Some dreams are directly from God. If you have a dream from God, as Joseph had, you should hang on to it and not despise it --- But hanging on to a dream is a different thing from following it. If Joseph had been following his dreams, he wouldn't have chosen slavery in Egypt --- and he probably wouldn't have had his dreams fulfilled.
Most of the dreams that people love to follow are not from God at all and have nothing to do with Him and His concerns. They are not necessarily wrong things --- just self-centered things. These, if we hang on to them at all, must be held with a loose hand by those who die to themselves and follow Christ.
Other dreams that godly people cherish really are centered in God and the things that pertain to Him. They are dreams for His work to be done His way. --- But often our perception of
what is His work
and
what is His way
is skewed. There is no perfection under the sun, but our dreams tend to be idealistic and are often intermingled with selfish prejudices. Because of this, even these dreams must be held with a loose hand, so they can be refined as our minds are renewed by the word of God. They should only be followed to the degree that they conform to the things which the Bible commands us to follow:
The Lord Jesus Luke 9:23; John 10:27
The things which make for peace Rom. 14:9
That which is good 1 Thess. 5:15; 3 John 1:11
That which is good 1 Thess. 5:15; 3 John 1:11
Those who follow Christ 1 Cor.s 11:1; 2 Thess.3:7-9; Heb. 13:7; Rev. 14:13
Righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness 1 Tim.6:11Righteousness, faith, charity, peace 2 Tim. 2:22
For a poem about dreams not followed, see Dreams.
I like this. Well said.
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