The thing about timeframes when it comes to the things of God is that if you give it your own time, you will most likely get disappointed. I’m not talking about dreams we have and turn them into time-bound goals. That, many times, is an act of responsibility; no I’m not talking about that kind of timeframe. I’m talking about that kind of timeframe which is unnecessary because the dream and vision were not yours in the first place. I mean you were on your own – minding tour business – when you were chosen for some great task, to be part of a great dream… why would you think it is your place to time it?
There’s something else, it is not going to be an easy road to the dream. Two great men come to mind; David and Joseph.
DAVID
So imagine this, you were taking care of sheep, those calm, collected creatures which follow where your voice is heard, they depend on you for their safety and you didn’t fail. You killed a lion and a bear which tried to harm them and, though you were the eighth and last son of your father, you refused to feel small so you just focused on your sheep.
Then one day they call you out to pass before a bearded man who says you are the chosen one and before you can wrap your head around what’s happening, you are anointed king, which is funny because you know that a king still sits on the throne and no one can be anointed king except the former is removed.
After the anointing, your life is like a whirlwind. Before you know it, you are called to play the harp for the king, whose place you are supposed to take, because he has the evil spirit. Next, you get to fight with a man about ten feet tall who you end up killing, then you know that you are really in trouble when the king suddenly gets jealous of you and tries to kill you.
Imagine.
If you are human like me, you’d remind God that you were comfortable keeping sheep and you have no idea why He had you anointed in the first place because since that day your life has never remained the same.
You would wonder; how is it that the anointing would be of any effect?
JOSEPH
Imagine again that you woke up one morning and excitedly share with your brothers your exciting dreams of how their sheaves bow to yours. You notice they are pissed off, but you think it was something which would pass away. You also talk about how some heavenly bodies bowed to you in another dream and got your father a little annoyed too. You are happy when he made you a coat of many colours.
Life was good.
Until your brothers sold you off to some travelers, heathens actually.
Why? From slavery to the prison you will be tempted to wonder why the dream was given to you in the first place. You didn’t ask for such dreams, you just wanted to sleep and wake up and remain your father’s favourite, but alas you are going through something you don’t understand.
A strange woman tried to seduce you and when she failed you were thrown into the prison when she turned the story upside down.
A man you helped forgot you.
You would wonder; how is it possible that that dream would come true?
I just summarized the story of David and that of Joseph and I have some maybes…
The story of David taught me something. From the moment David was anointed, one thing or the other took him close to the palace. First, he played to Saul, then he killed Goliath and though the king still tried to kill him, he formed a great friendship with the heir apparent.
Maybe he was supposed to learn some things about royalty which he would never have learned with the sheep. As a king, he needed to be recognized and respected for his reign to be successful and it was in his years of avoiding King Saul that the people began to respect him.
His years of wandering changed him from the last son of Jesse who was usually looked down on to the next King who had won wars, shown his ‘enemy’ mercy, understood what pure love is and learnt what it means to totally depend on God.
Ships are safe in the harbour, but that is not what they are built for.
In my opinion, Joseph was impulsive and too trusting in humans. I mean you dream that you would rule over your elders and you blurt it out like that? How daft can you be? Who asked you to even share in the first place?
He also probably had a tinge of pride.
He was the favourite and Jacob didn’t hide it. The dream also showed that God had chosen him for something great, so his brothers probably thought, “There’s no way this young man would rule when we are here!”
Sometimes we make enemies for ourselves when we are not wise in the way we talk or the way we share our dreams.
Sometimes it’s best to keep your head down and follow directions to greatness.
I don’t know how else Joseph would have gotten to Egypt where he had to be for the dreams to come to pass, but I know he was humbled by the time his brothers found him again. He was humble, he had learned how wicked and undependable human could be and so he learned to walk with caution.
It was all in the process that God prepared them for greatness.
The thoughts above are mine and I could be wrong because I know that there is no searching the understanding of God, but one thing I am sure of is that the journey to the palace of our dreams of filled with struggles and paths we may not understand, but the Lord will surely bring our dreams to fulfillment. So instead to giving ourselves timetables for dreams giving to us by God, let wait for His timing for His time is the best.
Yes, God’s time is the best.
