Having a dream or a specific vision for your life can be scary and exhilarating all at once. You’re glad that you’ve found your purpose, but you may not what path or plan to follow to help you get there. Or worse, you think you are on a timeline and the clock is ticking on your dream. This brings on questions of doubt and confusion:
Where do you start?
What do you do next?
Will anyone help?
How do you know if this way is right?
Will this yield results?
All valid questions. So valid, you may feel too overwhelmed to even begin.
Good news, if God called you to it, He’ll lead you through it. While there may not be a map marked with a bright start to guide you, God will provide examples for you to learn from. He’ll even cause the situations in your life to lead you in the direction you’re meant to go.
Take Joseph for example. God had specific plans for Joseph and revealed his future to him through dreams. Joseph, born of Jacob, was his father’s favorite child because he was conceived at his father’s old age and born of Rachel. (Rachel was Jacob’s preferred wife.) He had eleven other brothers at the time and they did not appreciate the favoritism shown towards him. When God gave Joseph his dreams at the mere age of seventeen, he had no idea what they meant and shared them with his brothers prematurely which leads us to the first lesson we learned from Joseph:
- Be Careful When Sharing Your Dreams – Knowing his brothers hated him and were jealous of him, Joseph still shared his dream of how they were binding sheaves in the field and his sheaf rose up and their sheaves bowed to his. Even after they responded with contempt, Joseph shared another dream about how the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to him.
These weren’t your average dreams. God had showed Joseph his future but instead of using wisdom and keeping the dreams to himself, Joseph shared his dreams with people who had contempt towards him. They wouldn’t appreciate his dreams nor would they believe in them.
Sound familiar? Everyone is not going to believe in your dream or support your vision. You might have to move in silence and let the work or outcome speak for itself. Wisdom is being more selective about who you share your purpose with. Often times, strangers will offer more support than those closest to you. Not everyone wishes you good will.
Joseph’s brothers hated him so much, they plotted to kill him. Unwilling to have his blood on their hands, they ended up selling him into slavery where he ended up working in Egypt for Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer. Joseph prospered and so did Potiphar’s house while under his leadership. Potiphar had a huzzy for a wife and she tried to entrap Joseph in an affair. This is where we see the second lesson of a dreamer:
- Act with Integrity – Joseph was sold unjustly into slavery and was far from home and everything he knew. Potiphar’s wife offered ease, comfort and fulfilled fleshly desires. Joseph could have obliged by sleeping with her but he refused because he was not willing to sin against God nor his master.
Even in a foreign land, faced with heavy opposition and the memory of his dreams sitting in the back of his mind, Joseph chose the high road. He did not justify bad behavior or forget what he knew to be true. He worked with integrity and pursued righteousness.
There may be instances when you’re offered an easy way out or presented with the opportunity to fast-track your success or compromise your beliefs. Will you choose integrity over comfort? Righteousness over personal interests? Will you choose the harder route even if it doesn’t guarantee the outcome you hoped for?
Unfortunately, Joseph’s commitment to integrity infuriated Potiphar’s wife and she ended up lying on him. She accused him of trying to sleep with her. This accusation landed Joseph in prison with the king’s prisoners. However, Joseph’s favor followed him in prison. He ended up interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh’s baker and cupbearer. The cupbearer’s dream revealed how he would be restored to position with Pharaoh. After this revelation, Joseph explained how he was kidnapped and wrongly accused and asked the cupbearer to put in a good word with Pharaoh to get him out of prison. This is when we learn the third lesson:
- Be Patient – Joseph was in prison two more years after he interpreted the cupbearer’s dream before being brought before Pharaoh. Two years he was forced to serve an unjust sentence and work. Even though he had favor in the prison and the chief jailer put him in charge of the other prisoners, he was still not a free man or walking in his true purpose. Joseph could have easily tried to manipulate his position and status to get his way out. He could have even told the cupbearer a lie about his dream that would have insured he would get brought before Pharaoh. But he didn’t. He worked as unto the Lord and waited for his chance to come. He did not get ahead of God or force his will on the situation.
In a time when everyone sees the end goal but not the work it took to reach that spot, patience truly is a virtue. Feeling a sense of success from walking in your purpose takes time. It also may not look as you envisioned. Social media fame has created a false sense of reality around notoriety and success. It may be you’re not ready for the success associated with the manifestation of your dreams. Or, God could be developing a new skillset that you’ll need later down the line. You may have to work in that unfavorable position until the appointed time.
Joseph did finally get his chance in front of Pharaoh. Pharaoh had two troubling dreams and needed someone to interpret them. The cupbearer recalled how Joseph had interpreted his dream and suggested that he could do the same for Pharaoh. Once out of prison and standing before Pharaoh, Joseph teaches us his fourth lesson:
- Give God the Glory – Joseph’s first words to Pharaoh were, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” Instead of taking credit for his God-given gift or even leaving God out of the conversation, Joseph clarified that the interpretation would be through God’s ability.
This was tricky for several reason. Pharaohs considered themselves a sort of god and didn’t take well to hearing about someone else’s higher power. Also, Pharaoh assumed Joseph would have the ability to interpret his dream, not some mysterious God that he had not heard of. Joseph stood in faith and proclaimed his faith in God. He never took credit for something God was doing through him.
If we give God the glory He deserves, He will exalt us to go even further. No matter your position, recognize that is not in your own might that you’re able to take those pictures, solidify those deals, create that program or write that book. It’s His divinity working through you.
After interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams and warning him about the coming famine, Joseph was placed in the highest-ranking position outside of Pharaoh himself. At the age of 30, he was in charge of all of Egypt and was even given a wife to start a family with. Once the famine was in full swing, Joseph’s older brothers came to Egypt to buy grain. Since Joseph was the ruler of the land, he determined who received what. Joseph’s brothers came before him and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. This is where we learn our final lesson from Joseph:
- Stay Humble – There Joseph sat. His brothers bowed before him just as his dreams prophesied. He could have recalled this detail to them immediately. Instead, he doesn’t reveal himself and through various questions and situations, finds out his father is still alive and so is his younger brother, Benjamin. He even gave supplies to them freely and returned their payments.
Joseph could have easily justified retaliation towards his brothers. He could have refused to provide food for them. Yet, he chose the high road and showed love and forgiveness. He recognized how his trials were part of God’s greater vision for his life. Instead of having disdain for his family and his journey, he rejoiced in their reunion and ensured they had all they needed.
Once you are walking in your purpose and able to help those who did you wrong, what will you choose? Will you dismiss family that didn’t believe in you or choose to blaze a path that inspires and motivates?
The saying, “to whom much is given, much is required,” is more than just a notion. It requires active forgiveness and love. As the dreamer or visionary, you may feel like an outcast or even silly for striving after something different. Hold on to the dreams God has placed in your life. Learn from these lessons and you will be sure to see the fruit of your work. He never promised it would be easy, but it will be worth it.
