The Power of a Dream

Every person carries within them a dream—an inner fire placed by God that pulls them toward their purpose. This dream is more than ambition or desire; it is a calling, a God-breathed vision that provides passion, protection, and provision. The story of Joseph in Genesis offers one of the clearest examples of how God uses dreams, even through hardship, to position His people for destiny.

A God-Given Dream

Joseph, the favored son of Jacob, received a dream that one day his family would bow before him. While this vision angered his brothers, it was a genuine revelation from God. Instead of guarding it, Joseph shared his dream openly, provoking jealousy and hatred. His brothers sold him into slavery, setting in motion a sequence of betrayal, imprisonment, and accusation.

Despite years of injustice, Joseph clung to his God-given dream. Scripture recounts how he endured slavery, resisted temptation, and languished in prison for over a decade. Yet even in the darkest seasons, he held onto the vision God had given him. His faith in the dream prepared him for the moment when Pharaoh called upon him to interpret a troubling vision. Overnight, Joseph was lifted from prison to palace, placed in charge of the entire nation of Egypt.

The Nature of a God-Sized Dream

A true dream from God often feels impossible, unreasonable, and too costly. It stretches human limits so that reliance on God becomes essential. Joseph’s story illustrates this reality: his vision seemed destroyed by betrayal and injustice, but it was only through these hardships that God positioned him for leadership.

A God-sized dream requires faith, perseverance, and trust in divine timing. It cannot be accomplished by human effort alone—it demands God’s intervention.

Process and Preparation

Dreams do not unfold instantly. They are refined in the process of waiting, enduring, and learning. Joseph’s thirteen years of struggle shaped his character. His scars became wisdom. What God allows in His providence may appear to contradict His purpose, yet every challenge Joseph faced prepared him for the fulfillment of the dream.

Failure also carries value. The return on failure is learning, and the return on learning is growth. A scar is evidence of survival and carries with it wisdom that a wound cannot provide. For Joseph, every setback was part of God’s process of preparation.

Opposition and Testing

Dreams inevitably attract opposition. Joseph faced ridicule from his family, false accusations from Potiphar’s wife, and years of being forgotten in prison. Yet his faith in God sustained him. The test of forgiveness became his greatest victory. When his brothers stood before him years later, Joseph chose to forgive rather than seek revenge. This act of grace positioned him not just as a ruler but as a redeemer for his family and nation.

Forgiveness is a critical test for anyone pursuing God’s dream. Without it, bitterness poisons the heart and kills destiny. Joseph’s ability to forgive released him fully into the purpose God had prepared for him.

Joseph’s journey reveals that a God-given dream has power to sustain, motivate, and transform. Though it may seem delayed or destroyed, God uses every setback as preparation for fulfillment. The question is not whether the dream is possible—it is whether we will persevere through the process, trust God’s timing, and pass the tests along the way.

A man without a dream is always at the mercy of a man with a dream. When the dream is from God, it not only changes one life but shapes generations.