Buried Dreams and Lost Hopes. Sally used to be a highly spirited girl with a bright future ahead of her until she mixed with bad friends and her life seemed to nosedive into an endless abyss. She is now at a point where she believes nothing good can come out of her life because of the experiences she has been through. She thinks she is too far gone and that all God promised her has been scrapped. She tactically buried her dreams and lost all hope!
Before the Johnsons got married, they were so on fire for God, advancing in their career and their marriage seemed like the best thing that would ever happen. As singles, they had wonderful dreams and shared these together as they were preparing for marriage. They believed that “He that finds a wife finds good and obtains favour from the Lord.
They believed that “if two or more people shall ask anything of the Father, it shall be done. They were looking forward to multiplied strength of chasing ten thousand as they’ve individually chased a thousand!
But it was not to be. The pressures of marriage, the unattended issues, the pent-up tensions, the quarrels and strife all came with shovels and diggers and successfully buried their dreams and hopes.
Eze 37:11 (KJV) Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
What should Sally do? How will the Johnsons ever come out of the graveyard where their dreams and hopes have been buried? Would their Buried Dreams and Lost Hopes come alive?
Eze 37:12-13 (KJV) Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 (KJV) And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
Wow! God said He would open up the graves! And bring out all the dreams and hopes! You probably thought it is over, but not with my God! God is rekindling the fire! All hopes lost are going to be found again!
Eze 37:14 (KJV) And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
Your dreams will Iive. All Buried Dreams and Lost Hopes are coming alive! The graves will be confounded and exhumed!
God said it, and it would indeed happen! This is the word of the Lord unto you! God will bring all your dreams out of the grave! You will live again!
This morning, we are looking at more things singles can learn from the life of Joseph
4. Joseph would not let go of his dream
Joseph held on to his dream despite contradictory circumstances. He refused to give up on God. He had hope. He knew God would not let him down!
I will like you to know this morning that your dreams will still come to pass. Never let go! God’s words will never fall to the ground and He is never too late. Hold on to the horns of the altar and refuse to resign to fate! He that has promised you is also faithful to bring it to pass!
5. Joseph was in the prison but the prison was not in him!
It is one thing to be bound physically, it is another thing to also be bound within! There are many people who are not imprisoned physically but are chained within. There are many people who are walking free but are actually in prison and there are people who are imprisoned but are free within!
Joseph never allowed the prison to enter him. He still went ahead and interpreted a dream for someone in the prison which was to be an act that would later facilitate his exit from the prison. That is something Singles Can Learn From Joseph
Joseph never allowed bitterness and offense to which he had every reason to succumb. He was still trying to help out others with the intent he became the leader in the prison. Despite that he has been sentenced to a special maximum prison where the king’s offenders were kept with no hope of coming out, he did not get bitter!
Never get bitter at God for any reason. You cannot fight your maker and win. You cannot blame God for any woes. God is not mocked. Bitterness at God will only worsen the situation
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I forgive. I am a forgiver! I will not clog my heart with hurts and bitterness
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray and ask God to give the grace to be a quick forgiver
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Gen 45:8 (KJV) So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Well, some people would say he was careless and that if he had hidden his dream, he would not have gone through the ordeals of the pit and then being sold into slavery.
However, I also want you to know that if he had not verbalized his dream, he might not have been sold into slavery and he might not have been transported into Egypt from where he eventually fulfilled his destiny! Talk about God using perceived enemies to fulfill His counsel over your life!
Hear me well this morning! God is using some of the people you hate right now and you think don’t like you to achieve His overall plans for your life! In the end, you will see how everything will eventually add up! Before you fight the person that jilted you, why don’t you wait for the unveiling of the new person God is bringing your way? You will thank him or her later for breaking your heart!
Learn to talk faith and not doubt. Learn to say what you want God to do and not what you are going through in your relationship or as singles. It is a spiritual principle! Say what you will like to happen and not just what has happened or what is happening!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am a dreamer. I will not stop dreaming!
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give the strength to say No in the face of compromise
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Gen 39:2 KJV And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
We all know the story of Joseph and I will like to bring out some salient truths by the Spirit of God as it relates to relationships and marriage.
What God did in the life of Joseph is what you could call a ‘crazy miracle.’ God did not just make him an important man in Egypt, a strange land, he actually became a father unto Pharaoh!
It is like God making you a father unto the King of Dubai! It is as crazy as that! How did Joseph get there? What kind of a person is he?
(4) And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. (5) Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. (6) For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. (7) And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.(8) So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. – Gen 45:4-8 KJV
Here are things to learn
1. Joseph was a dreamer
Never stop dreaming about your life and future. After his first dream, the scripture says that he dreamt yet another dream! Don’t stop visualizing where you want God to take you to or where He has shown you that He is taking you to.
Keep hope alive! It is not out of place to visualize and pray about the kind of relationship, marriage, and home you will like to have. Don’t let the experiences of relatives and your environment suffocate or kill your dream. That nobody has enjoyed his marriage in your family does not mean that would be your experience! No!
To be continued…
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am a dreamer. I will not stop dreaming!
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give the strength to say No in the face of compromise
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Gen 39:2 KJV And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
Have you ever thought about how to have a great future? Have you ever wondered how adults become the professionals they are today?
How did your mom and dad become what they’re today?
How did that renowned doctor you see become who he is today?
How did your teacher become so efficient in what he/she does?
Well, it’s all about deciding what they wanted to do at a very early age. Much like you are right now.
Just like Daniel, an early decision saved his future.
Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
What do you want to become? An astronaut, software designer, boat builder, race car driver or a writer? It is all about what you like to do.
So my question to you is this: what do you like to do?
Starting early to decide what you would like to become in future is important.
You start to learn how to become it and go through every process involved. The process will involve trainings, class lessons, exams and tests. You learn and then get tested before being certified as a professional.
Discover what you love to do and take all the necessary education you need. That’s how mommy and daddy did.
Be like Samuel in the bible who learned under the prophet Eli. Under the prophet’s supervision, Samuel grew into a great prophet that God used to speak to kings in Israel.
May God show you what your passion is in Jesus name. Amen.
Prayer: Lord, help me to discover what I like to do and become in future. In Jesus’ name. Amen
Action plan: Start to note what you like doing. From there, you can discover your talents.
