Judy Garland sang ‘Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.’ Mark took this theme as he continued his study on Joseph this morning, speaking from Genesis 42:1-24.
Genesis 42 begins with the time of famine, which was so widespread it had even spread way beyond Egypt. Jacob sent his ten sons in search of grain and by another of those God-instances which show us His sovereignty, these brothers came before Joseph himself. The dream which had sustained Joseph for so long was about to come true.
God uses dreamers. But if we ask why God chosen Joseph all those years earlier, we may feel puzzled. Out of all the people available, why did God choose Joseph? Gen 37:1-2 shows us Joseph feeding the flock, ‘grassing on’ his brothers for their misdemeanours, a raw 17-year-old boy with nothing to show what he would become. God sees the potential in people way before it is visible to anyone else. 1 Cor 1:26-29 reminds us that God does not choose the wise and learned but chooses the weak and foolish so that He gets the glory. When we are weak, foolish and fearful, we know that we have to rely on God, for we have nothing in ourselves to rely on.
God gives us dreams, a glimpse of what He wants to do. Often, even that glimpse astounds us and shocks us, and like Moses, we go through the ‘pantomime process’:‘Oh, no, I can’t!’/ ‘Oh, yes, you can!’ Joseph the 17-year-old boy could not have comprehended all that God would equip him to do, but as he stands before his brothers, he sees the dreams about to be fulfilled. We understand, however dimly, that God’s grace is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Cor 12:9). When we feel insufficient and weak and in need of Christ’s power, then we can know His sufficiency and grace to meet every need and fulfil every dream.