By: Tonie Wright Stroup

Most of you know the story in Genesis 37 of Joseph and the coat of many colors. I was taught that story as a child, where my Sunday school teacher used the felt board with Joseph and his coat.  I remember mostly the fact that Joseph was the favorite son of Israel (Jacob), that he loved him dearly; blessings were a part of every area of his life.  Some say he is a shadow of the life of Christ.

Last week I was talking on the phone with my father, Don Wright and he shed a new light on the story of Joseph to me.  You see Joseph dreamed a dream ……… There are many of you reading this that has had a dream in their heart about your life, and you feel like God gave you that dream.

 In Genesis 37 we read:

⁵ And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

⁶ And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

⁷ For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

⁸ And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

⁹ And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

¹⁰ And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

To be honest, I do not know about the rest of you but if my sister told me she had a dream that I would bow down to her I would want to throw her in a pit too.  He was already the favorite and now he is telling them that they are going to bow down to him.  You see that is where human nature kicks in, jealousy, envy, selfishness, conspiracy and more.  When you have God’s blessing in your life people tend to get jealous.  This was supposed to be the future tribes of Israel (the promise ones) and they are throwing there brother in a pit.  That is a message in itself but I want to stick to Joseph.

Joseph could not help it, he was chosen by God to do certain things in his life.  God picked him to save many people.  You may feel in your heart, God has chosen you and you have a dream.  You can’t let the people around you keep you from your destiny, even if it is family. You are here for the purpose, of fulfilling God’s will in your life.

At the time Joseph was thrown into that pit, it was the start of his destiny.  He was sold into slavery, accused of raping Potiphar’s wife, and thrown into prison, right where he needed to be.  Without getting sold and put into prison he would have never made it beside the king. Where eventually was named the governor of the land and his parents and brothers bowed to him.  WOW! That was literally having your dreams come true.

My Dad’s Dream

My father, Don has a spine that is shaped like an S.  He spent a lot of his teen years in and out of hospitals, starting at age fourteen.  He would lie in that hospital bed and ask “Why me Lord?”  He has scoliosis and polio, one foot, and leg was smaller than the other was, and his spine was curved.  At this time technology was not as it is today, after many surgeries they managed to semi-fix the problem.  However, he is still walking today.  My dad was saved at age nineteen, at a revival, his parents took him to.  He felt something tugging in his heart and started to bolt for the door, but ended up making a hard left turn towards the altar.  That night he was saved and filled with the Holy Ghost.

Not like many people, my dad took everything in the Bible literally.  He read in there that God was your advocate.  He found himself in court one day and they ask if he had a lawyer he replied, “Yep God’s my lawyer.”  He was found Not Guilty!  Thank God!  He trusted God in everything he has ever done.  He went from pawning his spare tire to buy my mom their first-anniversary gift to owning three houses, from the ocean to the mountains.  I have a lot of stories like that, I will save for another day.  I just wanted you to give you an idea of the type of man my father is, one who trust God wholeheartedly in every aspect of his life.

A few years ago, he had a dream.  In the dream, he was confined to a wheelchair. He began to push the wheels forward until he reached the bottom of a mountain.  As he looked up at the top of the mountain, he appeared there, walking around wearing a three-piece suit.  The people at the top of the mountain were eager to help him.  They were all astonished at the miracle that had just happened.  “Sir let me take your coat.  Is there anything I can do for you?”

My father stood there talking to God in his head.  “Lord, why are these people so nice to me?  I thought that the people that where on top would be arrogant and rude to me. I assumed because they were on top they would have a different attitude.”

God quickly reminded him in Luke 18 he says …. and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.  These men did not get on top because of arrogance; it was because they were humble. Do you remember in the gospels’ where I said there would be a messenger that came before me that prepares the way, and there was; John the Baptist.

 Luke 3:

³ And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

⁴ As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

⁵ Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

⁶ And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

You see the reason I gave you the miracle was to get everyone’s attention so they would listen to you.  Many of the preachers are spreading the message of prosperity and that is not the message the people need now, its John the Baptist’s message prepare ye the way of the Lord! I am coming back, I am not going to tell you when, but they need to get ready! Study the gospels and share my word.

WOW!  Talk about holding on to your dreams, I believe that is a good one to hold on to.  My dad has been through all kinds of difficulties in his life and he is still holding on to the dream that God gave him. He has been broke, had three heart attacks, mom had cancer, and much more and God healed it all.  No matter how difficult your battle maybe you can stop holding on to the dream.  God’s word does not change He is coming back and everything He has promised will happen.  We are not any different from His disciples; He can speak to us the same way.  Hold on to every word in your Bible, because no matter what changes take place in your life God is the one true thing that will never change. What does it mean to ‘prepare the way’?  It means to create a favorable environment or to make it easy for one to come to you and operate in your life.  Make your paths straight prepare for Christ and His return.  I am sharing this story now, so when that dream comes true you will know.