DON’T GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS
THE STORY OF JOSEPH
LCDR MICHAEL A. MONTES, USN
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHIELD, Iraq
I want to thank you all for giving me this opportunity to talk to you this morning. As I prepare for my re-deployment to the United States, I want to share with you a powerful story about how one person’s dream shows the power of the human spirit to fulfill dreams to glorify the Almighty Lord. The story foreshadows that God has a plan for us, even if that plan takes a long time to achieve. This story is about Joseph and his coat of many colors or otherwise known in the modern world as “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.”
How often have we heard this phrase, “You can never do that, dream on.”
When do you hear that expression? Probably when someone talks about wanting something that is so far out of reach that it seems it will never be achieved.
Before I talk to you about the story of Joseph, I want to tell you about a man that had a dream of becoming a physician. His name is Stephen. Back in 1964, we find a U.S. Army specialist who completed his proud military service, but it was time to find his way in the world. After being discharged, he looked to fulfill his childhood dream to be a physician, but along the way he would find roadblocks. He may have questioned his dream and his ability to pursue it. Maybe he thought he had to be a realist. He had a young family to care for, and pursing this dream would be a tough road.
He is a son of a lithographer, a trade that is virtually un-heard of in today’s vocations. His brother went on to follow their dad in the lithographing business, but he had other plans.
When he left the service, he went on to a number of different jobs, until he became a police officer. While being a police officer is a noble profession, it was not his dream. After many years in the police department, he realized that he needed to pursue his dream. Many told him that he would not make it, or that he was too old, “dream on” he was told. His parents did not support him in this dream.
He realized he needed to take it one step at time, and God was with him as he pursued his dream. He obtained his bachelor’s degree that was the first step. Now, could he get into medical school? He was 32 years of age. Back then, the world considered him “too old” to start medical school. He had good scores on his MCAT, and had applied to many medical schools, but he continued to be rejected. Finally, an osteopathic school accepted him. He graduated 4 years later, and knew that he wanted to be a surgeon, which meant 4 more years of residency. These 8 years of schooling were difficult, he was raising a family and money was tight. During these years, his wife became the breadwinner to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. Now, 24 years later, he is a successful doctor and a past president of highly recognized medical association.
If he did not pursue his dreams, he would not have been there for all the countless times he helped saved lives and pieced people back together after traumatic injuries and broken bones. For so many reasons, it was God’s plan for him to fulfill his dreams by healing God’s people. There were many times that he could have taken the easy road, return to the police department, but he kept on, just as Joseph kept on with his dream.
STORY OF JOSEPH
The story I want to talk about today has to do with the Old Testament story of Joseph. In this story, we find that Joseph is the favorite son of Jacob, who had 12 sons. “Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons … he made a richly ornamented robe for him.” (Gen 37:3).
In this story, we find that Joseph is about 17 years old. He is viewed by his brothers as a braggadocios, tattletale teen, and they hate him for it.
Enter the Dream. “Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood up-right, and your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” (Gen 37: 5-7)
Was this just a teenager trying to show off to his older brothers, or was this something more?
“His brothers reply to him, “Do you intent to reign over us? Will you actually rule over us? And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.” (Gen 37: 8)
Then Joseph tells his brothers “I have had another dream, and this time the sun, and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” (Gen 37: 9)
As Joseph sets the stage for his dreams, we beg to ask the question, Is this God’s will for Joseph to rise above his brothers because of his special status with his father FOR HIS OWN SELF PROMOTION, or more likely that his dreams are a vision of God’s divine intentions for Joseph.
As Joseph’s brothers are out working in the fields, Jacob sends Joseph to check on them. Joseph puts on his beautiful robe his father gave him, and headed out to find his brothers. “Here comes that dreamer” (Gen 37: 19), one of the brothers says. The brothers tear off his beautiful robe, and threw him into a cistern, while they contemplated killing him. While they argue about killing their brother, Egyptian travelers approach the brothers, and the brothers sell Joseph as a slave to the Egyptians for 8 ounces of silver.
With Joseph gone, the brothers smear his torn robe in goat’s blood, and tell Jacob that a wild animal ate his son. Jacob is devastated.
