We shall see what will become of his dreams.

"We shall see what will become of his dreams" - Joseph's brothers

Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. Gen 37:20

The Bible never says anything bad about Joseph, but from the perspective of the flesh we could say something bad about him: He should have zipped his lip. His brothers wouldn’t have hated him had he not gone spouting off to them about his phenomenal dreams. (What I just said sounds like part of Ron Paul’s foreign policy.)

Guilt serves no purpose

A few moments of thought will help us understand about the relationship between Joseph and his brethren.

Understanding the brethren

If someone at the office continually bragged to others about knowing for certain that one day he or she would be their boss, how do you think they’d react? Most people don’t like other people who brag. Most people don’t like other people who brag about their superiority. Most people don’t like people who brag about their superiority and say that God told them about it. Such a coworker would probably be branded as the coworker from Hell in most workplaces. Joseph’s brethren were clearly not nice to him, but we can at least understand why the brethren threw Joseph into the ditch.

Just be yourself

While lying in the ditch awaiting his fate, Joseph may have (he probably didn’t, but he may have) second-guessed the wisdom of sharing his visions with his brethren. “If I had just kept quiet, I’d be in good shape at my father’s house,” he might have thought.

An ordinary person could easily be filled with guilt, knowing that his or her own behavior resulted in a dire predicament. Onlookers could easily judge a person for running their mouth and then suffering the consequences for it. The message here is that people should accept who they are. Guilt serves no purpose and worry is a waste of time.

Despite the fact that Joseph caused his own problem, God still used him. Joseph later would be put in jail. Still, God used him to deliver the Hebrew nation from severe famine.

What could have been?

Maybe if Joseph didn’t share his dreams with his brethren, God would have done something else to get Joseph into Egypt. Maybe. Maybe not. There’s no sense wondering what could have been. People should accept things as they are right now. That’s all that matters.

We shall see …

If you have big dreams, don’t be surprised when you draw the ire of those around you. Friends, loved ones, coworkers and acquaintances will work overtime to see you fail. They will gloat when they see you lying in a ditch by the side of life’s road. They will mock you as they see your life become a shambles. They will do everything possible to keep you from becoming what you know you are destined to be.

Don’t give up.

And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. Gen 43:26

The brethren actually did see what would become of Joseph’s dreams. He kept believing in God, in himself and in his dreams and they ultimately came true. When they came true, even his enemies shared in the blessing.

Whether you’re life is in the ditch or you’re in jail, don’t give up on your dreams. God can still make them come true.