Metaphors For Your Life

I love stories. I think that most people love stories.

Even Madison Avenue has discovered the adage,
“Facts tell, Stories Sell.”

I love ancient stories. I love the old biblical stories
I grew up with. There are three stories that I believe
can be a metaphor for anyone’s life, especially when
you need answers, clarification and perspective.

This morning I was sharing with a friend of mine,
Dr. Stan Harris of Dallas, Texas. Dr. Stan was
driving and had quite a ways to go and decided
to give me a call. He felt a leading or inner intuition
to call.

I started sharing some things that were happening in
my life that were presenting quite a challenge (to say
the least).

He reminded me of the ancient story of Joseph whose
father made a beautiful coat for and whose brothers
sold into slavery.

As many young people do, Joseph had a dream that
he told his brothers about when he was quite young.
In his dream, he saw several sheaths of wheat. All of
the sheaths of wheat bowed down to one single
sheath of wheat.

He promptly told his brothers that all the sheaths
which were bowing, represented them. The one
sheath of wheat that they all bowed to was, HIM.

Now, not surprisingly, the brothers didn’t take this
so well. Plus, Joseph being their father’s Jacob’s
favorite son didn’t help. Jacob had apparently shown his
favoritism by making and giving Joseph his
‘coat of many colors.’

The brothers, rather than getting super excited
about this dream that Joseph had, bound him
and threw him into a pit. Later, when some
foreigners were passing by, they sold him to
the foreigners as a slave. They then went home
and told father Jacob, that Joseph was dead.

Joseph’s new owners took him and eventually
sold him to a man named Potiphar. Joseph did
well in Potiphar’s care and was entrusted to most
anything Potiphar had in his house.

Potiphar’s wife had wondering eyes and decided
she wanted Joseph. As Dr. Stan said, “She wanted
to LIE WITH Joseph.” Joseph refused and ran out
of the house. She got a hold of his clothes and
ripped them off of him.

When Potiphar came home, Potiphar’s wife (since
she didn’t get to LIE WITH Joseph) told Potiphar
that Joseph tried to rape her (oh my, a woman scorned
can be a terrible thing). So instead of LYING WITH Joseph,
as Dr. Stan said it, she LIED ON Joseph.

Potiphar threw Joseph into prison for attempted rape.

While in prison, Joseph became friends with a butcher
and a baker who had once served in the house of Pharoah,
the king of Egypt.

Now Pharoah had a dream and was looking for an interpretation
of his dream. The baker, having at least once been in the favor
and good graces of the Pharoah, asked Joseph to interpret the
dream. Joseph had this ‘dream business’ down. However, in
the beginning of his life, he spoke a little too soon about his
dream.

So, Joseph gives the interpretation to the Pharoah’s dream.
The baker, who had promised to get Joseph out of prison,
got himself free and forgot about Joseph. Now, Joseph had
been LIED TO. Eventually Joseph interprets another dream
for the Pharoah and is put in charge of the entire country.

Later, his brothers show up because they were coming to
Egypt in need of food. There was a famine in their land.
They went to see Joseph not knowing that it was him.
Joseph knew who they were but they didn’t recognize him.

The rest of the story is that Joseph forgave them and took
care of their needs.

Dr. Stan said, “Michael, an ancient proverb says that your GIFT
makes opportunity for you and your dreams DO come to pass.”

Joseph’s life is an amazing metaphor for your life and my life.
His gift, the ability to interpret dreams, gave him an amazing
destiny.

Here are some of the lessons I learned from this story.

1. Don’t expect everyone else to get excited about YOUR
dream for your life. They likely won’t. They may even feel
contempt for you for having your dream.

Dream anyway.

2. The road isn’t smooth to the fulfillment of your dream.

There will be temptations, there will be those who lie about
you and there will be those who lie to you.

Make the journey anyway. It will be worth it.

3. Your dream will come to pass.

One of the details I left out of this story is that when
Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt looking for food,
he could have instantly had them executed. They
lied about what had happened to him not knowing
that they were talking to him.

Joseph made a statement in the end after revealing
who he really was. He said, “What you meant for my
harm, has now been turned to my good.” What they
did to try and put an end to his ‘dream’, actually worked
‘for’ his dream. It put him exactly in the place that he
needed to be to see his dream fulfilled.

Pay attention to the metaphors of life. I love biblical
stories. I always see these people as human beings
just like you and me. I don’t see them as ’saints’.

The key is, listening closely to the story and ‘GET’
the purpose of the story. You will arrive at your
goals, dreams and destiny faster if you will.