LEARNING DAILY

Genesis 50:20, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Pastor Ed Newton spoke about the difference between good dreams and God dreams this weekend. The target statement on the Listener Guide was: “Your current reality is not your final destiny. Good dreams can go unfulfilled, but God’s dreams cannot be stopped.” It was an encouraging message for anyone who has a dream about serving God. Those good dreams that we have created in our mind that would help God out in what He wants done may not happen because the dream may have been created by our own thoughts and desires. But those dreams that God places in our minds are going to happen.

The dreams that God has given to His believers will happen. A God given desire is about “what He wants to do in and through us; it is not about us. God given dreams are about God” (Newton). Has God given you a dream that has not happened? Perhaps the timing has not been ready yet. Perhaps you have needed to be made ready for what He has for you to do. Perhaps the timing for the dream is not yet ready. Perhaps you need to come to the understanding that the dream is not for you but for someone or for everyone around you. Let me explain what Pastor Newton used as an example.

Joseph had dreams about his brothers and even his father bowing down to him. Of course that got him into great trouble with his brothers. The tipping point for them came when he showed up where they had their sheep wearing a coat of many colors showing their father’s favor. Joeseph was sold by them to Midianite travelers who sold him to Potiphar, who was the captain of Pharoah’s guard in Egypt. Joseph found favor with Potiphar and all was good until Potiphar’s wife tried to get him to “lie with her” (Listener Guide). Here is a key point for every Believer: “Joseph may have lost his coat of many colors, but he held on to his character – even when no one was watching” (Newton). Joseph made God the priority of his life. Because of the lie told by Potiphar’s wife, Joseph ended up in prison.

Once again Joseph found favor with the prison guards and soon was “put in charge of all the prisoners in the prison”. There he met Pharoah’s cupbearer and baker; he interpreted their dreams which eventually brought Joseph before Pharoah to interpret dreams he had. This brought him into a position in Pharoah’s court. Eventually, Joseph’s entire family came to Egypt and Joseph telling his brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Do you see and understand that the process for a God-given dream may take time to be fulfilled? Because your “God-given dream” has not happened, it does not mean is will not. You may not have been prepared or possibly the timing was just not right. Joseph stayed faithful to God in every difficult situation he faced. God continued to prepare him to be second in command of Egypt. You may not be being prepared for a high position; stay faithful to God! Perhaps you are to just share this message of encouragement to someone today or tomorrow. Or perhaps, in God’s timing someone might speak to someone else about you which might fulfill the dream God has given to you. “You cannot short cut the process that God is working out for your destiny, to make you ready for what God has for you to do” (Newton). “There are good dreams that can go unfulfilled, but God’s dreams cannot be stopped” (Target statement for the message from the Listener Guide). Do not give up on God’s dream in your life. Stay faithful by making God the priority in your life! The God-given dream is not about you but for everyone else around you!