Before Mother’s Day we started the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis, in Chapter 37. Joseph had received 2 dreams from God. These dreams offended his family and Joseph’s brothers thought they would kill him. We learned that what God has planned for us he will bring to pass. As Joseph did, we must let God do His work in our lives, even through adversity that may come. We must just trust God and remain faithful to God through whatever comes our way.
This week I want us to look at another aspect of where dreams can lead. Joseph’s dreams in the end lead Him to become a hero or Savior for his family, the people of Israel. Every one of us is meant to lead a life of significance and be a blessing to others, like Joseph.

Each person Joseph came in contact with had the opportunity to learn the truth, be helped, be protected or be blessed. The people we come in contact with should receive those same things from us as well.

Joseph’s dreams served the purpose of being a reminder that a better future laid ahead for Joseph. They no doubt stayed in the back of his mind throughout the adversities he would face and served as a basis of hope for him. If Joseph had let his brothers hatred, Potiphar’s wife, time in jail, or being forgotten by those he helped, bring him doubt, sadness or bitterness, he would have become limited in what he could do. Instead, he focused on the promises God gave him through the dreams of his future. He trusted God to bring those dreams to pass.

Instead of becoming limited by what was going on in his life, he kept having faith in God and kept going. He could have just decided “Well…I am nothing. I am nothing but a slave. I am nothing but a prisoner. I am never going to accomplish much.” But he didn’t.
Erwin McManus, Pastor at Mosaic Church in Los Angeles said,
“What you expect from yourself and your life has a direct effect on what you will get out of life. How you imagine yourself and your future has a huge effect on what actually happens.”

This is not to assume that if you just think it, it will automatically happen. What this is saying is that:
We need to keep ourselves focused on God and seek the abundant life He has for us.

We are not to get caught up in worldly dreams, bad circumstances or the trials that hit us. Those things are just tools the devil can use to attempt to steal that abundant life from us.

We have to remember, like Joseph, that God has a plan for us, a future and a hope.

Our life that God intends for us has been hidden in Christ. We need to seek that life by wholeheartedly following Christ.

We need the source of all creativity, our Creator, to help us live out our God-given potential. Sometimes, like God did with Joseph, He will give us dreams. They could be dreams when we are sleeping, or maybe they are what we might call “Daydreams”. Those can be moments of inspiration that God gives us while we are wide awake.
* Maybe we have dreamed of being able to help all the homeless people we saw in a certain area of town.
* Maybe we have dreamed of reaching the Youth of our town. Helping the Youth to do better in school or helping them to learn more about God.
* Maybe we dreamed about being able to travel overseas and do a mission trip to help third world people or to witness about Jesus.

Yet, we never follow through on those moments of inspiration by God. We don’t recognize those are urges or divine directions from God to do His Work. Instead, we limit ourselves by:
* Our life circumstances. We have a spouse and kids and a job.
* Our low self-esteem. We are nobody.
* We don’t have the skills.
* We don’t have the time.
* We don’t have the resources or money.

If you study people in the world that have become successful, done great things, etc., you will find those that persevered through the trials and failures and/or dreamt big, tended to get where they were going. Now imagine having the all-powerful, all wise, all loving Creator and God telling you exactly what to do & providing all you needed to do it.

You would have unlimited potential following God’s instructions, remaining faithful and relying on and using His resources.

The key is not to be focused on self and worldly dreams, like being the next winner of “The Voice”, but instead to recognize what dreams God is giving you, like Joseph did.

God is not going to invest Himself in a dream fueled by greed, arrogance, self-indulgence and self-centeredness.

Jesus spent much time trying to get His listeners to change what they cared about. The Pharisees cared about the law. The people cared about finding a king to defeat the Romans. Jesus wanted the Pharisees to care about the Spirit of the Law and Grace. Jesus wanted the people to care about God’s Kingdom. So he taught them, to change what they cared about. Because what you care about is what you might day dream about. So if God and His Kingdom Work is your focus, then your dreams will naturally be centered about Him and His goals. His dreams become your dreams.
In Matthew 6: 21 & 33 Jesus tells us Himself, where our focus is to be:

No matter what trials we may face or what blessings we may be enjoying, we are to be seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Then the things we need will be added to our life. God doesn’t say yes to everything we ask, because our dreams need to first be fueled by the right things.

“When God is at the core of our lives, he becomes the inspirer of our dreams. If we want to live the wide awake life of our dreams, we must trust God to guide us on a journey we cannot take on our own.” Erwin McManus

“The process to fulfill those dreams in Joseph’s life took not days or months or even years, but decades. Sometimes the life God dreams for us takes a lifetime to come to pass. Great lives that are born out of great dreams often come through great sacrifice and great suffering. Our dreams, the ones God places inside us, are a foretaste of our destiny.” Erwin McManus

The most important thing is that we remain faithful no matter what we are going through. Good times and Bad times alike, can make people become unfaithful. Let’s turn to Genesis 39: 1 – 5.

Joseph is now serving as a slave in Potiphar’s house. He didn’t fight, complain or run away. He stayed where God allowed Him to be. He kept a right focus and a right attitude. He worked to please God.
We, too, must remember to work to please God no matter where He has us at in life. Our life is not ours, but His.

Because of Joseph’s right attitudes and good work habits, Potiphar could see that the Lord was with Joseph. What a witness! And the bonus was that God made all that Joseph did prosper.
What a blessing!

So, start seeking God and asking Him to reveal His plans and dreams for your life. Pay attention to your daydreams and urges. Ask God if those are from Him. Don’t limit yourself! God will tell you what He wants to do through you. He will make those plans and dreams come to pass. Be patient and faithful. Remember God’s dreams and inspirations, so that you have a hope as you go through your daily life and struggles. Be part of the better godly world God is trying to create through you.

“To create a different world is both a courageous act and a creative act. Life is a work of art. The canvas you paint first is your life. Then your life becomes the brush from which you paint that part of the world you touch while you are on this planet. You are an artist. What work of art will you leave behind?” Erwin McManus