The Death of a Dream BUT the Hope of a Promise

He was 17 years old.

Still very young and needing guidance, but he would not see his Father for 13 years. Betrayed and abandoned by his brothers. Taken from the home he knew and sold into slavery.

Can you imagine Joseph’s the inner chaos as he wrestled with anger, bitterness, sadness and all the other emotions that would come with such pain?

All Joseph knew was that he had a dream.  A dream of ruling and reigning. The dream that one day he would become a King.

His dream didn’t tell him where, how, or when. It was just a feeling in his bones that royalty was his destiny.

But– before Joseph would ever sit on a throne, he was first a slave.

Of course, this wasn’t the path he would have chosen to become king. He didn’t say that himself, but I think we can assume if he had a choice, the journey would have looked a little different.

From the perspective of an outsider his dream looked dead. Yet, it was the dream and his ability to dream that kept him through the darkest time of his life. It was the hope…the hope of the promise.

Did Joseph ever think to himself, now that I’m working for Pharaoh, maybe I’ll become king that way.

Possibly–until he was thrown into prison.

Then while in prison, he interpreted the cupbearer’s dream. Did it ever cross his mind, surely this is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Possibly.  But the  cupbearer didn’t remember Joseph until two years later.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick.  And I’ve been there.  And maybe you’ve been there too. That place where your expectation is delayed, the dream, the vision looks like an impossibility because it’s taking too long to happen.

Why did God take Joseph on that  journey? Wasn’t there another way for Joseph?

I don’t have the answer for that. But God was with Joseph. God is with you.

God was in those dreams that He gave to that wide-eyed 17-year-old.  God was Joseph’s hope.

I truly believe that God gives us glimpses of the plans he has for our lives. In the secret place of his presence he reveals his will for our lives. Yet, sometimes the gap between our reality and the promise can feel like an impassable chasm.

Life has a way of knocking you off your feet. And sometimes circumstances will take the breath out of your lungs. Does it mean that the dream God gave you will never come to pass? NO.

But like I heard a very wise minister say—when God gives you a promise, He has the right to take that promise on whatever path he chooses.

The miracle of the story is that in a moment Joseph went from being a prisoner to King. Joseph didn’t have to petition or campaign for the throne. Thirteen years of hidden preparation and God’s timing collided.

If you feel like it’s too late for your dream or that vision in your womb will never flourish—don’t  give up. Let the hope that God is able to do the impossible carry you through those moments of doubt and discouragement. It’s funny how I write this when I just told God that I quit.  I quit my late night practices and the pursuit of everything else he told me to do because it’s too hard and it’s too late for me.

I guess this post is meant for me and for you who feels the same too.

Hold on to the dream God gave you because  it isn’t just for you. Think about all the people Joseph was able to help during the famine because of the wisdom God gave him. Your gift to the world is meant for others more than it is meant for yourself.  Keep fighting. Keep believing. If your dream is taking too long and you are growing weary and tired. Hold on. Keep planting seeds, keep watering, keep trying. Because when preparation and heaven’s timing align nothing and no one can stop it.