Over the next several years, Joseph will be tested to pursue his dream, but it will take him time to learn the true meaning of his dream. Is it his own dream of self-promotion, like ruling over his brothers, or is it a dream from God. Joseph will be tested to either “give up” or “continue on” with his dream.
Next we find that Joseph is sold into slavery to a foreign land. The brothers fail to realize that when Joseph was sold into slavery, he will ultimately fulfill his dream. His brothers will come to bow down to him, but it is not for Joseph’s self promotion, but for the preservation of his family.
Joseph will move from slave to ruler. This is the plan that God had carved out for him, but he will have to face the many roadblocks that are in front of his dream.
THE ROADBLOCKS FACED BY JOSEPH:
1) The first roadblock he faced was when he told his family about his dream. Joseph is misunderstood, or maybe he did not understand the dream at the time. He finds that his family does not support his dream should he give up or continue on? Joseph continues on.
2) When he is sold into slavery by his brothers, should he give up or continue on? We find that Joseph continues on.
3) He is in a strange country, far from home, should he give up or continue on? He was removed from a privileged son to a slave, wouldn’t he doubt whether he could ever achieve his dream?
4) As a slave, his future looks bleak, but he continues on, not sure what God’s plan is for him, but his master is impressed with him, and gives him a favorable status to care for Porihar’s household affairs. Joseph has encouragement to go on.
5) Then, he is pursued and desired by Mrs. Portihar, and when he does not succumb to her desires, she wrongly accuses him of rape. He is thrown in jail for the allegations, and again, he has reasons to doubt the actualization of his dream. Should he give up or continue on?
6) While imprisoned from the false charge of rape, should he give up or continue on?
7) As a prisoner, he finds favor with his captors, as becomes in charge of the prisoners. He sees some hope.
8) After being imprisoned for two years, it does seem hopeless, should he continue his dream?
9) During this imprisonment, two other prisoners discuss their dreams, and Joseph correctly interprets them. One of the prisoners, a baker, he predicts will be executed, and the other a wine servant will get his job back. This interpretation will later give him hope.
Why doesn’t Joseph give up? There are many more times where Joseph finds that his life is hopeless and his dream will never be realized. He learns that every dream has roadblocks, difficulties, or negative thoughts that give you several reasons to give up. What Joseph realizes is that "God is too wise to be mistaken, God is too good to be unkind ... so when you don't understand, when you don't see his plan, when you can't trace his hand, trust his heart." Joseph knew that God was with him, and he had to go on.
Was Joseph the ultimate optimist, or was he trying to fulfill God’s plan for him? His dream, while may have been of his own glory in the beginning, was really the preservation of his family; he just could not see that this was God’s plan.
Then he is given an opportunity when Pharaoh needs an interpretation of his dream. Joseph predicts that there will be 7 years of abundance and 7 years of famine. Pharaoh believes him and is impressed by him. Pharaoh finds that God has given Joseph special wisdom and insight. Therefore, Pharaoh makes him 2nd in command of all of Egypt. While in the years of abundance, Joseph stores vast quantities of food in preparation of the famine.
Then after 7 years of abundance comes the famine. Jacob hears about the grain reserves in Egypt, so he sends his 10 eldest sons to buy some grain. The 10 sons of Jacob come to Egypt and meet with Joseph. It is about 20 years later, and they do not recognize Joseph, but Joseph does. Joseph drafts a scheme to see if they regret what they did to him. Joseph says, “You are spies.” (Gen 42:9) He orders them to bring their youngest brother, Benjamin, before him to prove that they’re not lying about who they are. With Joseph listening, the brothers admit that they are being punished because of what they did to Joseph long ago…we saw his anguish when he pleaded for his life, but we would not listen (Gen 42: 21). Joseph weeps, realizing they are sorry for what they had done to him.
As this story comes to a close, Joseph chooses to forgive his brothers and embraces them. “I am Joseph, Is my father still alive.” He tells them do not be upset and don’t be angry for selling me to this place. “It was God that send me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.” (Gen 45:5) With the Pharaoh’s blessing, Joseph invites his entire family to move to the lush Goshen grasslands of northern Egypt to weather out the remaining 5 years of the famine. Jacob is ecstatic learning that Joseph is alive.
