“You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

Genesis 42:9b

These were the words that Joseph, the most important man in Egypt, pronounced over his brothers when they were still unaware of who he really was. “No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies” (Genesis 42:10-11). For many years Joseph had longed for that very moment. Memories came flooding back of times when he had been living with them and when he had shared his dreams with them. He also remembered how they had closed their ears to him, not bearing listening and even believing him to be pretentious. Joseph’s brothers could not understand that this wasn’t just a mere youthful fantasy, but God’s destiny to preserve the people of Israel. Joseph remembered the wicked way that his brothers tried to kill him, the way in which they conjured up ideas of how to get rid of that dreamer along with his absurd dreams. One of the older brothers had the idea to sell him as a slave to the Amalekites. So, years later when Joseph’s dream became a reality, he did not look at them with hatred or resentment, or even with revenge. He was in awe of how the sovereign God had used that setback to place him in His purpose. He meditated on how naïve his brothers had been because, while they thought they were destroying him, they were really pushing him towards God’s purpose for his life and towards the fulfillment of his dreams. But his beloved brother, Benjamin, was not with them, so Joseph pressured them not to return without him.

When Joseph met with them the second time, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him (Genesis 43:26). When Joseph saw his beloved brother Benjamin he was moved and he rushed out of the room to look for a place to weep. The most difficult moment for Joseph’s brothers was when they found the silver cup in Benjamin’s sack, since they had told Joseph’s servants, “If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves” (Genesis 44:9). One more time they bowed down before Joseph, “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup” (Genesis 44:16).

I have always felt particularly drawn towards this story about Joseph’s life. God wanted to teach him, at a very young age, the importance of having a clear dream to encourage him to press forward through adversity. We know that in order for a dream to become a reality, it is necessary to have faith, patience and perseverance in the midst of adversity, so that the dream doesn’t die. Joseph listened to Judah’s intervention on behalf of Benjamin and guaranteed the boy’s safety. Then, Joseph could no longer control himself. After making everyone leave the room except his brothers, Joseph made himself known to them, saying, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay’” (Genesis 45:1-9).

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
I was giving a lecture in Hawaii and one of the Pastors came to me at the end of the lecture and told me, “I’ve never had dreams, but I always see visions. Can you pray for God to give me His dreams?” I explained to him how the dream of God comes to our lives. Everything begins with a desire placed in our hearts by the Lord, and as time goes by that desire grows stronger. Sometimes God gives us a revelation, whether by a dream, a vision, or a desire He places in the heart. When it has to do with God’s dream there is no selfishness. This man, with an expression of happiness in his face told me, “Yes! That is God’s dream for me; the one I’ve always had: to win my state for Jesus.” Then he dared to tell me how that desire had begun and was growing stronger in his life and began to speak out his next years of ministry in faith.

TODAY’S DECLARATION
“God’s dream is wrapped up in the desire that He placed in my heart.”

Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Three.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING

• Old Testament: Isaiah 44-45; Proverbs 26:17-28
• New Testament: Luke 23:32-37; Hebrews 10:1-18