God Is With You in the Journey

The Sip With You In The Journey

Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” Gen 37:5-7 (NIV)

I don’t know about you but as I read the details of Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37, I can’t help but think it might have been better if he had kept this dream to himself. I have 3 children and 8 grandchildren and if one of them were to tell me that one day I would bow down to them, I’d be thinking about locking them up as well! However, I do find myself feeling sorry for Joseph. Certainly, being thrown in a pit and sold by your brothers is not a dream but a nightmare.

Little did Joseph know that before he would see his dream come true, he would experience plenty of disappointment and heartache. We have the ability to see that his life wasn’t really about the destination but the journey that was even more important.

One of the saddest things Joseph believed was that this was HIS dream. We are able to see that God orchestrated every detail to get Joseph and his family to Egypt. The things Joseph experienced, both good and bad, all worked in God’s perfect plan. Had Joseph not been sold (even though it was wrong of his brothers), they would all have died from starvation. That very famine led them to Egypt. Had Joseph not been in Egypt, he would have never understood forgiveness, or the sovereignty of God. We know that Joseph wasn’t bitter based on the words he spoke to his brothers and the favor he continued to show his brothers after their father passed away. Certainly, what they meant for bad God meant for good. God uses all things to accomplish His will.

You see, we cannot determine what God is up to by looking at our circumstances. Ultimately, God is leading us to Him and only God can use all things to make something beautiful out of our lives. God may be using the difficult things to lead us back to Him. I believe that if I were to interview Joseph, he would tell me that he would reflect back upon his journey – the good and the bad – and would choose to live his same life over again. While he was overwhelmed when he saw his brothers, when Joseph was united with his father it was his greatest joy. As a believer, our greatest joy should be to see our Heavenly Father. With each day, it’s one step closer to reach our final destination. Home at last with our Father!