BIBLE TEXT:GENESIS 37:5;9-11
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In Genesis 37, Joseph was seventeen years old when he had a dream and his brothers hated him. Joseph was only guilty of two things :
- being his father's favourite son,the apple of his father's eyes and
- being a dreamer.
His brothers hated him because their father loved him more than them. But they hated him even more because of his dreams. It took God thirteen years to turn his life around and make him a Prince in Egypt. Joseph knew that the pit was not his Palace,but the Palace is. You can begin in the Pit,but you do not have to end in it. The way to get out of the pit is the dream that God gave to you,and this is what made Joseph prosper and become the Prince in a strange land.
From where you are to the place God has prepared for you,the most important thing is not the destination,but the journey because the destination is fixed. The journey will make you become who God wants you to be. Life is not about accumulating wealth,but to become who God wants you to be.
From the journey of Joseph,you will learn how to move from tragedies to triumphs,from pain to gain,from failure to success and fulfilment. You are not destined to fail. You are destined to succeed and be relevant.
Proverbs 10:22 says "The blessing of the Lord maketh rich and adds no sorrow to it"
Have you stopped dreaming? If you have, you are already dead. Don't stop dreaming. Your dream is the heavenly ladder to heavenly places. Dreams are the mountain tops of visions that we climb to look over to the Promised land. What makes one strong to go through adversities are the dreams from God. Taking the dreams out of a person is like taking the person's heart. Your dreams are the pictures God buried in your heart. If you can dream it,you can do it.
Circumstances will always come along to try to devastate your dream. You must always keep your dream alive. Don't allow the fire to quench. Your dream is a gift from God. It's bigger than you are right now. It motivates you everyday. It's always in front you. It gives you passion and enthusiasm. Your dreams will help you through tough times.
Three things we need to do to keep our dream alive include:
1.Talk about it
2.Pray about it
3.Step out in faith and do it.
Often times,we block our dreams by being jealous of person's living theirs. We should rather be happy for them.
Genesis 37:18-20 tells how Jacob sent Joseph to the field to check on his brothers. They were upset and were going to kill him because he had dreams for his life. People are definitely not going to be happy for you when they find out about your dreams and see the great strides you take in making sure your dream becomes a reality.
Humans do not decide destinies. God Almighty is the only one who can.
Joseph was thrown into the pit when he was seventeen years old (Genesis 37:2). It was thirteen years of devastating dark times of slavery,lies and prison sentence.
Now in Genesis 42:6-9, Joseph remembers his dreams. He didn't remember the hatred from everyone or the pit or how he was sold as a slave. He didn't remember the prison. He didn't remember the lies of Potiphar's wife. He didn't remember the confusion and loneliness he experienced. He remembered his dreams. He realized everything was part of God's plan. When God gives you a dream,there will be many dark and devastating times. There will be confusing times when you feel abandoned by God and forgotten by people. There will be tears. All you need to do is do exactly as Joseph did,by renaming in the faith, staying close to God and keeping your attitude right. Your world is not falling apart. It is falling in place.
We most times do not know what our dreams are, because we locked them up deep in our hearts with no room for them to come to our consciousness. Fears,doubts,wrong beliefs are examples of things that can lock our dreams. The dream you have is your future. Do it give up on it,and do not give it up for anything. If you hold onto your dream and work hard,your dream will eventually become a reality because what you hold in your heart is what drives you.
God gave Joseph a gift of interpretation of dreams,not just that but the wisdom to give the right advise if needed. Even in prison,the lowest point for Joseph,he didn't give up in his dreams. He worked harder. He even became a leader amongst the prisoners,and that was how he met Pharaoh's officials that were serving sentences in prison.
Knowing the dream is not enough for it to be actualized. Hard work is needed. The Bible says that Faith without works is dead. When God blessed Joseph,he blessed him abundantly. He became a Prince, second only to Pharaoh.
Just note that your dreams will come through and become a reality.
I hope you have been blessed by this write up.