph is thrown into the pit by his brothers, he is sold into slavery in Egypt. Joseph works for a wealthy man named Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard. His hard work elevates him to hold a powerful position for Potiphar. Potiphar made him overseer of his house and belongings. Potiphar's wife had taken a liking to Joseph and when Joseph turned her down, she framed him. Joseph was thrown into prison. But here comes the providence of God. Because Joseph worked for Potiphar, he was put into prison where all of the Pharaoh's personal prisoners were. It was in prison that Joseph foretold the meaning of the dreams of the Pharaoh's cupbearer and chief baker. Just as Joseph had foretold by the dream, the cupbearer's life was spared and he was reassigned to his job. While Joseph remained in prison, Pharaoh had a dream one night. Pharaoh consulted many people to decipher the meaning of his dream but no one could. Then the cupbearer mentioned his encounter with Joseph. Joseph was brought before Pharaoh and he interpreted the dream. Egypt would have 7 years of plenty then 7 years of famine. The Pharaoh believed Joseph and dubbed him 2nd in command. It is from this position of royalty that Joseph would reconvene with his brothers. Israel was suffering during the famine because they did not see it coming like Egypt. Thus, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to get some food because they were starving.
Family Reunion!! Little did they know they were bowing to their little brother Joseph, second in command of Egypt. Because of Joseph's position, he was able to help save the lives of his family and ultimately the nation of Israel. So see? It's all in the details. God orchestrates all of them when it comes to our dreams. It's all planned out. It might not look how we would want it to during the journey there and we might not ever know or understand what's happening during certain periods. But when we can't understand, let our faith be our sight. God is faithful to see our dreams through but we have to hand over our directional expectations if we want amazement. When we are in the pit and we don't know what's going to be next, we can look at God's faithfulness to us in our past to help us not worry about our future. He has always provided and always came through and He always will. That's enough assurance to keep persevering and working towards that dream today without fear of what tomorrow might hold. BELIEVE that God manifests Himself so clearly to the dreamers who invite Him to make something of feeble dreams, who have faith, who have the courage to entrust to Him the details, who keep their eyes on the prize even when they find themselves in a pit. Let your dreams be a sign of your faith so DREAM BIG.
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