Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more. He said to them, 'Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf.' His brothers asked him, 'Will you indeed reign over us? Will you indeed have dominion over us?' They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words. Genesis 37:5

When Joseph was about forty years old, he became second-in-command of the most powerful nation on earth at the time. Then as his brothers bowed down in front of him, he could still remember the dreams that God had given him when he was just a teenager, over twenty years ago. Though it took a long time, his dreams were now coming to pass.

God had shown Joseph through dreams that he would be raised up to be a leader and that his brothers would come bow down to him. He should probably have kept that to himself, but he told his brothers about it and they sold the 'Dreamer' as a slave (v. 28) to a group of merchants for twenty pieces of silver. His brothers said 'We will see what becomes of his dreams' (v. 20).

The merchants took Joseph to Egypt with them and once there, sold him to Potiphar, the captain of the guard. God was with Joseph, and everything that he did prospered. Soon Potiphar put him in charge of his entire house (Genesis 39:4).

Joseph served as a slave in his house until Mrs. Potiphar took a liking to him, for he was well-built and handsome. When Joseph spurned her advances, she framed him for attempted rape, and Joseph went to prison.

God was with Joseph in prison. Everything that he did prospered and soon he was in charge of running the place. Joseph served wherever he was placed. Even prison did not stop his dreams from coming to pass, but instead helped to fulfill them.

Eventually Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret and a man that Joseph had interpreted a dream for in prison told Pharaoh about him. Joseph was brought out of the prison, interpreted the dreams, and was made second-in-command of Egypt. The promotion happened suddenly, but after decades of waiting.

God was with Joseph as a ruler as well and gave him wisdom on what to do. Soon, his jealous brothers who had sold him as a slave, came and bowed before him just as Joseph had seen in the dream. They needed food for their families. Joseph forgave them for what they had done. He realized that God had placed him here for a reason, because you can only connect the dots looking backward.

God gave Joseph a dream, and though it took a strange course, it all came to pass when it was time. At every stage it appeared that the dream was dead, that Joseph had missed it. Yet nothing, and no one, could stop it from coming to pass. Every bad act, like his brothers selling him as a slave, and Mrs. Potiphar accusing him of rape, simply pushed Joseph a little closer to his destiny.

No one has to believe in the dream that God has given you in order for it to come to pass. Even if they despise you and do things to harm you, it will only help fulfill what God has told you. Don't stop believing what God has told you secretly. Though the vision tarries, wait for it.

Prayer: Heavenly Father I wait for You and Your timing. I know that the plans that You have for me are good. I don't understand the methods at times, but I choose to trust in You. Give me a clear vision and help me keep a positive attitude while I wait, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

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