Genesis 36-37
Joseph was known as a dreamer. He had the ability to decipher the will of God by interpreting dreams. Now, before any of us go wondering if we can do the same thing, it's important to remember that, in the end, Joseph credits God's intervention for this gift of his. He is wise enough to recognize that God was communicating His will to him for a special purpose; to rescue his family from the famine into the security of Egypt. Today, God no longer intervenes through our dreams. Now, God intervenes through the Holy Spirit and the Bible. With these, we are able to discern God's Word for our lives today, and interpret God's promise for the future.
So, what about our dreams of today. Well, those confusing stories of entangled images of fear and mystery are probably best left alone, since God has given the much more trustworthy gifts of scripture and the Holy Spirit. But, the dreams that form out of our hope for the future can be very powerful inspirations of the Holy Spirit. Who can deny the power behind Martin Luther King's "I have a dream..." speech?
Some of our dreams encourage us to hope for a fairy tale ending, "And they lived happily ever after". This dream is likely for ourselves, or our children, or someone else we are close to. Other dreams might be for professional success, and prosperity...the American Dream.
What are your dreams?
One of mine is surely not unlike any other fathers' dream for his kids. I want to see my son grow up to find a genuine faith, hope, and love. With that in mind, let's turn to God's dream. That's right, God has a dream too. His dream is shared with us within the Bible. Essentially His dream is like that of any father, God dreams about a day when his children will find faith, hope and love. It is to restore and reconcile all of us back to Him, because He is the source of genuine faith, hope, and love. Jesus is God's "first fruit" of that dream coming true. Following Jesus is to share God's dream for ourselves and for everyone.
Do you dream God's dream?
Lord God, thank you for revealing your will for me in the Bible, and thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to intervene into my life to help me discern your will. Father, you have a beautiful dream for me; one of life filled eternally with genuine faith, hope, and love. Lord, where my dreams become selfish, or misguided in any way intervene to bend my dreams toward yours. Impassion me to dream your dream for my life as well as for all people. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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