Here Comes That Dreamer

Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other.

A Big Dream

Have you ever had a dream that caused you to wake up laughing out loud? I once was dreaming that I was brushing my teeth. In my dream, I went to spit the toothpaste back into the sink, but in real life while I was sleeping I actually spit on myself. I woke up with spit on me and laughed at myself. It has been a handful of years, and I still find myself cracking up about it.

But then there are other dreams that God will put on our hearts that go beyond the joy of spitting toothpaste. The summer before my junior year of high school, God put it on my heart to write a book. I had no idea where to begin or how it would take place or what the time frame would even vaguely look like, but with expectant confidence, I said yes and trusted that He would have His way. With a heart that was open to whatever God wanted to do, I found myself giddy and at peace even while having no idea what it was going to look like.

In Proverbs 3:5-6, we are commanded to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and not lean on our own understanding, but in all of our ways we are told to submit to Him and He will make our paths straight. I adore how the Word of God interprets His own words because then in Philippians 4:6-7, He speaks through Paul and says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (ESV). In order to have peace that surpasses all understanding, we must trust in the Lord and not lean on our own understanding. So when He puts dreams on our hearts and is leading us into waters that look unfamiliar, we can have peace when we still choose to trust.

Pushback

When God gave Joseph a dream in Genesis 37, Joseph went and told his brothers about it, but they mocked him because of the things that he told them were going to happen. When God calls us to do something, it is not going to be something the world agrees with; it is going to be uncomfortable, and the steps that will be required for the dream to come to fruition are not necessarily ones that we would choose if given the opportunity.

God works differently than we might. He chose to feed five thousand men plus women and children with five loaves of bread and two fish. He chose a shepherd boy to become the king of Israel. He chose to split the Red Sea through Moses lifting his staff in the air. He chose to heal a blind man by putting mud made with spit on his eyes. He chose to send the Savior of the world in the form of a baby. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9), and He knows exactly what He is doing. Therefore, when we say yes to Him, the world will make fun, the world will be confused, and the world will reject. But what if, when you walked into a room, others said, “Here comes that dreamer”—just as they did about Joseph? It would be so beautiful to be known for dreaming from the heart of God and getting excited about what He is excited about, trusting that none of His plans can be thwarted.

Childlike Faith

There is a reason that God calls us to have childlike faith (Matthew 18:2-4). It seems that the older we get, the less real our dreams become. Sometimes instead of having expectant faith that nothing is impossible with God, we fade into simply hoping it will happen or ignoring it because we are scared of what the response from others will be.

But we are made in the image of the Ultimate Dreamer who does not intend for those dreams to stay dreams but to become reality. It took many years, but Joseph’s dreams came true. Because God dreams, we are called to dream, and because His promises are faithful and true, we can trust that they were not meant to stay in between our ears and that they will happen in His perfect time. But to Him who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly greater things than what we could ever ask or imagine, according to His power at work within us, to Him be the glory (Ephesians 3:20-21). It brings Him glory when we walk in faith.

What if, like a child, you began to dream big because you sought the dreams of God? Before time began, God had dreams specifically designed for you, and He so passionately wants to bring these dreams to reality in your life. He has chosen you as royalty in His Kingdom. May others say, “Here comes that dreamer,” when they see you because your life reflects the impossible-to-possible faith that is found in the Father who promises all things to work together for you who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).