Genesis 37:1–14
Joseph had a dream from God about what his life's calling would be.
A phrase you may have heard before is, "I'm doing what God put me on this Earth to do" or "I was made to _______." People often equate their passions, profession, or skills to God's will and purpose for their lives. Do you have a "dream" (AKA purpose, calling, destiny) for your life?
How do you know it's from God and not just a desire of yours? How can you tell the difference between a God-dream and man's dreams?
(Let anyone answer, discuss and brainstorm. You don't have to have the "right" answer yet.)
Many times, people believe that since they are a Christian, that means that God will bless their business, their family, their decisions, and their finances out of obligation. They believe that God will (or at least should) bless the dreams of Christians. Is that really what the Bible says God will do? Explain.
Here are 4 ways that the dream from Joseph helps us to see what a dream (calling, purpose, destiny) from God looks like:
#1 - A dream from God will always bring glory to God. A dream of yours usually only focuses around making YOU look better.
What's a calling you have that is meant to bring glory to God?
What is a dream you are pursuing that has left God's purpose out of it?
(Joseph's dream was about elevating Joseph to a position of power because God wanted a powerful person to proclaim to the people the truth about God. Joseph's elevation wasn't about him at all, but about God giving him a platform designed to give God glory.)
#2 - A dream from God benefits others. A dream of yours is focused on benefiting you and your life. God may bless you in the process, but it's not designed to simply be for you.
What's one of your personal missions that is centered around the benefit of others?
What dream of yours needs to be readjusted so that it includes others?
(Joseph was elevated so that people would be provided for during a famine, so that Pharaoh could tie the success to God through Joseph, and so that many people would know God. It wasn't about giving Joseph money and power just for his sake.)
#3 - A dream from God won't go away (it will resonate and even intensify over time). A dream of yours changes with your stage of life, circumstances, economy, and surroundings.
What passion has God put in your heart that has never gone away? And what are you doing with it?
What's a temporal pursuit that you know is from yourself and will fade away soon? What are you going to do about it?
(Joseph's dream came to him multiple times. It wasn't a one-and-done.)
#4 - A dream from God will be completed by God. God will do the work, make the way, provide the means, and work in people's hearts. A dream of yours means it's all up to you. God doesn't promise to bless OUR dreams, He promises to bless HIS dream for our life.
How have you seen God provide you with everything necessary to complete His dream for your life?
(There is no way that Joseph could have orchestrated his story. Because his purpose was given by God, God took care of all the details. If it's God's will, it's God's bill.)
Next Steps:
So, how does your "dream" line up? Is it a persona desire, or is it your purpose and destiny from God? Remember, there's nothing wrong with personal desires. We just need to make sure we don't miss the purpose that God has for our lives because we are busy chasing our version of a dream for our lives.
What do you need to confess to God and repent of? What do you need to ask God's help for? What's one step you can take towards God's dream this week?
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