Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Based Upon Genesis 37:5–11

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“One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. “Listen to this dream,” he said. “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!” His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them. Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!” This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?” But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.” (Genesis 37:5–11, NLT).

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Never, ever let anyone despise your dreams! This statement could be taken a number of ways: One, it could be taken to mean that you have aspirations that not many will understand. Never allow anyone to quench your zeal. Two, it could be taken to mean that the Lord placed understanding of things, which are beyond even your natural comprehension, in your mind to prepare you for something. Never allow people to quench the inspiration of God in your heart. Whichever of the two ways you take my advice, keep in mind, that all aspirations, all thoughts and feelings must be surrendered to God. If ever the Lord reveals something special to you, always keep His honor in the forefront of your mind, and be willing to obey at every step of your journey, and you will be safe.

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While it is true that Joseph’s family mistook the intent of his heart in sharing his dream as a way to show pride and ambition, and perhaps they felt justified in feeling that way, the fact is that nothing could be further from the truth. Joseph was not in control of his dreams. Now that we know the end of the story, we quickly realize that God was at work here. God was revealing that Joseph would become a symbol of the Savior, by selflessly serving, even through great adversity, and subsequently providing life saving food to those who would die without it. His life showed that though he was mistreated, maligned, and abused, that his singular focus was to honor God. He was patient under trial and suffering. He chose neither to allow depression to destroy him as he faced his personal tribulations, nor pride to destroy him as he was elevated to the second seat of authority over all of Egypt. Quite simply, Joseph was submitted to God, in all his ways.

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There will be times in each of our lives, if we choose to follow God’s lead, that others will not understand God’s calling on us. His revelation through our daily walk will be completely misunderstood and misrepresented. But, it is essential for us not to be concerned at all about how others view of our calling, as long as we continue on the path our God has marked out for our lives. In order to do that, we must remain close to Him in diligent prayer, Bible study, worship, and selfless acts of service. We may find that one day, we will represent the King of the universe in the most unexpected ways, and we need to be prepared to represent Him well.

--L. David Harris (www.davidwritesalot.com)