Dreaming of Greatness

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE

Do you still believe dreams can come true?
Do you dream of greatness?
Do you know how to interpret your dreams?

Dreaming of Greatness

Joseph was the 11th son of an entrepreneur named Jacob, and a young dreamer who dreamed of one day becoming a great man. He was so confident of his dreams that he told his family about them – which was a big mistake. Due to the grandeur of the dreams, he was ridiculed and sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. Little did he know that this act of jealousy would be used by God as a path to make his dreams come true.

What are you dreaming about today? What dreams did you have that you gave up due to life’s challenges or the negativity of others?

Dreams are typically known as a series of thoughts, images, sensations or emotions occurring during sleep. Most of us don’t give a second thought to our dreams, and we often ignore them altogether or consider them to be random or meaningless. But this can cause us to miss the fact that God often speaks to us through dreams. There are many examples of this in the Bible.

Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” – Genesis 37:9 (NKJV)

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” –Genesis 20:3 (NKJV)

Then He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.” – Numbers 12:6 (NKJV)

Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.” – 1 Samuel 28:15 (NKJV)

At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” – 1 King 3:5 (NKJV)

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” – Matthew 1:20  (NKJV)

Dreaming is a gift. Dreams are a vehicle through which God can reveal ideas, solutions to our problems, insight into our future, and warnings to us against certain dangers. Dreaming is giving our imagination the freedom to conceive future possibilities that are not bound by our current reality. Dreams give us the freedom to explore without having to worry about the cost or consequences, because the reasoning of our intellect is not involved. Dreaming is freedom, and if you never dream, you will never do great things.

There is another kind of dream that happens in broad daylight, and with our eyes wide open. These are dreams that are related to a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal that we may aspire to. Every great business started with the dream of an entrepreneur.

Dreaming is the bridge between a wish and a vision. A wish is something that you really want, but you don’t really believe that it will ever happen. A vision is a preferred future that you intentionally conceived based on certain realities that you believe can and must happen. But a dream is something that could happen based on your own conviction and faith. You may conceive something as a wish to begin with, but then make it a dream because you don’t just hope it will happen. But as you add faith to it, you now believe it can happen. 

Finally, you transfer your dream into a vision, which means you are willing to put strategy and action behind it to do your part to make it happen, though it may still be a long shot. Wishing gives you the freedom to believe in miracles. Dreaming gives you the freedom to believe in the impossible. And visioning gives you the freedom to believe in your destiny.

Of course, not all dreams should be taken seriously. Some dreams are caused by overeating or pure emotional impulses. Dreams that are to be really considered are dreams that are consistent with God’s word and His plan for our lives, and sometimes, they may re-occur. These dreams are to be documented, kept in our hearts, and taken to God in prayer for clarification and/or interpretation. If you believe your dream to be true, you can either turn it into a vision, or keep it as a prayer point for its appointed season.

Though Joseph’s dreams came to pass, it took thirteen years from the day he had the dream to the time he was elevated to a position of greatness, and at least another seven years for his brothers to bow down to him. Additionally, Joseph had to go through a wilderness season to prepare him for it. Many of us get discouraged along the journey of life when our dreams tarry, and we face various obstacles along the way that seem contrary to our dreams. Never allow time or life’s challenges to stop you from dreaming. Dreaming is the heartbeat of visions, and without dreams, you will soon stop envisioning.

My prayer for you today is that God will give you the grace to believe in the gift of dreams, the courage to dream again, and the wisdom to know how to interpret your dreams and believe that they can come true.