Joseph: Relationship Reveals Your Purpose

Relationship Reveals Your Purpose

Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers. — Genesis 37:5a NKJV

We all have dreams for how our lives will – or should – turn out. Many times these are dreams that have been impressed on us by God Himself. But when will they stop being dreams and turn into reality? When will these dreams be fulfilled? And what do you do in the meantime?

As a teenager, Joseph had big dreams, but events seemed to circumvent those dreams and landed him in slavery in Egypt. Through this experience Joseph learned to trust in God’s plan for his life, remain obedient and make wise choices, even when they resulted in a jail sentence! Ultimately, Joseph realized his dreams and was reunited and reconciled with his family and was able to be used by God to save millions of people from starvation.

God has dreams for your life as well. If you wait on God’s perfect timing, make wise and biblical choices, you too, like Joseph, can see your God-given dreams become reality.

Video: Relationship Reveals Your Purpose

Play the video teaching segment for Session 1. As you watch, use the following outline to record any thoughts or concepts that stand out to you.

Here are some notes to follow:

Have you ever stopped to consider how your relationships affect your dreams?

Your three closest relationships mirror what your life looks like.

Your first important relationship in your life was the one with your parents.

We are not only born on purpose, but we are born with a purpose.

The most important conversation you can have about dreams is with your heavenly Father. He will plant the dream in your heart.

Proverbs 16:9 says, In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

Study Questions

1. What part of the video teaching had the most impact on you?

2. Brainstorm as a group the many relationships a woman may have in her life. Fire them off one after another. Ready? Go!

3. Have you ever before considered the fact that a person’s relationships can affect his or her dreams, either positively or negatively? Can you think of an example where this was true, either for you or someone you know?

4. Michelle stated that the three closest relationships in your life mirror what your life looks like. In what ways do you find this to be true?

5. Michelle also said that our first important relationship in life is that with our parents. A parent may be intentional and helpful, neglectful and even harmful, or totally absent. List possible effects on a person’s life from each of these scenarios:

• An intentional and helpful parent
• A neglectful or harmful parent
• An absent parent

6. Have one person read Ephesians 1:1-14 aloud to the group. Listen carefully as the passage is read for all the ways God thinks about us and all the things he has given us as his children. Then, as a group, list them and the corresponding verse below.

7. Just as Joseph’s brothers tried to thwart his dream, other people may try to dash our dreams. Michelle said that remembering Deuteronomy 6:5 (“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”) can help us keep our focus when that happens. Why do you think that’s true?

8. Michelle talked about the fear of God – not a terrifying fear but a proper reverence and awe of Him as our heavenly Father – and quoted Proverbs 19:23 in the Amplified Version:

The reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it rests satisfied; he cannot be visited with [actual] evil.

How does being reverent and worshipful lead to life and rest? And how, in turn, does it keep you from being visited with evil?

9. Take turns reading Proverbs 16:9 aloud in as many Bible versions as are present in the room. Share a time when you planned your way but didn’t consult God about it. What happened? On the flip side, share a time when you allowed God to establish your steps. Why is it so much better to do life that way rather than making your own plans and hoping they are in line with God’s?

10. Michelle stated that Joseph’s close and loving “daddy’s boy” relationship with his father was a divine setup for his destiny. Has there been a special relationship in your life that set you up for what God wanted to do in and through you? Explain.

Extension Questions For Your Quiet Time

1. Do you feel God has planted the seeds of a dream in your life – one that will glorify Him? What is that dream? Write it down in a nutshell.

2. Next, take a mental inventory of the relationships in your life. Is there someone who you feel encourages you in that dream? How so?

3. Is there someone who throws water on the fire of your dreams? How does he or she do this?

4. Quietly pray, asking God to help you listen to His thoughts about you and not to the negative words of others. Bring your dream humbly before Him alone to make sure it is in line with his will for you. Ask him to show you clearly. Then, if it is: GO FOR IT!

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Your Turn

Come join the conversation on our blog! We would love to hear your answers to the study questions!