What can we learn from Joseph? Joseph dared to dream, even when his dream seemed hopeless. He was faced with insurmountable odds, how could he achieve his dream, but again God had a plan. God taught Joseph that you always have choices; you can give up or continue on. Why did Joseph continue on, he knew that the Lord was with him, and that the road may be long and winding, but one day he would see the fulfillment of his dream.
Many would say I dream of winning $10 million dollars, or I dream of having a job with lots of money but little responsibility, or You dream of a world where there is peace - where there is no poverty - where every person knows and experiences the love of God. Or maybe you dream of a world where politician talk about how THEY will change the nation or the world, instead of slinging mud at one another. Dream on!
While many of these things may be self-serving or serve the greater good, we need to listen to our own desires and seek the Lord’s guidance for when we dream. Dreams are powerful.
I was fortunate. I was taught to dream, to dream allows one to achieve.
I was told throughout my life, “Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do something, or you can’t achieve something, but if your dream is to pursue that goal, you can obtain that dream if you set your mind to it.” Do not allow other people to stop your dream, do not give in to the pressures that keep you from your success, seek God’s guiding hand to deliver you towards your dream.
Don’t give up on your dreams. There will be good days and bad days, and even days when your dream is nowhere in sight. God has a plan for you, so do not give up.
One might say, I have dreamed to be a professional football player, but that dream never came true, or another might say, I dreamed of being an astronaut, and that dream did not come true. What I say to those dreamers, what about the success you had along your journey to your dream, your dream may have changed for another reason. Look to God for the reason, HE has a separate plan for you. But what about Stephen, the policeman turned physician, he did not give up on his dream.
Dreams are important parts of our lives. We may try to suppress them. We may try to be realistic and not dreamy. We may try to squelch dreams and deal only with reality.
But I dare you to dream:
· Dreams can lead to hope.
· Dreams can help us look past what is to what can be.
· Dreams can help us see the world in a different light.
· Dreams can help us see God’s will for our lives.
· Dreams can give us a new perspective on life - God’s perspective.
Dream on!
But - even though dreams can come to us almost suddenly, although they may come to us in ways we are unaware of – and even though dreams may come upon us when we least expect it - have you ever tried to keep a dream alive - or make it become a reality - when it seemed impossible and useless to even try?
Have you ever tried to keep a dream alive or make it come true when it seemed that everyone is working against that dream and doing all they can to the kill the dream?
A lot of times our dreams get us in trouble.
There are times when dreamers are not very popular people, just like with Joseph.
The problem with dreams is that - too many times - they go against reality - the way things are - and those who like things the way they are, become opposed to the dream because the dreamer threatens their status quo. What about people like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., what if he did not have his “dream.” He certainly challenged the “status quo.”
I challenge you to dream, dream widely, search for that dream that will give you success in life, a bond with the Almighty.
Joseph’s dream did come true. It took over 20 years to materialize, and along the road, Joseph may not have known God’s plan for him, but he kept going on, and when he did he saved his family. God gave him dreams - - visions for how the world could be - visions for what could be done - - visions for what God willed. Joseph dared to dream those dreams - and even when it seemed impossible - - they finally came true.
So — what about you?
Do you dare to dream?
Do you dare to question the way things are?
Do you dare to let God give you a dream - a vision for how things can be?
a dream - - a vision for a better community -
a dream - - a vision for a better church -
a dream - - a vision for a better way to live?
a dream - - a vision for a better world –
As I give my last sermon before I depart home to my family, I will leave you with one thought about how the power of dreams can change our world.
On October 9th, I was proud to celebrate with my Ugandan brothers and sisters on their day of Independence. It was quite the celebration on this small base. One short sentence brought was a powerful thought. Our Ugandan brother said, “Freedom is a gift from God.” If you dare to dream of a world united by freedom, we may fulfill God’s plan for us. Peace and Love.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL, AND I WISH YOU ALL GODSPEED ON YOUR TIME LEFT HERE IN IRAQ.