I think one of the greatest compliments that Joseph’s brothers gave him was to say, “Behold, the dreamer cometh� (Genesis 37:19). For those of you who can’t dream, there are people who are dreaming for you. God will create within you a capacity for dreaming. We are people who have the opportunity and the privilege to dream because the Kingdom of God is a place where dreams can become a reality.
As a young person, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but there was a desire within me to see people happy. I thought rock and roll musicians made people happy. I didn’t realize that wasn’t the case. It looked that way but after experiencing a little bit of that lifestyle, I realized how disillusioned I was: Rock stars didn’t make people happy, and alcohol and partying didn’t make people happy. Drugs didn’t make people happy either.

Then, at the age of seventeen, I got saved. Over the years, God did so many different things in my life, and finally He said, “You know, this is the way that you’re going to be used to make people happy. You’re going to be able to give them a message that can change their lives and bring them into a relationship with a living God.� I can honestly say that dreams do come true in the Kingdom of God.
Outside of the Kingdom of God, I don’t know if dreams can ever come true. Bill Alexson is another person who dreamed. If he couldn’t play in the NBA or work side-by-side with these professional athletes, he just somehow wanted to be with them to minister to them and communicate Christ’s life. Today Bill is working with the professional athletes.

Let’s dream. As we see one another, let’s say to ourselves, ‘Behold, the dreamer cometh.’ We know that Joseph’s brothers’ attitudes were critical and negative. They hoped and imagined that they had put an end to all of his dreams. They dashed his hopes to pieces when they left him in that pit to die. I suppose there will be times, even if we dream, when it will look like we have been left in a pit to die. But there’s also another beautiful verse in the Bible about Joseph’s life, and it says, “But the Lord remembered Joseph.� It just keeps these words saying throughout the story in the book of Genesis, that the Lord remembered Joseph. Before long, Joseph was prime minister of Egypt and he was the very one God used to save his own family. Joseph dreamed and his dreams turned into reality.

If we dream with God, there is also that possibility that our dreams will turn into reality. So aim high and dream great dreams for God because in the Kingdom of God, they can come true.

How do you know you’re dreaming the right dreams? Some dreams could be motivated by self-interest. We can be certain that some of those dreams will remain unfulfilled. Many people ask, “How do you know the will of God?� There are a few answers to that question. First, the Holy Spirit will always speak loudly enough for a willing soul to hear. In other words, God is not going to leave us hanging and wondering. He’s not going to leave us out in the dark. Secondly, God will never lead us in a way that is contrary to His Word. His leading will always be consistent with the teachings of the Word of God.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Holy Spirit will lead those who have already committed themselves to do as God would choose for them. In other words, if a dream is motivated by self-interest and we have already committed ourselves to our choices instead of allowing God to choose for us, then we will find roadblocks. We will come up against closed doors because God doesn’t want us to go in that direction. Many of us have been saved from dreams that were motivated by self-interest. The bottom line in our hearts must be “God, not my will, but thy will be done. And if this dream isn’t of youâ€"�and won’t bring you gloryâ€"�then I don’t want to dream in that direction.â€� We don’t want to have self-oriented dreams because they can turn into nightmares. Can you honestly say that your dreams glorify God? When you dream, is the goal of your dream to glorify Him? Dreaming should take us beyond ourselves. God wants to take us beyond what we can do today into a realm of trusting Him to do the impossible. God’s people should always glory in the impossible.

Pastor John Love is the youth pastor for Greater Grace World Outreach.