Hopes and dreams smashed? God gets glory through your crushed and shattered dreams.

A young man’s dreams were shattered.

At the age of seventeen, right at very early in his life, Joseph had a dream from God. Joseph had an aged father and eleven brothers. God gave Joseph a dream two times at his very young age. (Genesis 37). The first dream was he and his brothers were binding sheaves in the field and his sheaf rose up and stood erect and his brother’s sheaves gathered around and bowed down to his sheaf. When he told this dream to his brothers they were filled with jealousy and hated him. They asked him are you going to rule over us?
Joseph had a second dream. The dream was about the sun, moon and eleven stars were bowing down to him. When he said this to his father and brothers, they understood this means father and mother and all eleven brothers are going to bow down to him. His brothers were more jealous of him and hated him more.
Though God gave him a dream, the dream was shattered and dashed when his own brothers plotted against him, tried to kill him, placed him in a dry well and then sold him as a slave to merchants from Egypt. On the long way to Egypt, Joseph might have thought like this – I was the most loved child of my father in the family. My father gave me a multi-colored tunic that I loved much. God gave me two wonderful dreams. What is happening now in my life? Why? Not only he became a slave to Potiphar an Egyptian officer, but also he was blamed and punished for a sin that he never committed in Potiphar’s house. He ended up in prison for something he has never done and sitting in the corner of the prison he may have thought about the dreams God gave him. The dream never went away from his heart. He kept it there in his inner heart.

Did this happen to you?

You thought things are going to happen in a certain way. You had a big expectation. But all your dreams are crushed and blew away. Your own close friends and the people whom you trusted turned against you. You never thought this will happen to you. But you are a victim of someone else’s jealousy and hatred. Your heart is broken. You don’t know what to do and where to turn. All things happened so suddenly. All crashed and smashed down and here you are with disillusionment and disappointment of blew away hopes and dreams.

A close family’s hope and dreams were shattered.

I want to share with you another incident illustrated in the Bible in the Book of Ruth. A close family of four people. Dad, Mom, and two sons. They were living in Bethlehem. Now a worse famine came to the land of Israel. Due to the severity of the famine and no food, they decided to go to Moab. Now Moab was not a good place for a devout Jew to go. That was the place of idol worship, false religion, and immoral lifestyles. However, famine was heavy and they went there. The two sons got married to Moabite women. So far so good. All went well. Their sons got married and they got two daughters in their family. However, in the course of time, both the Dad and both sons died. Bad things started to come into their lives with no advance notice. Noami, the mother was left alone. Her husband and two sons died. Finally, Noami decided to go back to Bethlehem and requested her daughter in laws to go back to their own people and get married again and live in a family. One of the son’s wife, Orpah kissed Naomi and said good-bye and went to her own people in Moab. But the other daughter in law was truly a jewel. Her name is Ruth. She won’t go back to her own people. She made a covenant with Noami and she said she won’t leave Noami. She said to Noami, “do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you live, I will live. Your people shall be my people; and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16).

Are you bitter like Noami?

Noami said to people in Bethlehem when people in her old town greeted her back -do not call me Noami (pleasant) but call me Mara (bitter). And then she stated the reason to call her Mara. “Because the Almighty has afflicted me.” In other words, she believes God afflicted her. Why? All her dreams were crushed and smashed. Her family- Husband, two sons died and taken away from her. When she went from Bethlehem, there were four people. Now only one left- just her only came back. She says I am bitter in my heart and mind. I am not pleasant anymore. Call me bitter because I am so disappointed and sad because of what happened to me. This is what she meant when she requested her old friends to call her mara.

They never imagined the bigger plan of God.

In both of the above incidents peoples expectations, and dreams were shattered down fully and completely. But in both of the above incidents, Bible teach us a lesson. God had a bigger plan that they never imagined. They couldn’t see the bigger plan of God in their lives. Both Joseph and Noami could never imagine what God was accomplishing through their life.
God is a God who has an eternal plan. God knew exactly what He was doing in their lives, though Joseph and Noami could never fathom it. It was much bigger than they could ever imagine and think. It seemed a big and bad detour for them but frankly, it was not a detour for God in heaven. He was accomplishing His plan in and through them. God never makes a mistake.

