Dreams and God’s Calling

I have always been fascinated by the story of Joseph in Genesis.  For many reasons.  Perhaps it is because I identify with him in more ways than I would care to admit.  I understand what it is like to be called a “dreamer.”  Anyone who has experienced a genuine calling of God whether it be to preach, or to go to the mission field, or to serve in some type of full-time capacity knows what it is like to be misunderstood.  Many are dumbfounded and question the sanity of the called.  “What’s so special about you?” “Why do you think God has communicated to you in ways he does not communicate to me?”  And this only discourages the called, just like Joseph’s brothers discourage him, there can be no doubt.  The problem is that Joseph’s brothers take it too far.  They rid their lives of this “dreamer” brother of theirs.  They throw him in a pit and then arrange for him to be sold into slavery.  They do this to their brother.  They forget they are their “brother’s keeper.”

What his brothers do not understand is that dreams, spiritual dreams, are given by God.  Sure, Joseph is a young boastful teenager, and he does not handle the communication of this revelation well.  I also find this to be true in many respects of younger folks who experience a calling.  They imagine they will be the next Billy Graham, that they are somehow going to save the entire world and inadvertently turn off some with their descriptions of what they think God is doing.  Joseph needs time to work through this revelation.  He needs time to grow and mature.  And he needs guidance.  The problem is that his brothers force such a time on him by rejecting his revelation all together.  Though God allows it and uses it to accomplish his ultimate purpose for Joseph and for Israel, let us not forget Joseph’s description of his brother’s actions.  “You meant it for evil.”  God uses it.  God’s supreme purpose prevails.  Yet the actions of his brothers are still “evil.”  They reject their brother, that is bad enough.  But they also reject God’s calling upon his life. 

Joseph’s story is triumphant in the sense that it proves human beings cannot stop or halt the plan of God.  Everywhere he goes, he is rejected it seems, yet everywhere he goes he is also promoted.  The final promotion is the one that “saves lives.”  He becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man, the brain trust behind his rule.  He wisely saves up grain for the famine, and when it hits, the land of Egypt is preserved.  God’s dream comes true in his life, the same dream he had been given by God as a teenager.  He does rule over the land, yet for God’s purpose of “saving lives.”  All the hardship, though inexcusable, is worked together for good by God in the end.  Again, human beings cannot stop or halt the plan of God.  His “gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Romans 11:35).  I am reminded of the famous statement in Acts by Gamaliel, “Leave these men alone” he says, “Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God” (Acts 4:38-39).

God’s dreams are placed in people’s hearts for a reason.  His reason.  They are the impetus he uses to spur action, action he desires to take place, for his reasons, his purposes, his kingdom.  When Joseph’s brothers see this, they cannot deny it.  They can only throw themselves at his mercy and ask for forgiveness, which Joseph grants, though it is not easy.  In fact, I believe it is terribly hard.  The pain.  The years of disappointment.  The abandonment.  All because of their actions.  Yet, God’s plan has found fulfillment.  His family has been reunited and preserved.  His brothers have tasted the bitterness of their mistake and seem to be sorry.  They are certainly very fearful.  And amazingly, Joseph ends the cycle of ungrace shown to him by extending grace to his brothers.  Which is quite ironic, I believe.  Because any calling of God, any dream he places in our lives, comes for this reason.  So, that we, as his called ones, might be dispensers of his grace, so that we can be used in whatever way he is calling us to be used to deliver the message that forgiveness is available to people, that “God so loved the world.”  It’s called the gospel.  And it’s the ultimate dream God has for the world.  A dream that changes hearts.  A dream that calls people to relationship with him.  A dream God has promised to fulfill completely.