Joseph's Dream In Cheaper By The Dozen

For me, one of the most fascinating stories in the Bible is the story of Joseph. God gave Joseph a dream. At first, Joseph didn’t understand what it meant. Oh, he had an idea and he thought he understood, but it took twenty-seven years to see what God’s dream for him really was all about. It was very different from what he first imagined. Joseph was one of twelve brothers in a dynamically dramatic and slightly dysfunctional family—kind of like that movie, Cheaper By The Dozen, only without the comic relief of Steve Martin. Favoritism, jealousy, hatred, and dishonesty colored their world. And what about that dream God gave him? Well, conveniently, it was about eleven stalks of corn (representing his brothers) bowing down to a twelfth stalk of corn. He thought he knew what it meant, but his interpretation was shallow. His view of the dream was self-focused and blurred.
I had a dream. It was clearly a God Dream. It was so cool. I’m gonna be important. Really important. I’m gonna be significant. And well basically, ya’ll are gonna end up bowing down to me. You’ll be like, ‘Where would I be without Joseph?’” This didn’t go over very well. It led to betrayal, deception, and a seventeen-year-journey of enslavement, imprisonment, and opposition. Joseph’s story was a story of adventure, but it was also a story of discovery, testing, challenges, and unbelievable promotion. It’s also a story of how Joseph goes through changes that prepare him for living his dream- God’s version of the dream. It’s a story that reminds me how often I need to pray this