Bendangliba Andrew
In a small rented room on the edge of town, a 24-year-old graduate irons his only formal shirt before heading to yet another job interview. It’s his third this month. Two years ago, he was one of the university’s most promising students, debate team captain, intern at a reputed NGO and a campus leader with a clear vision for public service. But after graduation, life shifted. His father’s illness drained the family’s savings. He declined a postgraduate opportunity to stay home. Months became years. He now works part-time and tutors school children in the evenings. “When people see me now, they don’t see what I carry inside,” he says. “There’s still that drive to do something meaningful but these days, I mostly feel stuck.” His story is not unusual. Across cities, towns and villages, there’s a generation of young people wrestling with a version of the same question, what happens when the future you imagined is delayed or quietly disappears?
Every young person carries dreams. Some rooted in belief, others molded by the world around them but nearly all are driven by a quiet need to be significant. Joseph, the son of Jacob had dreams, literal ones from God. They pointed toward leadership, influence and purpose. But before any of that unfolded, he found himself in a dry cistern, thrown there by his own brothers. “They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him” (Genesis 37:18). Joseph’s journey wasn’t from dream to destiny overnight. It passed through betrayal, obscurity and hardship. For many young people today, that pattern resonates. You believe there’s more ahead but you’re stuck somewhere between vision and reality or between promise and proof or between dreams and dirt.
1. A Divine Dream is not a Fast-Track Pass: In Genesis 37, Joseph receives two vivid dreams from God. Both point to a future where others, including his family would bow to him. His youthful excitement leads him to share these dreams prematurely, triggering the jealousy of his brothers.
This is where many young people get stuck. We equate God’s calling with immediate success. We assume that if the vision is divine, the path will be direct. But Joseph’s story reminds us that God often gives clarity about the destination but not the timeline. Dreams from God don’t remove difficulty; they give us direction through it. A calling is not a shortcut. It’s an anchor for when the road gets hard. If you're facing rejection, obscurity or resistance, it doesn’t mean God’s promise has failed but it might mean you're being shaped to carry it.
2. The Pit Is the Beginning of Formation: Joseph’s brothers throw him into a pit (Genesis 37:24). This moment changes everything. He goes from favored son to forgotten prisoner. The pit represents that first great disappointment, the moment when the dream seems destroyed. For many young people, the "pit" could be being misunderstood by your own family or losing an opportunity or suffering moral failure or personal loss. The temptation is to assume that the pit disqualifies us. But biblically, the pit is often where formation begins. The pit strips us of illusions. It humbles us. It reveals who we are when the applause disappears. God uses these places to carve character deep into our soul. It is in the dirt that God often does His most hidden, holy work.
3. Favor Can Follow You Even in Exile: Despite being sold into slavery, Joseph finds favor in Potiphar’s house (Genesis 39:2–4). Even in prison, the Lord is with him (Genesis 39:21). This is astonishing that God’s presence shows up not only in dreams but also in dungeons. In the modern world, we’ve been trained to read God’s favor in terms of comfort, visibility and success. But Joseph’s life shows us that true favor is God's presence and not just open doors. Are you in a place where your life feels stuck? Are you serving faithfully but seeing no breakthrough? Then you are in good company. Joseph succeeded not by chasing opportunity but by being faithful wherever he was placed even when falsely accused or even when forgotten. God’s favor does not mean you will always be seen. But it does mean you will not be alone.
4. Faithfulness in the Dirt Prepares You for Authority: Joseph doesn’t become a leader in Egypt because of charisma, talent or status. He is elevated because he is trusted and he is trusted because he was faithful with little. In Potiphar’s house, he managed daily affairs. In prison, he cared for fellow inmates.
He interpreted dreams not for gain, but to serve. Joseph never used difficulty as an excuse for laziness or bitterness. He turned every location into a place of stewardship. This challenges today’s young people who are tempted to wait for the real opportunity to show up before committing. But in God’s economy, what you do in the unseen determines how you will lead in the spotlight. Can you serve without attention? Can you obey without reward? Can you forgive without an apology?
Joseph's life shouts that If you want to lead later, you must be faithful now.
5. The Dream Is Bigger Than You: Eventually, Joseph is lifted from the prison to interpret Pharaoh’s dream (Genesis 41). He is promoted to second-in-command over Egypt. But the purpose of the promotion is not about personal fulfillment yet it is to save lives during famine, including his own family. This is where many misunderstand calling. We assume our dreams are about our success, our influence and our breakthrough. But God's dreams are rarely about self. They are about blessing others, healing broken systems and preserving life. If Joseph had held onto bitterness, he would not have forgiven his brothers. If he had remained self-focused, he would not have provided for his people. His character had been shaped in the shadows to handle the weight of blessing in the light. Ask yourself: Who is supposed to live because of your obedience? Whose hunger will be fed by your stewardship? What famine might be survived because you remained faithful? If your dream is from God, it will always benefit others.
Conclusion: For many young people, the period between receiving a dream and seeing it fulfilled can be difficult to navigate. There may be a strong sense of calling or purpose but the reality often feels out of sync. Progress may be slow, recognition may be absent and daily life may feel routine or disappointing. This space between aspiration and achievement is where many begin to question whether the dream still matters or whether it was real in the first place. Joseph’s life presents a different perspective. His journey was not a direct path to leadership. It was marked by betrayal, loss, false accusation and long periods of waiting. Yet, none of those experiences disqualified him. Instead, they became part of the process that prepared him for a larger responsibility. The time spent in obscurity shaped his ability to lead with wisdom, restraint and integrity when the opportunity finally arrived. This narrative challenges the belief that delay equals failure. It shows that meaningful growth often happens in hidden places where consistency, humility and quiet endurance are developed. In these moments, the dream is not being discarded; it is being refined. It is also important to recognize that the purpose of a dream may evolve over time. What begins as a personal goal can mature into a calling that impacts others. Joseph’s rise to power was not for his own gain but to preserve lives during a crisis. His leadership was not self-serving yet it was redemptive. This shift from ambition to service is a critical part of true maturity. If you find yourself in a waiting season, remain committed to the responsibilities in front of you. Continue to work, to learn and to serve with integrity, even when outcomes are uncertain. The value of your contribution is not diminished by lack of visibility. Often, the most important developments occur in seasons when nothing appears to be changing. The dream you carry may not unfold in the way you expected. But that does not mean it has lost its significance. The delay does not erase its value. In time, what felt like a setback may prove to be preparation. In the space between dream and dirt, God is not passive. He is present. He is forming in you a character that can carry the very thing you were promised. So stay rooted. Stay faithful. Stay clean in the dirt. And remember that, the dream is still alive but so are you.
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