Even your personal failing won’t fail God’s plan.

I want to add one more point here. Even your personal failings won’t fail God’s plan. God will still work out His plan using your failings. Would you place your trust in such a big God who revealed Himself through the pages of the Bible? He works out His beautiful plan not at your time but at His time to accomplish what He planned. I want you to keep this big picture of God even in the midst of the shattering of your dreams. Abraham’s failure won’t fail God’s plan in His life. Joseph’s brother’s failure didn’t fail God’s plan. Moses failure didn’t don’t fail God’s plan for his life. Peter’s failure didn’t fail God’s plan for his life. Child of God, take this to your heart, your own personal failure won’t fail God’s in your life.
God said to Abraham in Genesis 15:13-16, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve; you shall be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation, they shall return here.”
In short, God was going to take Abraham’s descendants to Egypt for four hundred years and then He is going to bring them out in the fourth generation and they will come out with many possessions.”

God had to send Joseph to Egypt to prepare the way.

God said this to Abraham hundreds of years ago and now He is going to do exactly that. God had to send Joseph to Egypt so that He can carry the descendants of Jacob (Israel) to Egypt to fulfill His word to Abraham. God used the evil heart and intentions of Joseph’s brothers to accomplish His plan. But Joseph didn’t know God is accomplishing His plan and purpose nor his father or brothers knew God was fulfilling His plans in and through their life.
What an amazing incident!
When dreams shattered this young man- Joseph- wandered what is happening? He truly felt like the whole world is crashing down in front of him. He was expecting his dreams to be fulfilled but here he was faced with the crashing down the experience of his dreams. But don’t you forget. God knew exactly what He was doing. More about Joseph can be understood by clicking the link below and reading about him. Or continue reading  below the link.

Why bad things happen to good people? Why innocent people suffer?

When God smashes and then resurrect your dead dream, who gets the glory?

You see when your dream is completed destroyed God can reconstruct and rebuild your dream again. And when your expectation is fully dashed and when God raises it again who gets the glory? Definitely not you. God gets the glory because he reborn your dream again though it died before. Praise God!
Keep this in your heart. Things happened contrary to your expectation doesn’t mean all is ended. God can remake and reborn the original dream again and He gets the glory.
God fulfilled the dream He gave to Joseph. God raised him to the highest authority in Egypt and all his eleven brothers came and bowed down before him. Joseph, being the ruler of Egypt, saved the life of his brothers and his very aged father when they were hit with famine in their homeland. In addition, Jacob and all his children were transplanted to Egypt and fulfilled what God had decreed back in Genesis 15:13-16.
My friend, God never makes mistakes. He will accomplish his sovereign plan and purpose in spite of our failures. Our God is a big God.

They had to go to Moab to get Ruth to Bethlehem.

Noami never imagined God’s plan in her life. You see Noami and her family had to leave Bethlem and go to Moab to get Ruth. God in His eternal and sovereign plan has already seen a young girl in Moab and He wanted her to come to Bethlehem. Why? God wanted to join her to the holy lineage of Abraham. It was God’s plan. God wanted to include her in His eternal plan of salvation. God wanted to join her to Boaz so that a child called Obed will come out of their marital union. Obed’s son is Jesse who is the father of David through whose line all God’s salvation and kingdom promises would come true. David’s grandson down on the road is Joseph who is the physical father of Jesus. Mary, the physical mother of Jesus also comes through the line of Obed, Jesse, and David. Both Joseph’s and Mary’s line comes out of Obed, Jesse, and David.
Sometimes it is hard and difficult to fathom God’s plan but please be assured God will work out His plan in spite our failure. Trust the good heart of God and lean on Him and let him resurrect your dreams in His time.

God resurrected the dead dream of Naomi and Ruth.

