One of the greatest lessons we can learn from Joseph’s life is that there will always be more opportunities to quit than there are opportunities to conquer. Our dreams are always filled with detours and surprises, setbacks and hardships. But we can be assured that if our dream comes from God, the dream holds us when we feel unable to hold it.
In his book Running With The Giants, John Maxwell notes that Joseph could trust the heart of God even when he couldn’t trace the hand of God. Consider his journey and its detours:
Misunderstood by his family Give up? Sold into slavery by his brothers Give up? Living in a strange country far from home Give up? Given favor in Potiphar’s house Go on! Wrongly accused by Potiphar’s wife Give up? Thrown into prison Give up? Put in charge of all the prisoners Go on! Forgotten by the chief butler Give up? Remained in prison two years Give up? Interpreted Pharaoh’s dream Go on! Became second in command of Egypt Go on!
Why didn’t Joseph give up? What kept him going? After all, like you and me, he had twice as many give-ups as go-ons. Every God-inspired dream will have its share of negative surprises and discouraging detours. I believe the key is this: even though Joseph found himself in twice as many “give-up” moments than “go-on” moments, scripture says “the Lord was with Joseph” and Joseph trusted God even when it didn’t make any sense to him. He planted himself in God’s growth process and developed himself during the down times. He knew that God’s timetable was different from his, but that didn’t take away the human side of feeling discouraged or disheartened. And yet that’s why the Bible calls it endurance:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12:1-3 ESV)
Joseph endured despite the human side of feeling fatigued, discouraged, and abandoned. He held on and his dream ultimately saved many people (Genesis 50:20). History was shaped by his faithfulness. And the realization of his dream was sweeter than anything he had ever visualized or imagined.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once hailed, “If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.”
Do you still have your dream? Or better yet, does your dream still have you?