Seventeen. Handsome. Favored. Confident. Joseph, the 11th born son of Jacob.

Now God had given Joseph a promise through a dream – nations will bow before you. But Joseph, 17 and arrogant, made the mistake of sharing his dream with the wrong people, his siblings.

The dream provoked jealousy and strife between Joseph and his brothers. It didn’t help that Joseph interpreted the dream to mean his family would bow before him.

When God gives you a promise be careful with whom you share it. Your promise can provoke jealousy and bitterness in the insecure. Share your God-given dreams with people who will encourage and not mock, who will believe and not list all the reasons you can’t. Share your dreams with other dreamers.

Because Joseph’s dream provoked jealousy from his brothers, Joe is sold into slavery. His brothers tried to undermine his calling. He was called to reign; they made him a slave. But God is redemptive. What his brothers meant for bad, God turned around for good. God’s promises for Joseph was fulfilled in spite of the evilness in his brother’s heart; in spite of Joseph’s own immaturity and arrogance.

What God has promised you will come to pass. Regardless to whether or not anyone else believes in you. No one in Joseph’s family validated his calling. Stop waiting for others to validate you and just be who God has called you to be.

“When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭37:10-11‬ ‭NIV