The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. Genesis 41: 53, 54, NIV.
Dear God, as we enter the study of Your Word, our hearts rejoice to know that in heaven’s storehouse, there is always enough for everyone, and to spare! In the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, we give You thanks! Amen.
The fulfillment of God’s promises, many times may lead through unexpected places. Perhaps that is why, many times they seem to take so long! Now there were two parts to Joseph’s dream. In the first half of his dream, he saw twelve sheaves bowing before his sheave (Genesis 37: 5-7); suggesting that one day, his brothers, would bow down to him. In the second half, he saw eleven stars, the sun and the moon, which, according to his father, represented his brothers and, his parents, bowing down to him (9, 10). That second dream caused him a rebuke from his father!
But before Joseph could adequately handle all of this “honor,” he had to go through some refining. Therefore, the thirteen years of polishing in the school of adversity! However, through it all, there is one premise that cannot be overlooked: God was always there! We find confirmation of this fact in the words of Pharaoh: “So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘ “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” ‘ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘ “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. . .” ‘ ” (41: 37-39, emphasis provided).
The extraordinarily beautiful lesson to be learned in all of this, is that God makes Himself responsible for preserving any dream He puts in our heart! You have no need for anyone else to believe in your God-given dream! As long as you are convinced that it was God who gave you the dream, hold on to it! Do not let anyone talk you into letting go of it! I am convinced that during those thirteen years, even though Joseph may not have known the details of his dream, he must have held on to the notion that, “I have to survive, because there is a dream that is going to find its fulfilment in me!” While he kept his dream alive, his dream kept him alive. And all along, it was God, who was keeping both his dream and him alive!
Therefore, even though “in all the other lands,” “there was famine;” in Egypt, there was abundance, because the God of plenty, was with his child, and had revealed to him the secret to having abundance, in the time of famine! After all, that was part of the fulfillment of the dream!
To you, whom God has given a dream, are you sometimes tempted to give up your dream because you do not see how it is going to be fulfilled? At these times, try to remember that you are only the depositary of the dream! Your heart is the vault where God has deposited it for safekeeping. He is the One responsible for seeing the dream through, to its fulfillment. Do not give up, for the God of plenty, knows no lack – even in the midst of a famine!