Hope in a dream!

There are many dreamers in the Bible, and we can learn much from their experiences. Joseph is a great example of that. He was a dreamer; in fact, he came from a family of dreamers starting with his great - grandfather, Abraham. Abram (as he was originally called) had no children; Sarai his wife was barren. God had spoken to him and told him that he would be a father of many nations. So how did God get Abram to begin to dream and visualise what the Lord had planned for him?

First in a vision God promised Abram a son through Sarai, “Then he brought him outside and said, ‘Look now towards heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ God then changed Abram’s name to Abraham (father of many nations) and He changed Sara’s name to Sarah (mother of many nations). God gave them a verbal and physical connection to the dream of having a child. They wanted a child - God wanted a nation! Sometimes we don’t recognise the magnitude of the God-given dreams that we have!

Every time they called each other by their new names they were both speaking into their destiny. Saying something doesn’t necessarily make it happen, but Abraham mixed faith with the Word, which gave those words the power to be a reminder of his dream. Faith without corresponding action is dead! Dreams are meant to be fulfilled, they aren’t a prayer, with ups and downs and trials and tribulations. I like the Nike advert, “Just do it!” Don’t try and fulfil your dreams, do it with God!

It’s so easy to fluctuate between faith and unbelief; even Abraham allowed himself to be talked into fathering a child through Hagar, Sarah’s maid. Today we look to fulfil that dream through a surrogate! We often feel the need to give God a helping hand - we get tired of waiting and follow another path which we justify in our own thinking. Well, I know that I have been guilty of giving God a helping hand and as a result suffered the consequences of my own stupidity!

Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, the son of the flesh not the promise. A spanner in the works! Sarah became jealous of Hagar and told Abraham that the boy and his mother had to go. What a dilemma for Abraham as he loved Ishmael his son!

Thankfully God makes provision and chooses to bless our man-made dream; he brings good out of what we do in the flesh, otherwise we would all be in trouble! However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t consequences to deal with. I’ve discovered through my own mistakes that good will always be the enemy of best. Having good intentions and motives doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. God prefers obedience over sacrifice!

We need to be encouraged to dream and we need to encourage our children to dream big. Then ask God for the wisdom and right connections to make it happen.

Another great dreamer was Joseph whose story is found in Genesis 37. He was around 17years old, a shepherd and favourite son of his father Jacob. Due to Jacob’s favouritism, not an enviable position for a parent to put a child in, a hatred for Joseph began to take hold in his brother’s hearts. It also allowed Joseph to be a bit of a brat! His brothers didn’t have a good word to say about him. Then Joseph had a dream and he told his brothers about it. Bad idea! Look at their response. His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.

Their hatred of him was intensified and they wanted to kill him. He was a naive boy who let his excitement cause his mouth to run away with itself. Joseph’s fate was sealed as his brothers plotted to kill him. Having a dream from God doesn’t mean everything will be plain sailing. It’s like a pregnancy; there’s the excitement or shock of finding out, telling family and friends, and then the reality sets in: morning sickness, tiredness, all of the preparations, choosing a name, then contractions, the pain of the birth. But when the child is born and held in its mother’s arms all the adversity of the previous nine months is forgotten! All attention is on the baby (the fulfilment of the dream).

Joseph got a one-way ticket to a pit! Thankfully one of his brothers had a conscience and persuaded the others to sell him to a caravan going to Egypt rather than killing him, so off Joseph went to Egypt. Joseph’s excitement now turned to fear. But the Lord was with Joseph. Even when things look bleak, God is working behind the scenes. Even the best of families can be a dream killer. Even Jesus had to deal with this in His own family. “When His own family heard this, they went to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He is out of His mind.” Mark 3:21AMP

As much as Jesus loved His family, he didn’t allow their unbelief and negativity to stop him being obedient to the calling on His life. Jesus said some harsh things at times. "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Mk 3:33NLT

As much as we want the encouragement and blessing of our families when we share our dreams, it is not always wise to share with them. Many a dream has been dashed or aborted by the “well meaning” opinions of family members. “Where will you get the money?” “Ideas of grandeur!” “Who do you think you are?” “Get real.” “Get a proper job”. None of these help do anything other than squash.

King David also had to deal with his own family, especially his brothers. David had been anointed King by Samuel. When Israel was fighting the Philistines, David was sent by his father to take food to his brothers, who were in Saul’s army, and to bring back news of their welfare. They weren’t pleased to see him, especially when he was vocal about the need to deal with Goliath. Saul and his men were afraid, and that included David’s brothers. Fear also has a voice. But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!” 1 Sam 17:28 NLT I think that Eliab had some issues! David didn’t argue, he let his faith do the talking: And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?”

It’s not easy to deal with family at times but God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us overcome obstacles within our families. Godly wisdom is needed to know what and when to share something. Wisdom needs to be your best friend in such situations.

In the blink of an eye Joseph’s life was changed. He went from being the beloved son of his father to a slave in the unknown land of Egypt. Upon arrival he was sold to Pharaoh’s captain, Potiphar, to be a servant in his house, but the Lord was with Joseph. Things began to improve for Joseph. Potiphar entrusted him with the management of his house but sadly this was short lived. Due to a false accusation of rape by Potiphar’s wife, Joseph was put into prison. Joseph paid the price for his integrity, but the Lord was with Joseph.

Why didn’t God rescue him from his troubles? Good question! He may not rescue us but he will always be with us.

Joseph had favour with the guards in prison and things started to improve for him despite his imprisonment. Later, when he accurately interpreted the dream of the King’s cup-bearer who was also in prison with him, Joseph thought that due to this he was going to be released. It didn’t happen, but The Lord was with Joseph.

