Unfortunately, not everyone is for you...

Dreams at times may not make sense, and to some degree it may seem as if you are a little conceited, but don’t think in that way because you don’t know that maybe it’s God telling you that He will bring you higher.

Today I read part of the story of Joseph. And in this story it’s clear that God has ways to let us know His plans for us and sometimes those plans are far above anything we could ever hope or even imagine, or worst yet, even deem possible.

Reading: Genesis 37: 5-11

Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

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 that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

Genesis 37: 18-20

They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”

Some of us have dreams that cannot be explained. It may seem like the dreams that Joseph had were self explanatory, but it’s very interesting that his brothers and father did not miss a beat in the dreams’ interpretation. Both dreams dealt with Joseph’s family bowing to him. First his brothers, than his father and mother.

Joseph is the second youngest son of Israel (Jacob). His mother, Rachel, died shortly after giving birth to his younger brother Benjamin. Joseph was his father’s favorite because he was born when his father was at an old age. His older brothers, because of that, didn’t like him much. So the fact that Joseph has dreams that say that his older brothers and pretty much his family will bow down to him didn’t rub them the right way. It made them hate Joseph even more.

How many of us are in this condition? We are the youngest in our families, the lowest in status, whether social or financial, or whatever. How many of us have dreams that tell us that we will rise higher than even the ones we love yet hate us?

——Some people WILL HATE US without cause! It is a sad reality, BUT DON’T GIVE UP HOPE!——

While Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him, his dad however, kept the dream in mind. His brothers came up with a plan to kill him. Reuben, the eldest son, convinced the brothers not to kill him. Long story short, they sold Joseph to the Egyptians. The sole purpose of this was to mock Joseph and his dreams, “…we will see what will become of his dreams…”

In the story, it says that God was with Joseph and he performed well in all of his tasks and was promoted to a very high position—watching over the king’s household. In that time, the king’s wife wanted to sleep with Joseph and because he refused, she lied and said that he forced himself on her and tried raping her. The king was furious and threw him into prison.

——Where is God in all of this? Why am I being treated so badly. I didn’t ask for this. God gave me the dream, not me!——

God was with Joseph the entire time. In prison, he became the chief of the prison. The prison guard trusted Joseph so much that he allowed Joseph to be in charge of an entire section of the prison. No matter what Joseph did, he succeeded, but he was in prison.

Some of us may feel like we’re in prison. We’re not advancing in anything. Some of you may have had dreams but decided to give up on them because of the various hardships. Maybe some of your closest friends and family members mocked you and discouraged you. Maybe some have even tried to kill you…

——DON’T BE DISCOURAGED——

Although it may be years since you’ve had your dreams, don’t give up. There are things that need to happen before those dreams come into reality. Some things may really seem unfair. It’s okay. Don’t worry too much about those things. Stay faithful no matter where you are. Take steps when you need to, and sit when you need to. God is not finished with you yet. God has His way of doing things, and the enemy has his way of doing things too, but remember this NO ONE IS HIGHER THAN GOD.

Keep your heads up and stay strong. Cry if you need to cry. Tears are not a sign of weakness. God is with you.

God bless you