Keep it to Yourself

So y'all...we are finally done with talking about the promise. I swear. 


I really thought I was done. I really did. I had a completely different post I had started on, and I couldn't finish it, and I felt like I was ramping. I wasn't even going to post this week because I didn't like how the post was reading, and then BOOM here it comes. 

Genesis 37:1-4 The Message (MSG)

37 Meanwhile Jacob had settled down where his father had lived, the land of Canaan.

Joseph and His Brothers

2 This is the story of Jacob. The story continues with Joseph, seventeen years old at the time, helping out his brothers in herding the flocks. These were his half brothers actually, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought his father bad reports on them.

3-4 Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was the child of his old age. And he made him an elaborately embroidered coat. When his brothers realized that their father loved him more than them, they grew to hate him—they wouldn’t even speak to him.

I'm pretty sure I've come from this passage before. I don't remember which post it was. Anyway, we're here to talk about Joseph. First thing we need to note is, Joseph is Abraham's great grandson. We all know that Abraham was made one of the greatest promises in the Bible. 

Now what should also be noted is that Joseph is just like his grandfather. He was born when his father was very old. Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born. I'm not quite sure how old Jacob was when Joseph was born. Either way, this is a sign of the generational blessing that God promised Abraham. He's a sign of a generational miracle. 

Thirdly, Joseph was loved "more"than his siblings. The reason I put that in quotations is the social worker in me. I remember when I was pursing a MSW at the one and only Florida A&M University, my professor, Dr. Langley, said something that always stuck with me: No 2 children grow up in the same household. They may live in the same house, but they never grow up the same way. For example, the oldest child may be given more responsibility and may be under stricter rules while the youngest child may be spoiled. Not every child is the same. Not to say that the parents doesn't love all of their children. They love them. They just love them differently. 

Joseph's siblings' hate is misdirected. It's not Joseph's fault that he is loved differently. Joseph didn't do anything for him to be loved differently. Jacob chose to love him differently  Should Jacob have done so much for Joseph? Probably not, but that is out of Joseph's control. Sometimes the very people that are supposed to love you, like family, will actually hate you for something that is completely out of your control. 

Genesis 37:5-11 The Message (MSG)

5-7 Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said, “Listen to this dream I had. We were all out in the field gathering bundles of wheat. All of a sudden my bundle stood straight up and your bundles circled around it and bowed down to mine.”

8 His brothers said, “So! You’re going to rule us? You’re going to boss us around?” And they hated him more than ever because of his dreams and the way he talked.

9 He had another dream and told this one also to his brothers: “I dreamed another dream—the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to me!”

10-11 When he told it to his father and brothers, his father reprimanded him: “What’s with all this dreaming? Am I and your mother and your brothers all supposed to bow down to you?” Now his brothers were really jealous; but his father brooded over the whole business.

And so hear we go...the meat and potatoes. God spoke to Joseph through a dream. Joseph had no control over what happened in this dream. It just happened. There's an old wives tale that if you eat something sweet before bed, you're more likely to have some kind of crazy, outlandish dream. That wasn't the case with Joseph. God was showing him something. This still was out of his control.  Look:

Genesis 17:1-8 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

God’s Promise to Abraham

17 Abram was ninety-nine years old when the Lord appeared to him again and said, “I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right, 2 I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted.” 3 Abram bowed with his face to the ground, and God said:

4-5 I promise that you will be the father of many nations. That’s why I now change your name from Abram to Abraham.[a] 6 I will give you a lot of descendants, and in the future they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings.

7 I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your descendants, because I am your God and their God. 8 I will give you and them the land in which you are now a foreigner. I will give the whole land of Canaan to your family forever, and I will be their God.

God was simply keeping his promise to Abraham. It had nothing to do with Joseph. This is all about Abraham. God already did everything else He promise Abraham. His family already had Canaan, Abraham was already the father of many nations, and he already had a lot of descendants. God said some of the descendants would be kings. It just so happened that Joseph was one of that some. 

God gave Joseph confirmation in another dream (Genesis 37:9). It wasn't because He misspoke the first time. God never misspeaks. It was for Joseph's clarity. I truly believe that's the reason. Maybe this hasn't happened to anybody else, but sometimes God says something that sounds so crazy and you're like

and God says it again and you're like "alright." This just happened to me under a month ago. God said "You have 6 months to move." I swear. I heard it clear as day. The first time He said it I thought I was trippin, and He said it 2 other times. The third time He went into a full explanation as why He said that. So now, with Joseph. God showed Him just so Joseph would understand what He was saying. 

The issue now is Joseph has now shared this vision with other people, specifically his siblings. If I could I would've asked Joseph why he decided to share that with the people that he knew hated him. Or maybe Joseph loved his siblings so much in spite of how they felt about him that he didn't even notice their distaste for him. It happens. I'll give him that. Sometimes when we're so different, like Joseph, we have a hard time making connections with people. So with Joseph, he is the youngest. He came around much later than his siblings. I'm not sure how many of you are a younger sibling, but the younger sibling always wants to be accepted. I grew up in a house with a bunch of kids. My sister cousins were at least 10 years older than me, but I still needed their acceptance. That's where my security lied. Sometimes we need that acceptance so much so that we'll share some of our deepest secrets, desires, dreams, and visions.

But the fact of the matter is that not everybody is meant to know your vision because not everybody is going to understand your vision. Some people they are praying for your downfall. Just because they're family or your best friend doesn't make them an exception. Remember there was still a Judas in the disciples. Not everybody wants to see you win, and now you've given the blueprint. Yes, no weapon formed against you shall prosper, but that doesn't prevent attacks. If it was meant for them to be part of the vision, God would've given them the vision. God just gave it to me like this. That vision is like a secret between you and God, and nobody else. It's almost like an inside joke. What He showed you wasn't a joke. But your relationship with God should be to the point that when the enemy throws whatever, you and God just laugh because you're not checking for the enemy. You don't get shaken up by that. You don't even feel it. 

So instead of telling everybody what God has showed you, you keep your hand to yourself, and keep your poker face. Watch your hand and strategize. Sometimes we say things to people because we think they'll tell us how to get to that vision, but in all reality, if God gave you that vision, then He'll show you how you can get there. But you have to remain faithful to Him and stay connected. Pray for guidance. Pray for provision. Pray that you'll become everything that God wants you to be.