Nick Meeder | Way Finders

At the beginning of the story of Joseph, in Genesis 37, God gives Joseph two dreams. Now think with me for a moment, if you were 17 years old, what would you do if you had two dreams that very distinctly resembled your family bowing down to you? Do you think you’d keep it to yourself? Well, Joseph didn’t either. He told his brothers and they resented and hated him because of it.

Dreams are vital in understanding what great things God has for your life. I’m not speaking only of spiritual visions, but of the desires that God has placed in your heart through your upbringing, environment, personality, gifting, talents and skills. For the longest time, I wanted God to do for me what He did for Joseph. But see, I have the perspective of Joseph’s entire story, so I already know how it was going to turn out for Joseph. The problem is, for my life, I want to already know how it is going to turn out so that I can start pursuing the dream God has given me. However, it doesn’t work like that. And it didn’t work like that for Joseph either.

Here’s a couple of questions to ask yourself that I’ve gleaned from the story of Joseph. These are foundational questions to ask before you find the why, how, and what of God’s calling and purpose for you.

1. How committed will you be to follow the dream and calling God has put in your life?
2. Are you willing to pay the price? Everyone who does anything significant pays a price.
   • Joseph didn’t stop serving and following God even though He was betrayed by his own brothers, falsely accused, and imprisoned.
   • • Will you follow God’s calling even if your friends and family stab you in the back, disappoint you, and discourage you? Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery.
     • Will you follow God’s calling even if other people say false things about you and what you’re doing for God? Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph.
     • Would you be willing to go where no one else is willing to go to accomplish your calling? Joseph went to prison.

Jesus said a few things concerning the cost of following Him in Luke 9:57-62. “Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”” (Luke 9:62, ESV). If you want to do something great, as Andy Andrews says, you must have a decided heart. You must commit to God’s calling, no matter what the cost. How committed are you to the purpose God has for your life?

How great do you believe God is? Is He big enough for you?

I find myself chasing after small passions instead of God. Have you ever found yourself doing this? Is it because you think somehow your plan would be better than God’s?

Everything I read in scripture points to God and His great and amazing work through His people. Yet, that knowledge doesn’t seem to result in a life that produces fruit consistent with that knowledge, at least, not as often as I’d like.

The story of Joseph has recently been an inspiration to me as I’ve read it. You should read it. It starts in Genesis 37. Joseph’s story is one of redemption, restoration, and salvation. It is God’s story. And it was a foreshadow of the work Jesus would do.

However, the story has it’s dark points for Joseph on the path God had for him to redeem and save Jacob, his father’s, family. Could you imagine being betrayed by your own brothers, sold by them into slavery, being accused falsely even after multiplying everything in your master’s house, then being imprisoned? In that situation, would your attitude towards God’s plan for you still be good, or would you be resentful and bitter?

Yet, it was part of God’s love and compassion for Jacob, and later, to call a people, the people of Israel (remember God changed Jacob’s name to Israel in Genesis 35), later led out of bondage by Moses. Can you see God’s love and work in the story of Joseph? Now, look at your own life and all the hardships you’ve gone through. Can you see God’s love and mercy in your own life, in all the hardships and trials? I’m not saying that God made you go through them, but that He can work it out for your own good (Romans 8:28), if you have the correct attitude. Would you still have the same attitude and faithfulness as Joseph did? Have the events of your life allowed you to grow in your understanding of God, or have they pushed you farther from Him? Have you become resentful and bitter?

God’s heart beats for you! He loves you! Your life isn’t over yet in God’s story. Will you let your life be a story of redemption, purpose, and love in God’s story just like the story of Joseph?

Do you believe God has great things for you?

On my commute to work, I was listening to the book of Psalms and came across this verse. It really jumped out at me.

Psalm‬ ‭90‬:‭12‬ ESV
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

What does this verse mean to you? When it says, “Number,” what is the psalmist saying?
Have you considered the end of your life? Not to be morbid, but it will come one day, and yet, it is a shock to some that that day would come. However, death is one of the only things guaranteed to all men and most spend no time preparing, living intentionally, connecting in friendship, or doing what really matters. Why is that? Have you prepared for your death?

Why do you think that wisdom is gained as a result of “numbering your days?” And what’s with the “heart?” How does the heart relate to wisdom?

I believe that when you begin to live each day with an understanding that you will die, suddenly your priorities change. The urgent things of today shift to the important things that really matter. Wisdom is gained because instead of living from moment to moment, distraction to distraction, pleasure to the next entertainment, you gain perspective of what is truly important. The heart is involved because there is an emotional connection to the legacy and meaning your life will leave behind. Will you have lived a life that influenced others? Will your life have mattered?

Very few people live their lives doing what really matters. And many reach a point where they look up and ask, “How did I get here?”

Too often, other people’s agendas dictate what we do or focus on instead of looking to the end of our lives and what kind of legacy we will leave behind. What things could you give up and start doing in place of that time that will help people in some way? It doesn’t have to be profound; you can start today. The difficulty is longevity and consistently training yourself to live each day like it’s your last.