God Has a Plan to Prosper You

Genesis 37: 3 - 10, Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf." And his brothers said to him, "Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me." So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?" NKJV

Has God ever given you a dream or a vision? Generally, when the Lord gave dreams or visions to people in the Bible, like Joseph in today's scripture, it was for blessing others. However, before we dive into today's word, let me point out that the dream had very little to do with Joseph. In fact, it had more to do with his father and brothers. Nevertheless, the hatred that his brothers had toward Joseph tried to make the two dreams ALL about Joseph. 

There's an important principle to glean from this story concerning being led of God so that we can be a blessing to others. The enemy will use jealousy and envy in those who didn't have the dream or vision, and they will try to make the dream about you. When this happens (leaders), you must be careful not to fall into that (PIT) by taking their threats personally. Satan wanted to make the dreams about Joseph in order to try to get him to lose focus of the very reason God had given him the dream. Satan will use the spirit of offense to get you to take things personally concerning a dream or vision God has given you; however, you must resist his attacks.

Even though Joseph had the dream, the dream wasn't from him. God had given it to him to show Joseph what would eventually occur in his life when the dream was fulfilled. If the Lord has given us a vision or dream, then we can rest in knowing that it will be Him that will bring it to fruition. I cannot emphasize the importance of this point enough. If we know that a dream is spiritual, then we will be able to see that the warfare it brings to our lives is also spiritual; and we won't fall prey to taking the attacks personally or becoming bitter over them. 

God was showing both him and his family that he would be put into a position of authority. Because the Lord allowed Joseph to experience jealousy and hatred from his brothers, it taught Joseph to rely on the Lord, not on the dream. Over time, Joseph encountered many trials, afflictions, and imprisonment; nevertheless, he learned how to behave himself. Consequently, God could develop leadership capabilities in him. It didn't matter what the enemy did against Joseph to try to prevent the dream from coming to pass, the favor of God always brought him into leadership roles. Peter and James both teach us in their epistles to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and in due season, He will exalt us.

Joseph lived by that principle; we know this because, in the end, he told his brothers that it was God who had done all of this to him and not them. Joseph had kept his heart free from bitterness and from the spirit of offense because he kept his eyes on the Lord and waited on Him to exalt him. The dream that God has given to you will happen in God's time, not in yours. Therefore, you need to wait on Him to bring you successfully through the maturation process so that He can bless you to be a blessing to others. 

Only when the dream had come to pass did we see the whole picture God originally showed Joseph. God used Joseph's willingness to be meek and longsuffering in the pit and the prison, so that he could trust him to provide for all of Israel's needs once the famine (not mentioned in the dream) was upon them. If it hadn't been for Joseph, the famine could've destroyed his family and his people. But God!

If you have been given a vision or dream from God, and you've experienced heartaches as a result of the call of God on your life, I pray that today's Word has been an encouragement to you. God gave us real- life stories in the Word of God to give us hope and understanding. Therefore, we can persevere through the hard times, waiting for His deliverance and salvation to come. God wants to prosper you, so that you can be a blessing to many others who don't know Him as well as you. Like Abraham, you have been blessed by the Lord to be a blessing.

Walking in the Favor of God,
Pastor Asa Dockery