When you come to the end of the book of Ruth, both Noami’s and Ruth’s shattered dreams were resurrected by the almighty God’s hand.
Bible records what the old Bethlehem friends said to Naomi when Obed was born to Ruth. “The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” Ruth 4:14-15.
When horrible, evil and bad things happened one after another, Noami never imagined in her wildest dreams God’s plan for her life. Now she understood whose hand was behind all these incidents.
Ruth 4:16-17 says, “Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” You see how beautifully God’s eternal plan was presented in these verses. Noami and Ruth are no more without a family. God gave her and Ruth a family again. The women living there in the neighborhood said: “Naomi has a son!” Then it says his name was Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now we know Noami and Ruth became the great physical grandmothers of our Lord Jesus Christ through whom the salvation and kingdom plans of God are fulfilled.
Is your expectations, hopes, and dreams shattered, broken and destroyed? Remember God has not finished with you and with your dreams as of yet. He is going to fulfill His eternal plan in and through your seemingly dashed, crashed and destroyed dreams.
Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and do not lean our your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” God’s plan is much bigger than you can see or visualize at this time. Trust the character of God with all your heart. No matter what other people do to you, nothing can destroy God’s plan for your life. It is eternally established by the almighty God. Devil cannot destroy it either. No one or nothing can stop God’s beautiful and eternally established plan for your life.
God is able to resurrect your hopes and dreams and He will do it. When he does it, no one can stop it. God did shatter the hopes and dreams of His people to accomplish His unique sovereign plan. He did this multiple times in the past. Your crashed down dream is not an exception. Child of God, God will accomplish His plan you will look back and understand later what God meant was good and perfect for you. There was nothing bad in it. Trust the Lord and in His character and promises.
Jesus said to Peter this in Luke 22.31-32, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

A New Testament Example of shattered hope and dream.

God had an eternal plan on Peters life. Jesus said to him in Matthew 16:19, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Peter was destined to preach on the day of Pentecost and three thousand people were going to come to Christ and the church is going to be formed on this earth on that day. He is going to be the pillar of the church in Jerusalem. But Satan was also after him to break his faith and trust in Christ. But Jesus assured him in the above verse by saying, Simon, Simon, I have prayed for you. Whatever devil try to accomplish in Peter’s life to destroy his faith and ministry, Jesus is going to help Him with His supernatural power that Peter’s faith won’t fail. Not only his faith won’t fail but also after Peter’s restoration, he is going to strengthen his brothers to stand in faith. In other words, with Christ’s help, Peter is going to out of the other side with more faith and spiritual strength.
Don’t be discouraged and disillusioned if your hope and dreams are shattered by anyone around you. God is in control and He is going to fulfill His plan in and through your life. And when God accomplish this, He is going to get full glory. That is the most amazing beauty of His glorious plan.

Prayer time: Are you bitter because your hopes and dreams are smashed and shattered? There is a living God in heaven who can resurrect your hopes and dreams from ashes. You need Jesus Christ as your savior- the only savior of the world. Bible says God has a good plan in store for you. He grants hope and good and safe future. God will use you to accomplish His plan and purpose for your life. God loves you and as an example of His unconditional love for you, He gave His only begotten son to die for your sins. That much He loved you. God is asking you come to Him in the name of Jesus Christ, His Son. You can become a child of God today and get forgiveness of all your sins by a simple prayer today. Please pray after me.

“God, I come to you in prayer. I know you love me and has a good and safe plan for me. I know you gave your only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for my sins on the cross. Please forgive my sins. I accept Jesus Christ as my savior and Lord. Please save me. Amen.”

If you prayed this prayer, I have the privilege to welcome you to God’s loving family now. You are a child of God and all your sins are fully and completely forgiven by God. Please find a Bible teaching church in your area and grow in the knowledge of the Lord. Please visit  www.teachbible.org and go to contact/prayer and send me a note. I will be thrilled to hear from you. May the Good Lord bless you and give you back all hopes and dreams. He will do it. Trust in the Lord with all your heart.