“Then Joseph had a dream…” (Genesis 37:5 NASB)
“Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more.” (Exodus 1:8-10a NLT)
You remember the story about Joseph in Genesis, don’t you? He had a dream, a dream that came to fruition. Yes, in the unfolding of his story, a high point was reached and many of God’s children were saved from suffering and found safety in a challenging time. The dream was never canceled. God’s people were brought into Egypt during a time of famine. In other words, in a time of crisis that threatened their existence, they persisted to exist. If you think we are living in a time of crisis, I say to you, still dream. If you don’t believe it is a time of crisis, perhaps praying is the prescription for you, rather than dreaming. But for others, again I say, still dream.
In the biblical account of Joseph, we see that the people multiplied to the point that they became seen as a problem when a new ruler came into power. Changes were made that seemed to cancel hope. Yet the people still looked for deliverance. I say to you, centuries far from Joseph’s time, in our time, in a time when there seems to be a rewrite of an old, antiquated, archaic, but accurate story, still dream.
Joseph was one dreamer. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream, too. Decades have passed since this drum major for righteousness described his dream. While progress has been made, there is a feeling among many that we still must, by necessity and applicability, sing some of those old Christian spirituals and certainly aspire for better days. The prescription I am sharing with you this morning, although repetitive in this short meditation is simple: “Still dream.”
Keep praying my friends! Keep the dream alive! Still dream! Be blessed!
“The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for four hundred thirty years; on the very day the four hundred thirty years ended, the Lord’s divisions of people left Egypt. That night the Lord kept watch to bring them out of Egypt, and so on this same night the Israelites are to keep watch to honor the Lord from now on.” (Exodus 12:40-42 NLT Version)
Committed to the climb,
Dr. Mark L. King