January 19: Dreams

Scripture Lesson: Genesis 37:1-11

Today is the birthday of former Tampa pitcher Jim Morris. Morris, who made his Major League debut on September 19,1999 at the age of 35, had his story chronicled in the movie, “The Rookie.” He always had the dream of playing big league baseball. Morris said, “I consider myself very lucky. God has a funny way of bringing some things around and knocking you in the head with the ultimate destination. Something I should have achieved quite easily took me a long time to get around to it. It came in His time, not mine.” Morris had his dream come true, just not when and how he imagined.

Our Scripture lesson today is the beginning of the Joseph story. Joseph had dreams that he would be the most powerful of any of his family. You talk about ups and downs, Joseph’s life would read like a Hollywood movie. Loved most by his dad, later sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, Joseph later rose to prominence as the chief slave of Potiphar. After being falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, he lost that position and was thrown into jail, but there he became a most respected prisoner. He interpreted a dream for Pharaoh’s cup-bearer, predicting that he would be freed. The cup-bearer, however, forgot about him until two years later, when the Pharaoh had troubling dreams. Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, and was soon appointed as the number two man in all of Egypt. Finally, Joseph was reunited with his family. God used the many twists and turns of Joseph’s life to literally save the world from a severe famine. Sometimes things don’t go like we think they should, or the way we want them to go in our lives. We need to realize today that if we follow God, He always is working in and through our lives. Our lives are not our own! God will position best in life to make a difference for Him.

1. Look back over your life and think about how God has changed your plans for His plans.

2. Why is it so hard to simply trust God and follow His plan for our lives?

3. What dreams has God placed in your life?

Jim Morris’ dream came true … Joseph’s dreams came true … our dreams will come true when they are God’s dreams for us!