Genesis 41:41-45 “Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck. 43 Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt. 44 And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.” 45 Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah.[a] He also gave him a wife, whose name was Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.[b] So Joseph took charge of the entire land of Egypt.”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
I Corinthians 2:9 “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared for those who love him.”
4 guarantees about God’s dream.
- Problems will happen.
Genesis 37:5 “One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.”
“It’s not about what is happening to us but what God is doing in us.”
Romans 5:3 “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.
4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
- People will oppose.
Genesis 37:10 “This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?”
Genesis 37:5 “One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.”
Galatians 1:10 “I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”
- Plans will change.
Genesis 37:12 “Soon after this, Joseph’s brothers went to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem. 13 When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and I will send you to them.”
“I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied. 14 “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along,” Jacob said. “Then come back and bring me a report.” So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron.”
Proverbs 19:21 “many are the plans of a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purposes that prevail.”
4. God’s presence will remain.
Genesis 39:1-2 “Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.
The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.”
Genesis 39:20-21 “Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison
But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Genesis 39:23 “The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.”
Galatians 6:9 “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.