Feb 22 - "What Dreams May Come"

Genesis 37: 1-11
"'Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.' But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, 'What kind of dream is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?' So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind."
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The story of Joseph Bar-Jacob is a favorite of mine. As I have written before, it is a wonderful way to see how God's plan works over long periods of time. There are many times in this story, which extends all the way to Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt (Joseph was how they all got there in the first place), when it seems God may have forsaken one of his chosen or even the Israelites as a whole.

Today, we see a part of the story in detail and how it begins. Joseph tells his brothers first about a dream where their sheaves of wheat bow down to his. Then, he tells his brothers and his father, Jacob, about the dream which, in their interpretation, signifies that Joseph believes they should all bow down to him. Joseph's brothers become even more jealous of him than they had been, due to Jacob showing favor to him. Even though we see Jacob rebuking Joseph, he seems to have thought that something else might be afoot: "...but his father kept the matter in mind." Jacob seems to know that something bigger may be at play.

In this story, we don't see any discussion of whether Joseph struggled with a decision on whether or not to tell his brothers or his father about these dreams. He seems just to have blurted them out, not considering their likely insinuation. God had clearly laid on Joseph's heart that he should share these dreams, which we can now see were a divine foretelling of Joseph's future and a part of God's plan.

I think we all struggle with similar situations on a regular basis. We know there is something we should say...some guidance we should give, yet we hesitate because we fear unintended consequences or an incorrect interpretation of our motivation for delivering the message. God puts things on our hearts at times which He knows we should share. These things can eat us alive when the call goes unheeded. Have you had the situation where you looked back and said to yourself, "I knew I should have said something...". How did you know?

We often pray for guidance...for the right words...for the wisdom to know how to approach a situation. Unless we are open to the sometimes tough message God may be sending to us, our prayers are empty requests whose result we have no intention of heeding. Prayer is an amazing and powerful thing, but we have to ready ourselves for action when the answer we seek comes our way.

So, seek...question...ask...dream...pray for wisdom and direction. But even if the answer is not the one you expect, embrace it for the wonderful gift from God that it is.