Unlocking Your Dreams

Do You Wish You Could MAKE Your Dream Happen?

Unlock Your Dreams

Have you ever felt frustrated because it seemed like your dream was never going to happen? Has your “promise land” seemed out of reach and impossible?

I’ve heard the following concept many times and it usually goes something like this: “If you don’t have a dream for your own life you’ll end up serving someone else’s.” The goal of that message is to encourage people to have a vision for their life, which I agree with 100%. What I don’t subscribe to is the philosophy that serving someone else’s dream is always a negative thing. Jesus said in Matthew 23:11, “He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.”

I started and ran my own business for six years. One of my goals that I had was to get contracted out full-time. In the midst of an economic downturn, I ended up working part-time for the school district as a paraeducator and then labored tirelessly on my business with the rest of my “free time.” Eventually, I began to get discouraged. I wasn’t seeing my dream come to pass.

There was a man in the Bible who had a dream straight from God. Despite receiving divine inspiration, everything in his life kept going wrong. His name was Joseph and his story is found in Genesis chapters 37-47.

In studying his life, we discover 3 Dream Activators that Joseph employed to make his dream happen…

  1. Joseph Thoroughly Understood Someone Else’s Dream (Genesis 41:25-32)

At this point in his life Joseph has been betrayed by his brothers, dropped into a pit, sold into slavery, declared dead, falsely accused, thrown into prison and forgotten by people he helped. Suddenly he is presented before the most powerful man on earth to interpret his dream.

Isn’t that ironic? A guy who couldn’t stop living a nightmare was an expert at understanding someone else’s dream!

When Joseph stood before Pharaoh he didn’t try to get him to feel sorry for him. Joseph didn’t share his sob story. Instead, he “lasered in” on someone else’s dream. He listened intently to Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph repeated it back to him in detail. He saw Pharaoh’s dream with greater clarity than Pharaoh did.

I don’t believe we curry favor from God or man by consolidating our focus to our own agenda(s). I know a lot of people who have a thorough knowledge of their own dream, but I haven’t met many who are intimately acquainted with the details of the dreams of others.

  1. Joseph Served Someone Else’s Dream (Genesis 41:48-49)

Joseph positioned Egypt to be the wealthiest nation of all in the midst of a worldwide famine.

Who do you think got employee of the month?

Are you working on someone else’s success? Are you adding value to the environment God has placed you in? Are you leveraging your time, talents and treasure for another person’s dream?

  1. Joseph Didn’t Force His Dream (Genesis 42:6-9)

Joseph became a highly influential person in Egypt but he didn’t pull strings and attempt to fabricate his own dream. It was in his diligent service before Pharaoh that divine appointments unfolded.

When the eleventh star appeared with the other ten to bow down before Joseph, he had to run to his room and weep because he just lived his dream (Genesis 43:28-30).

How tight is your grip on your own life?  Who’s hands would you rather have on it, yours or God’s? It seems like whenever I’ve tried to force things in my own life, I always end up regretting the outcome.

As I was discouraged with the state of my business years ago I felt like the Lord dropped an impression on my heart. I felt like He said, “Your miracle is only one person away. All I have to do is move upon one person’s heart and mind to improve your circumstance.” That word strengthened me and kept me focused. At the time, I had a handful of customers I was doing little projects for temporarily. Despite the financial hardships, I believe I served them with everything I had.

One month after receiving that encouragement from the Lord, one of my customers offered to contract my business out full-time. That partnership continued to be a fruitful one for the remaining years of my business until the Lord took me in new directions.

Understanding and serving other peoples’ dreams has unlocked many blessings in my life. It’s not only opened exciting doors for me, its created mentoring opportunities and developed valuable skills in my life I never would’ve pursued otherwise.

Are you making your dreams happen your way or God’s way?

CC Image • Courtesy of L’Orso Sul Monociclo on Flickr

    Andrew Mason is the Small Groups Pastor of Real Life Church, a family of churches in the Nor. CA region. He oversees Small Groups and Assimilation. He is Founder of SmallGroupChurches.com, an online community of leaders dedicated to growing churches one small group at a time. Andrew resides in Sacramento, CA with his wife Camille and their two sons.

    Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

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