Dream a (Little) Dream

“But put God’s kingdom first. Do what he wants you to do. Then all those things will also be given to you.” Matthew 6:33 NIRV

We’ve been taught since we were little girls that the world was ours for the taking: we can go anywhere, do anything we put our minds to. Within reason, of course. There are laws, and resources, that hold some of us back. Generally speaking, most of us can pretty much determine our paths in life. If we can dream it, we can do it. All we have to do is figure out how to make it happen. But what happens when our dreams keep us from living the lives of contentment God meant for us to live?

Whenever I need a reality check on my dreaming life, I turn to the big dreamer in the Bible, Joseph. Now, before you throw your Bible at me, let me be clear: I know Joseph didn’t dream of big things for his life, God did. God had bigger dreams for Joseph’s life than even he did! But, if that doesn’t tell you something about your own dreams and the plans God has for your life, I don’t know what will. God will always have bigger dreams, bigger plans, bigger hopes and a bigger purpose for your life than you can ever think or imagine. You can count on that!

Back to Joseph. Joseph was a young man when he dreamed his first of two dreams for his life. God revealed His plan for Joseph’s life in two dreams. If you listen closely to his brothers, they must’ve had the gift of interpretation because they knew what his dreams meant. “His brothers said to him, ‘Do you plan to be king over us? Will you really rule over us?’” (Genesis 37:8 NIRV)

The brothers did not like Joseph’s dreams. And I have to be honest, if my kid sister were to tell me that she would one day be my ruler, I don’t know if I’d be too thrilled with the idea, either. Not with who she was at 17. Who she is now, I’d be fine with it, she’s a mature and wise older woman who’s gained wisdom and maturity through experiencing the world and all she’s gone through. I would be ruled by her now, but when she was 17, irritating know-it-all and done nothing, protected by the parents who raised her and seen nothing of the world, not so much.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, even though he knew the brothers were already angered by the first dream, Joseph shared the second dream with everyone! One just like it. And anyone who knows how to interpret dreams knows that if a dream happens twice it is pretty much confirmed by God. This second dream makes the brothers and the father furious! “…Then his father rebuked him. He said, ‘What about this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers really do that? Will we really come and bow down to the ground in front of you?’”(Genesis 37:10 NIRV)

Because Joseph did not understand how to handle his God-sized dreams, his life is catapulted into a mess of slavery, imprisonment, and eventually we do see that God plants his feet in the palace of the Pharaoh, where he indeed rescues his family from famine, and they actually end up bowing to him and being ruled by him as God intended all along.

Do we think Joseph would have gotten there any other way had he not shared his dreams with his brothers? Of course! It was God’s plan, and what God plans will always come to pass. Could it have come any easier way? We don’t know that. Joseph had to grow up, mature, gain wisdom and experience that he would need in the palace. And he would not have gotten that back home. He was sheltered and coddled by dad. And God knew he couldn’t grow a king’s right hand in that environment. God knew what He was doing.

And that’s the point of this week’s message: God knows what He’s doing with your dreams.

The Faith to Follow God lifestyle means we can dream our dreams and work to make them happen, but we must be content while working them out because too much hustling means we’re trying too hard to make the dream work and not trusting God.

But how do we know we can trust God with our dreams? Here are a few promises from God’s word about your dreams:

God Won’t Take Your Dream From You

“Do what the Lord wants, and he will give you your heart’s desire.” (Psalm 37:4 CEV)

One of the hardest lessons I have learned in all my dreaming years is that the dream God placed in my heart is mine to hold for as long as I want. If God gives it to you, He won’t take it from you. In John 14: 27, Jesus tells us something very important that applies here very well, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.” (NET)

Jesus gives peace, the kind of peace that gives courage to believe in things like big dreams. The kind of courage you will need to plan and see those dreams come to fruition. Watching while something you tried doesn’t quite work out like you thought it might. Seeing your hopes get dashed. Feeling the ache of not now, not yet, no. But, also the kind of peace you will need to live in contentment watching those dreams take time to become fulfilled. If you are seeking God, you cannot miss one thing God has for you!

God Will Give You What You Need to Fulfill Your Dream

“My God will meet all your needs. He will meet them in keeping with his wonderful riches. These riches come to you because you belong to Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19 NIRV) 

One thing Joseph learned early on in his journey is that he had gifts no one else had. He rose to the top at Potipher’s house. He rose to command in the prison. He rose to 2nd in command in Pharaoh’s court. He did not just hope or wish for those skills. He earned them. God gave him favor by giving him opportunities to gain the skills and knowledge he would need in those areas.

The same will hold true for us. You cannot skip over the years of experience and wisdom needed when you reach your dreams. You have to go through before you can come out on top. I met a woman once who tried so hard to teach women how to come out of divorce and find a godly husband and live a great “second act”. The problem was, she wasn’t yet fully divorced and was still searching for her godly second husband! She was still dealing with a lot of grief and hurt from her first marriage ending the way that it had. It was not only hard for her to teach women what to do next because she hadn’t been there yet, it was hard for her to even see herself on the other side.

The dream God has for your life will be greater than even you can imagine. You have to trust God will give you what you need to fulfill it. And you have to trust the process. You won’t miss it, I promise. God won’t let us miss one thing He has for us. If He gave it to you, He won’t let you miss it.

God Will Give You the Time to Complete Your Dream

“I’m sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6 CEB)

Jesus gives peace, the kind of peace that provides patience to see a dream fulfilled no matter how long it takes. Just because it takes time to make the dream happen, doesn’t mean God didn’t give that dream, or want to see that dream fulfilled.When the dream is taking longer than you thought it would, it’s God’s peace that helps you know that if God gave you the dream, He will give you the time you need to complete the dream and He won’t let time run out on you before the dream is fulfilled.God will see the dream come to fruition because that’s His plan.

God Wants You to Be Content While You are Fulfilling Your Dream

“At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.” (Isaiah 60:22b NLT)

Here we come full circle to the point of the series this month: contentment. God wants you to fulfill every dream He has given you to fulfill, He won’t take any of those dreams from you, He will give you exactly what you need to fulfill each and every one of those dreams, in the time that you need to fulfill those dreams, and He desires for you to be content with your current life as you go about fulfilling the dreams and desires He’s put inside your heart for your future.

Don’t let what God has for your tomorrow rob you of the joy God has given you to experience today. Be content with your life, enjoy worshiping God today, live daily enraptured by the scripture and praise God for who He is in your life today. Let the joy of your salvation be the driving force behind you as you walk out the pathway to your dreams. Then you will experience the joy of contentment as you see your dreams fulfilled the way God intended.

The human element is the one thing God understands when He looks at His plans for us. This should give us comfort that we cannot miss or mess up one thing the Lord has for us. What we must keep in mind is that contentment is where our joy is and as long as we hold onto our joy, we have all we need to see our dreams fulfilled with the right stuff, at the right time.

My prayer for you is that you find your peace in contentment as you go forth seeking the next step in your dreams for the new year this week.

With love and blessings,