Dreams From God Do Not Die: Joseph’s Calling and the Work of the Holy Spirit

Joseph begins his journey as the beloved son, a young man carrying dreams too great for those around him to contain. Instead of embracing him, his brothers were threatened and their jealousy drove them to throw him into the pit as described in Genesis 37. Yet what seems to human eyes like an ending is, in God’s hands, a beginning. A dream planted by God cannot be extinguished by human action. It sinks deeper into the dreamer’s heart and continues to take shape even through the difficulties that appear to oppose it.

In Egypt Joseph’s dream becomes clearer. He discovers that the gift he received from birth is a calling from God, an inner movement that continues to guide him even when the path grows dark. When he interprets Pharaoh’s dream in Genesis 41, it is evident that the grace working in him has not faded despite all he has endured. When Joseph stands before his frightened brothers, he reveals the insight that matured within him along the way; God sent me ahead of you for life, you did not send me here but God (Genesis 45:5–8). Thus, it becomes clear that the pit, betrayal, slavery and exile did not stop the dream but were the very path through which God’s Will unfolded.

The prophecy given in Joel 3:1; "I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh" expands on what began with Joseph. Joel describes a future where a vision from God belongs not only to one man but to many. This echoes Moses’ words to Joshua in Numbers 11:29 "Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets". Moses teaches that vision is not a threat but a blessing, and that without vision the people perish Proverbs 29:18. Without vision a person wanders, and with vision they find direction.

Daniel adds to this understanding through a different experience. In Daniel 2:18 he is called not only to interpret the king’s dream but to reveal the dream itself though nothing has been told to him. He turns to God in faith, and all is revealed to him. Daniel shows that divine vision does not depend on human certainty but on trust that is willing to move forward even without seeing the next step.

When we reach the book of Acts and the festival of Shavuot, everything spoken by Joseph, Moses, Joel, and Daniel takes on new form. The Holy Spirit descends upon the believers and empowers them with prophetic utterance. Peter cites Joel 3:1, affirming that the promised outpouring has come to pass. As Acts 2:17–18 declares, God pours out His Spirit on all flesh, sons and daughters prophesy, young men see visions, and elders dream dreams. The gift of prophecy, as Paul teaches, is given to build, encourage, and comfort. It becomes a gift to the entire community, not just to select individuals.

Yeshua Himself promised this Spirit to His disciples. In John 15:26 Yeshua says, "When the Comforter is come, the Spirit of Truth, it will teach them and show them the way". The Holy Spirit led Peter and Philip, and Paul and continues to work in every believer today.

Viewed from this perspective, Joseph’s story becomes part of a larger redemptive pattern. The dream does not die in the pit. The calling does not disappear when a person is rejected. Hardship does not cancel the calling but shapes it. Just as Joseph passed through darkness to arrive at the purpose prepared for him, so Yeshua passed through death and rose again to bring life to many. And just as at the end of Joseph’s journey he sees that God’s hand was at work in every step, so too the believer discovers that the Holy Spirit accompanies him and directs him at every stage.

From this emerges a clear message. When God gives a dream, He also gives the path and the Spirit who will guide us along it. The pit does not cancel the dream, it deepens it. Opposition does not extinguish the calling. Uncertainty is not an end but an invitation to faith. The Holy Spirit given on Shavuot continues to work in believers today, granting each one the knowledge of God’s will and the courage to follow it until the vision planted in their heart comes to fulfillment.