Joseph dreamed a dream

Genesis 37:5 "And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren; and they hated him yet the more."
One night, as Joseph slept, the Lord gave him a dream. When he awoke the next morning, he shared the dream with his family..True, this probably wasn't the smartest move, considering the dream..He had dreamed that he and his brothers were all binding sheaves in the field, and that his sheaf arose, stood upright, and that the sheaves of all of his brothers had to bow down to his. The first time I ever read the story of Joseph, I cried. I was so touched by all that he ended up going through..being sold out by his brothers, being thrown into a pit, being falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, being thrown into prison for a crime he didn't commit..and all the while, being immensely loved by his father. Then at the end, the grace that he extends to his family is just the greatest story in the Bible to me anyway,about true forgiveness.
While in prison, the Lord brought two people into Joseph's life..one was a butler, and one was a baker..One night, they both had a dream also. They each asked Joseph if it was possible for him to interpret their dreams. Joseph interpreted the butler's dream and told him that in 3 days, Pharoah would restore to him what had been taken away. When he interpreted the baker's dream, he told him that in 3 days, he would be losing his life. Some time later, Pharoah also had a dream. He was looking for someone to interpret what the dream meant and the butler remembered Joseph. He was called forth from the prison, and interpreted Pharoah's dream. Pharoah realized that the Spirit of God was with Joseph, and so he promoted him from that jail cell, and put him in charge of his house, and his country..the Bible says Pharoah told Joseph that only in the throne would he be greater than Joseph.
Beloved, I believe that so often God gives each of us a dream. He may speak to us while we are sleeping..but for the most part, I believe He plants something in our heart that we (and HE)would love to see come to fruition. Much of the time, those dreams that are in our hearts are things that we see as being far out of reach, and so we often give up on them..if we pursue them at all. Often, we are surrounded by people in our lives, who would be representative of Joseph's brothers. It is easy at times to become discouraged.
Ray and I had a brother in law, who was a "Joseph" in our life. He was always a very positive person..whenever you got to spend time with him, you always came away feeling like God could do anything in your life..and He can! He didn't know the meaning of the word "can't". We always came away encouraged and full of hope. I have wondered at times what it was about him that just drew everyone to him..but I think it was the fact that he was a dreamer..he had plans for his life..and for his family..and he didn't let too much stop him. He not only had his own dreams, but when you had a dream, he was always there to offer a word of hope, to help develop a plan, or just whatever he felt was needed at the time. He was a person who wanted to see the dreams of others come true.
I believe that many of the dreams we have for our lives are God given. I believe that if we paid attention to what He has "planted" in our hearts, we would know which direction to take. I don't think that Joseph ever lost sight of his dream. I believe that God puts people in our lives who are encouragers and that we should surround ourselves with them. Joseph was actually such a person. He was an encourager for others..but he also had his own dream about stalks bowing down, and that later came true when he sent corn down to the hungry people. God put a couple of people in his life, who actually helped him. The butler helped open the door for his release, and Pharoah made it possible for the corn to be sent to help his family. God wants to see our dreams come to pass!
Because I know many of you so well, and I know some of the things that God has planted in your hearts for the days ahead, I want to see them realized in your life. I want to be in your corner, praying for you, and encouraging you. I would hate to see anyone give up because it took too long, (remember..Joseph was in prison for 13 years)..or because it seemed too difficult. The Lord put someone in Joseph's life who literally opened doors for him.. I am praying for open doors for each of you today..I also think that it is so important to become a part of someone else's dream. We have friends who are supporting us in a dream that we have, and we are also supporting them. Without their words of inspiration and encouragement, we might have been tempted to quit. Hopefully, we are an encouragement to them also.
Beloved, don't ever give up on what God has planted in your heart. Remember, Jesus told His disciples that they should always pray and never..ever ever ever give up.! Luke 18:1

Dedicated to Levi Savage