Genesis 37:5 “Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.”

Genesis 37:9-10 “Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, ‘What is this dream you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?’”

Joseph was one of the Bible’s best known dreamers. Of course, Joseph’s dreams didn’t start off quite the way he would have liked. His brothers hated him because their father, Jacob, favored him over all of them. Then God gives Joseph dreams that reveal that one day he would be raised to an exalted position above not only his brothers but indeed his whole family. Joseph was only 17 years old. To everyone else, it seemed little more than a boast. Sometimes when God gives us a dream we keep it to ourselves for fear those closest to us will respond the way Joseph’s family did. The road to the fulfillment of Joseph’s dream would involve the betrayal of brothers, slavery in Egypt, false accusations and even some time in prison. Doesn’t sound like the path to fame and riches does it? Through it all, Joseph was being positioned and prepared for what God had in store. It would take 13 years before Joseph would find himself second only to Pharaoh in Egypt and in a position, not to Lord over his family as the dream may have appeared to them, but in fact, to save them from starvation during a time of famine. Dreams have purpose.

Pray: “Heavenly Father, sometimes I forget that, unlike you, I cannot see the end from the beginning. Sometimes a dream may look promising but the starting point may not be very desirable. Sometimes, due to a lack of my own understanding, the dream itself may not seem like it is something I would want. But I know, Lord, you don’t hand dreams out haphazardly, but each one is tailor-made to fit the gifts and the individual. Lord grant me the wisdom to not read too much into what I see since I only see in part, but give me the courage to step out into my dream and simply trust that the road to its end, however it may wind, was laid out by you. In Jesus holy name I ask - Amen.”