Two years pass, the cup-bearer (now out of prison) remembers Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams. Pharaoh was deeply troubled by a dream he had that no one could interpret. Joseph found himself standing before Pharaoh, the King. He interprets the dream and gives all the credit to God. There was going to be seven years of abundance and seven years of famine and through the wisdom of God Joseph had a plan to handle the situation. Pharaoh rewarded Joseph by promoting him to oversee the situation. After many years of suffering and struggle, God made Joseph the most influential person in Egypt second only to Pharaoh. His wisdom and planning saved the lives of the Egyptians and those of other nations. Joseph had endured much at the hands of his own brothers. When they came to Egypt to buy grain he eventually made himself known to them, forgave them and persuaded them to settle in Egypt with their father, Jacob, during the time of famine.

It’s so easy to assume in these situations that God is not with us. At times we forget that scripture is very clear, that God is powerfully present in these tough situations. Don’t throw away your God-given values in pursuit of your God-given dreams.  “Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” Hebrews 10:35-36 NLT

God always has a plan, even when things don’t seem to be working out. Sometimes things happen in our lives that seem disastrous and we can think, “How can God change this situation?” But the events of Joseph’s life were no accident. He was right where God needed him to be to fulfil his destiny.

Even if you feel that you’re “’n prison’ and your dream is a distant memory, don’t lose hope in God’s promises. God never stops working on your behalf, especially when you can’t see a way through. Let’s not get stuck in the negativity of what we believe that God is not doing.

In the New Testament, Jesus tells us not to cast our pearls before swine - meaning don’t share your dreams with those who will trample on them.

We should all choose our friends wisely. No one wants to be a ‘Billy no mates’, but being so would be preferable to so called friends who want to control, bully and use you for their own ends. Some ‘friends’, if we allow them, can kill our dreams through jealousy and insecurity, both of which are fear based. I believe good friends can talk through and resolve issues without the need for a friendship to end. Each one of us can have insecurities that can surface when a good friend is being blessed and we are not.

A good friend should be able to challenge us without our jumping to the wrong conclusions. If our dreams cannot stand the tests of life then I doubt that they came from the heart of God. God never gives up on us, even when our friends do. A good friend should want to contribute to your dream and encourage you in any way possible, even if they have their doubts!

Jonathan was inspired by his friend David, despite the fear of his father Saul. Your dream may inspire someone who will turn out to be a lifelong best friend. Your dream may be the answer to so many prayers and the inspiration to cause others to dream big. There are doctors out there who dream of finding a cure for cancers, dementia, blindness and a host of other life-threatening diseases that most of us have never heard of, but they persevere despite the obstacles in the belief that one day a cure will be found that will eradicate those diseases. God has the answers, my friend, and as you pursue friendship with God, those answers shall be revealed. The Holy Spirit inspires us, and so does the enemy -only with him it’s called temptation. Don’t let the devil tempt you to give up on your dreams just because a friend thinks you’re nuts!

I have some great friends in my life who have encouraged and pushed me towards my dream. Some of them I clicked with straight away and others, who I wouldn’t necessarily have chosen as friends, probably because we moved in different circles, have proved to be my greatest allies. When I had doubts, they would use my own words against me to remind me of the greatness of God and the insignificance of the enemy in comparison to Him. They loved me when I was difficult and cranky and didn’t hold my faults against me. They saw the gold in me. I was blessed because I don’t recall anyone inside my circle telling me that starting a church as a female Pastor was impossible! I had plenty of other so called ‘friends’, both men and women, who used the Bible as a weapon against me, telling me that leadership was only for men! I can look back and smile now. It took several years to get there, but that in itself was an adventure. I thank God for all the people that he put in my life to make my dream a reality. Good friends are a gift from God, treat them well and may they always be a blessing in your life, even when they challenge you!

Claudio Ranieri was named Leicester City FC manager at the start of the 2015 season. Before he came to Leicester, he managed many top clubs in Europe and had finished second with Monaco (France), Juventus, Roma (Italy) and Chelsea (England) but had never won a top division title. When he arrived at Leicester many people thought that it was a bad decision and that at 64 years old his best days where behind him. He had just been fired as the manager of the Greek national team after they lost a home match against the Faroe Islands (World Ranking: 187) and he was the favourite to be the first manager to lose his job that season. Leicester's most famous fan, Gary Lineker (the Golden Boot Winner for the 1986 World Cup), said that Claudio Ranieri was an 'uninspiring choice'. As it turned out, Ranieri's appointment was inspired. This team played positive counter-attacking football all season and showed that having possession of the ball is not the most important thing. Ranieri kept the pressure off the players and his relaxed style helped his players concentrate on football. Ranieri had fun with the players; one example was giving them pizza for keeping clean sheets.

The 2015–16 season was Leicester City's 111th season in the English football league system and their 48th (non-consecutive) season in the top tier of English football. During the season, Leicester participated in the Premier League for the second consecutive season, as well as the FA Cup and League Cup. In what was described as one of the greatest sporting stories of all time, Leicester were confirmed as champions of the 2015–16 Premier League season on 2 May 2016, finishing top of England's highest league for the first time in the club's history. The club were 5000-1 with bookmakers to win the division before the season kicked off. The feat meant that Leicester would be playing in the UEFA Champions League the following season, a first for the club in their history. The season also saw history being made for individual players within the team, as striker Jamie Vardy broke the record for goals scored in consecutive games in the Premier League and Riyad Mahrez became the first Algerian player to be the recipient of the PFA Players' Player of the Year. When Ranieri was interviewed he said this: “Let the people dream.”

Don’t let family, friends, failure, lack of intimacy or fear kill your dreams or dampen your fire!

Hang out with people who pour water on your fears and petrol on your dreams: Bill Johnson