Follow Your Dreams
By Terance Clark December 28, 2024 6 Minute Read
Week 10
This Weeks Passage: Genesis 41:1 – 44:17
Parasha Name: Mikketz (Definition – At the End)
Pharoah has a dream and Joseph is there to interpret it. Interestingly the reason Joseph is there to interpret his dream is because of a dream he had some years prior. This weeks passage begins with a dream of Pharoah and he is unable to find anyone to interpret the dream. Then the Baker remembered that while he was in prison he met a Hebrew man that interpreted he and the bakers dream accurately. Pharoah calls for Joseph and the rest is history as Joseph interprets his dream, and Pharoah promotes him into the highest role in the land.
Don’t Allow Life to Happen, Make the Plans of God Come to Pass
Here is something that is interesting, when you see the words “And it came to pass” in the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy) it’s a prelude to tragedy, but when you see the words “Let there be” that is a sign of making things happen and often it is our dreams that points us in the direction that we should go. Generally, from Genesis to Deuteronomy there are two words in Hebrew used for God. One is Elohim and the other is what we typically say is His personal name Yahweh or Jehovah, but the Jews typically use the term Hashem in its place to keep from using God’s holy name in vain. Elohim is a plural form of the word God because it means the sum of all forces, the totality of all powers. It is very consistent with our English word God because there is nothing personal about it. The term God can speak of any religious being and all nations can identify with the name God or in their day Elohim.
On the other hand, God’s personal name YHWH moves him from scientific into a personal being very similar to how we speak to one another as a name generally refers to the uniqueness of the person and Gods name helps us to know His nature and person. But only those who know the Lord personally can identify with his personal name. When Joseph spoke to Pharoah he used the term Elohim and Pharoah also used that term to describe God, but later when Moses spoke to Pharoah he used Gods personal name and Pharoah responded that he did not know who that was, and he would not let the people go.
“Dream big, and don’t be afraid to go after those dreams“
Let God Speak to You Through Your Dreams
When the scriptures say “And it came to pass” it means we have passively let things happen to us and it’s an indication that things will not go well as a result. This implies the person sees God as Elohim, but those of us who know him personally should recognize that the Lord is regularly speaking to us. One of the greatest ways that God speaks to us is through our dreams. Dream big and don’t be afraid to go after those dreams for that is often the place where God has placed His plans for your life. Dreams come in a multiple of ways, sometimes they are great ideas or desires growing in our hearts, and other times they come in visions of the night as we sleep, but either way they could be the words and plans of the Lord leading you towards the future.
When we moved out of California to go into missions in 2006 it came as a result of a dream in the night, and right before we left we were offered a position to oversee a ministries mission team in Africa, but the Lord warned me in a dream at night not to take it. When we moved to Charlotte it came in another dream at night and the house that we live in today in Arkansas came through a dream AuDera received at night. The point I am trying to make is that Joseph had a very personal relationship with God that caused him to recognize that God was speaking to him through the dreams he had as well as through the dreams of others.
What has God put into your heart? What is it that you long for, and what makes your heart soar? Are you letting life just happen to you or are you making the things happen that God has put within you. If you are a friend of the Lord than you can trust He is desiring to direct your every path by putting dreams in your heart and showing you where to go through the night. Don’t be afraid to take big steps and get out of your comfort zone. These can be the greatest adventures of a lifetime and allow you and God to do things you’ve never dreamed of. So, go ahead and trust God and follow your dreams!