What Dreams Are Made Of

I believe each one of us has a dream placed in our hearts, not the kind of dream like winning the lottery which is really the desire to escape our present circumstances. I am talking about a vision deep down inside that speaks to the very soul. The thing we were born to do, that draws from our gifts and talents, appeals to our highest ideals, sparks the feeling of destiny in our life and is inseparably linked to our purpose in life, the dream that links us to the success of our journey between the lines of a time to be born and a time to die.

This morning I want to talk about dreamers, hopefully I will be talking about you.

In Genesis 37 we read of a dreamer by the name of Joseph. His dreams spans from the 37 chapter to the last chapter of Genesis, chapter 50. Quite a dream, but than aren’t dreamers filled with dynamic vision. Look at verse 5 as we peer into his dream (READ 5-11)

We have the advantage of reading ahead, to see the fulfillment of his dream. But it wasn’t easy. No visionary will have an easy time. Joseph felt the jealousy of others, in this case, his own brothers. Joseph was almost killed for the dream by them. Sold into slavery wasn’t quite the picture of the dream. Young, handsome, the object of seduction. Joseph did not lose sight of the dream despite the difficulties, remaining faithful to God and the dream. Joseph did not give in to Potiphar’s wife so he was falsely accused by her of attempted rape. Her word against his, the owner against the slave. We know without reading ahead who would win that battle. Potiphar has him jailed, that should be enough to end this dreamer’s vision of the future. But it didn’t. The opposition worked as a refiners fire in his life. Now he is able to be used of God to interpret the dreams of a cupbearer and baker of the Pharaoh, which opens the door for interpreting the Pharaoh’s dream and the eventually fulfillment, in God’s time, of his own dream.

The path of dreamers usually follows a similar pattern. Their dreams are not generally accepted for some time. But it doesn’t stop the dreamer. Henry Ford had a dream that grew out of his interest in mechanical things as a boy. He was intrigued by the automobile, built his first one out in a shed behind his house. His dream was to put the horseless carriage, at that time only available to the wealthy, into the hands of the common person. He helped form the Detroit Motor Company, where his fellow organizers balked at the idea of manufacturing their product inexpensively in order to sell to the masses. Ford left the company, but he did not leave his dream. In 1903 he organized the Ford Motor Company and produced the Model T. The first year, only 6,000 cars were built, but only 8 years later, over 500,000 cars a year rolled off the line. They were able to reduce the cost from $850 to $360, Ford’s dream, like Joseph’s, came to pass.

Let’s talk about what a dream does. First, it gives us direction. Have you ever known a person who doesn’t have a clue about what they want in life, but are successful? Neither have I. Our dreams give us something worthwhile to aim at. It is a compass, telling us the direction to go. And if you move in any direction other than toward your dream, you’ll miss out on the opportunities necessary to be successful.

A dream also increases out potential. Without a dream, we may struggle to see the potential within ourselves because we are unable to look beyond our current circumstances. Following our dream, we begin to see ourselves in a new light, having greater potential and capable of stretching and growing to reach our dream. Like with the life of Joseph, every opportunity we meet, every resource we discover, every talent we develop, becomes a part of our potential to grow toward that dream.

Our dreams help us to prioritize. It not only gives us hope for the future, but power in the present. Remember last week I said, a person who has a dream knows what he or she is willing to give up in order to succeed. Unfortunately, many people do just the opposite. Instead of concentrating on their dream and letting go of less important things, they try to keep everything going so they have more options. And they never quite succeed, for you spend so much time keeping things going, preserving the options, that they never quite move forward to the dream.

A dream will also add value to our work. It puts everything in perspective. Imagine if Joseph did not really believe his dream came from God. He probably would have made other choices with his life that would not have gotten him to where God intended him to be. But he realized, those things that came up along the journey, as unpleasant as they were, would be used to ultimately contribute to the fulfillment of the dream.