Joseph Remembered the Dreams

In Gen 42:9, Joseph remembered the dreams.  There was a gap of many years between his dreams and the day that Joseph remembered the dreams.  This message is about how to handle life until your dreams are fulfilled.

In Gen 37:5-10, we read about Joseph’s dreams.  His brothers and his parents were going to bow down to him.  He didn’t understand the timing or the application and context of these dreams.  But he believed they would one day be fulfilled.

Then his brothers conspired against him and said, “we shall see what will become of his dreams”, Gen 37:20.  And they sold him into slavery, Gen 37:27. Then the slave traders sold him in Egypt, Gen 39:1.  Now what?

It’s not wrong to have dreams when you’re young.  Most of us do.  But often there is a gap between the dream you have and it’s fulfillment.  What do you do between your dream and the fulfillment of your dream?

Make sure God is with you.  Gen 39:2-3, 21-23.  God is not just present at the fulfillment of your dreams.  God is with you now.  It is much more important that God is with you where you are than that you fulfill your dreams and find that God isn’t there with you.

The beauty of life is that you can be with God wherever you are and he is with you.  Fellowship.  The route you’re on may not seem like the path that will get you to your dreams.  But if God is with you, he’ll get you to your dream despite your circumstances.  As a matter of course, your circumstances may, in fact, lead directly to the fulfillment of your dreams.  They did for Joseph.

Serve where you are, as to the Lord.  Gen 39:4, 6, 8-9, 22-23.  Joseph was a slave and a prisoner and was not being paid to do any of the work that he did.  But he served so faithfully, that both Potiphar and the keeper of the prison committed all to the hand of Joseph.  He was the overseer.   Jesus said the greatest is the least, the master is the servant.  Be faithful to serve God now.

Don’t sin against God.  Gen 37:9.  When the circumstances in your life turn against you, it’s easier to justify sin.  Just because someone has turned against you, don’t turn against them or God.  The old saying is, “hurting people hurt people”.  Your sin could ruin your dream. The devil knows that you’re vulnerable to attack.

Accept that God’s timing is not your timing.  Gen 40:14-15.  When Joseph interpreted the butler’s dream and realized that the butler would be restored to his position, he asked the butler to put in a good word for him.  Poor old Joseph had to wait another two years, Gen 40:23-41:1.  It takes patience to wait on God.

We usually want to hasten the fulfillment of our dreams.  God doesn’t work on our time schedule.  He works on his.  Don’t get frustrated if God takes longer to bring your dream to pass than you want him to.  Joseph was 17 years old when he dreamed these dreams.  He was 30 when he was released from prison, Gen 41:46.  Then there were 7 years of plenty.  And then there were 2 more years of famine, Gen 45:6.  He was nearly 40 years old when Joseph remembered the dreams.  Wait on God.

Give God all the glory.  Gen 41:25, 32; 45:5-8.  We are not the reason our dreams are fulfilled.  God has to fulfill them and he fulfills them for his purposes, not ours.  Joseph was sent before his family to preserve their lives. Their bowing down was the result of Joseph’s promotion to the second ruler in the country.  But it wasn’t because he was due the glory.  Joseph made it clear that God is the one worthy of the glory in the fulfillment of his dreams.

From the beginning, it was evident to Potiphar and to the keeper of the prison that the reason Joseph was so successful is “that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand”, Gen 39:3.  They didn’t attribute the success to Joseph; they attributed it to the Lord.

When Jospeh interpreted the dreams for the butler and the baker, he said, “”Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me them, I pray you”, Gen 40:8.  When Pharaoh asked Joseph to interpret his dreams, Joseph said, “It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh and answer of peace”, Gen 41:16.

He also said, “God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do”, Gen 41:25.  “And God will shortly bring it to pass”, Gen 41:32.  After interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams and giving him counsel, “Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such an one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is”?  From the beginning to the fulfillment, every one could see that it was the Lord in Joseph and not Joseph himself who was responsible for the successes in Joseph’s life.

Conclusion: if you have a dream that you believe has come from the Lord, then follow Joseph’s pattern as God brings it to pass.  Whatever you do make sure to:

• Follow God, not your dreams.  God has to be with you.
• Serve and be faithful when what you’re doing is for someone else’s plan and not for yours.
• Watch out for an attack from the devil that could take you out.
• Be patient, God works on his own time schedule, not yours.
• Glorify God in all that you do from start to finish.

To get where God showed Joseph that he would be, he needed to go through all that he went through.  He needed to be a slave to learn to become a ruler.  He needed to be in Egypt to provide for his family.  Everything he went through prepared him for each next step in his life.  And then, finally, his dream was fulfilled and Joseph remembered the dreams. None of the steps seemed to be leading to Joseph becoming the second ruler in Egypt.  From our perspective, everything seems like one detour after another.  From God’s perspective, everything falls perfectly into place.

When all the pieces of your jigsaw puzzle get spilled on the table, your life may seem like it’s coming completely unraveled.  In fact, it’s more likely that it’s just starting to come together.  Let God do his work in your life.  Trust him to put all the pieces together where they belong.  If you do, then as Joseph remembered the dreams, you will one day remember your dreams.