Do You Have A Dream Today?

Do You Have A Dream Today?

Back in the days of steam ships, only rich white people sailed at sea. One day while sailing, something suddenly happened to the ship and it was about to sink. Terrified, the white folks aboard didn’t know what to do. Someone suggested that they do what the black folks did------PRAY.

However, unfortunately, no one knew what to say. So they called upon John, a black cook on the ship and asked him to pray. John agreed and came up on deck to pray. He started like this: “Lord on the day of hunger I went to a restaurant to get something to eat and the sign said: For Whites Only. I went to the water fountain to get water and the sign said: For Whites Only. Then Lord, I went to use the restroom and the sign said: For Whites Only. So Lord Almighty, forgive me because I know this isn’t Christian, when this ship… sinks, let it be: For Whites Folks Only….In Jesus Name I Pray, AMEN!!!

Funny Story, but if you lived in the day when there was segregation everywhere you know what its’ like to go to a restaurant and see a sign that says For Whites Only. Or what its like to be thirsty and you see a water fountain in sight, but the sign above it reads: For Whites Only. You know what its like to have to go to restroom really bad, but the sign above the restroom reads For Whites Only. Or you’re catching the bus, knowing the humiliation of having to walk all the way to the back of the bus, because the front is For Whites Only. Martin Luther King jr. lived in the midst of all this racism, and segregation, and in the midst of this mess he still had a dream that one-day things would be different. Lets Pray!

MLK was raised by his parents who taught him that he should treat all people with respect. Martin’s Father worked hard to break down barriers between the races. His father believed that African-Americans should register their complaints by voting.

As MLK grew up he found that not everyone followed his parents principles. He noticed that he and his white friends could not drink from the same water fountains and could not use the same restrooms.

MLK’s best friends as a child was a white boy and as children they played happily together. But when they reached school age the friends found that even though they lived in the same neighborhood, they could go to the same school. MLK friend would go to a school for white children only and MLK was sent to a school for black children. After the first day of school MLK and his friend were never allowed to play together again. My own encounter with racism and prejudice as fourth grader. This hurt me really bad. I know that MLK’s situation was painful for him as well and all the racism and injustice he saw had to break his heart. But it didn’t knock him down because deep within him was a dream that all people would be treated fairly no matter the color of their skin. He had a dream!

Lets look to the scriptures to see one who is also a big dreamer. Joseph in Genesis 37. Genesis 37:3-4 Now Israel (Father) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Joseph grew up in home where all his brothers hated him because their father favored him. When Joseph’s father wasn’t around he probably really got picked on. So Joseph knew the pain of being hated even though he couldn’t control the fact that his father loved him more.

In Genesis 37:5 It says, Joseph had a dream. The first thing a dreamer has to have is a dream. For Joseph it was images that were vivid during his sleep. We also can be dreamers in the sense that we have a vision for something that hasn’t yet occurred like MLK dream of the equality of mankind, or like GNLCC vision to start NLF and to build a New Life center. I’m not implying that God can’t give you a dream during your sleep as he did Joseph, but both focus on something in the future that has yet to occur. Dreamers have to have a Dream! Do you have a dream today? Do you believe that there is something ahead in your life that God is calling you to do or be? Do you envision God using you to make an impact in some way in the lives of others? If your going to be a dreamer you’ve got to have a dream.