BE THE DREAMER

The story of Joseph the Dreamer has become an inspiration to Christians throughout generations. It has been told from age to age for it displayed the power of God in people who remained faithful and proved themselves true to God against all odds. It tells us of God's wonderful plan for Joseph who despite of the harsh blows and unfortunate events that happened in his life remained steadfast in his faith in God. What could be worse than being hated by his own brothers in flesh and blood to the point of wishing him dead. No matter how hard and difficult the path he had to go through, God was in it every step of the way and made it sure that his dreams all came to pass. Amen. Hallelujah!

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a
Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him a long tunic. When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons, they hated him so much that they would not even greet him... They noticed him from a distance, and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him. 19 They said to one another: “Here comes that master dreamer! 20 Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall then see what comes of his dreams.”

Whenever we experience difficulties in life we tend to question God right away and somehow blame Him for what came upon us. Just imagine what Joseph had to go through, sold as a slave. We will never know of the physical torture and demand of being a slave nowadays. Thanks to God that slaves are already a thing of the past and no longer existent in today's world. But more than anything else is the mental torture of the fact that he was well loved by his father and would have not been in this kind of situation if his brothers had not done such a horrible and unfair thing to him. If it were us and not Joseph who had fallen into this kind of fate we could have responded and reacted to this situation differently. Are these words familiar to us? I do not deserve to be treated this way. I did not do anything bad for God to punish me like this, as if God is a tyrant that is ready to strike us with every wrong move. Why me and not the others who are a lot more sinful than I am. And all these kind of things that we say without much thought. If we are to look at the life of Joseph very closely we would discover that he never let go of his faith in God despite the seemingly desperate and hopeless situation he went through. He remained firm in his faith and continued to trust in the word of the Lord. Joseph was tested and found to be true. In our own lives, we too are called to prove ourselves worthy before the Lord in order for all of the blessings to flow freely without any block or hindrance. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21
R: Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
Then he called down a famine on the land, destroyed the grain that sustained them.
He had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, sold as a slave. (R) 18 They had weighed him down with fetters, and he was bound with chains, 19 till his prediction came to pass and the word of the LORD proved him true. The king sent and released him; the ruler of peoples set him free. He made him lord over his palace, ruler over all his possessions,...

If we feel that we've been going through tough times, feeling rejected and we are already down on our knees then we need not despair for Jesus Himself stated in one part of the Gospels: “When the world hates you, realize that it hated me before you.” Let us persevere and not lose hope and be the people of God that can lay claim on His legacy and inheritance. If we continue to live our lives without much care and attention to the building up of God's kingdom here on earth then we might end up forfeiting the benefits that is rightfully ours. We may not be fully aware of it but what we are doing right now may be rejecting God in our lives since we can easily be distracted and fooled by the false values and practicalities of this world. An example that came to my mind was during the grand draw of winners for a raffle in my previous place of work. Whenever a winner's name is called and the person was not present to claim the price then he/she lost the chance of claiming the prize. Lord, we pray that we may be always guided and led to bearing the fruits of your Holy Spirit and not lose the gift of God's Kingdom. May we always respond and be ever present to answer God's call. Let us not forfeit what is rightfully ours and end up empty handed. Seize the opportunity right now and right here which is right before us. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
...Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes’? 43 Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit...