50 Days to More

A Seven Week Campaign to Begin 2018

Week 2: Defining the Uncommon Dream that Energizes You

Day Eleven (1/17/18): The Uncommon Dream and Opposition
Recommended Reading: Genesis 37:18-28

If you have a dream that has become your destiny, unfortunately there is going to be some opposition along the way. Not everyone will like it or embrace it. There will be enemies of your dream.

So, where will this opposition come from? Ironically enough, resistance may come from those closest to you: your family. Joseph’s very own brothers hated him when he told them about his dream. His father loved Joseph more than his brothers, but that didn’t mean he accepted his dreams so easily. Joseph’s father rebukes his dream and can’t believe that he and his sons would bow to Joseph (Genesis 37:10-11). Even so, his dreams were true.

The ones closest to us will often focus on our weaknesses instead of the uncommon dream inside of us. A perfect example of this is David. His brother Eliab was very angry with David for leaving the pasture to observe the Philistine army (1 Samuel 17:28). They certainly didn’t approve of David’s decision to fight Goliath. But we all know how the story ends. Even with all the doubt and anger from his family (and even the king) filling David’s mind, he still set out to kill Goliath. He succeeded, because he believed in the destiny that God assigned to him and he wasn’t afraid to go get it.

The same thing happened to Joseph. His own family became the enemies of his destiny. His brothers actually conspired to kill him. They mocked Joseph when they saw him, saying “Here comes the dreamer.” They wanted to get rid of him because they were intimidated by his dream. They hated the idea of someone else (especially their own brother) ruling over them. In reality, it was the message they really wanted to destroy, not necessarily Joseph. When we don’t like the message, our first human reaction is to kill the messenger.

His brothers’ actions led to Joseph being sold into slavery. Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. At that time, he probably felt that his dream was dead. In fact, he most likely felt that his whole life was over. Of course, we know the end of the story. We know that being sold into slavery was a stepping stone to his destiny as king.

Do you have a dream that seems to be dead? Maybe you thought it was from God, but you faced so much opposition and attack from the people around you. When our loved ones don’t approve of the things we see for our future, it’s easy to let doubt creep in. However, there’s a way to know that dreams are really from God. Our dreams can appear dead, but if they’re from God he can supernaturally resurrect them!

Are you in this position? Call on God to resurrect the dreams that you’ve buried in the back of your mind because of doubt. It’s not too late; he has the power to breathe life into them again!

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 (ESV)

Compiled by Christine Thompson
Taken from the Sermon Series “7 Steps to One Thousand Times More”
By Pastor Timothy Coats
Family First Church - Spring Hill, Florida