Shattered Dreams, Unshaken Faith
Have you ever woken from a dream so vivid you could remember every detail? You knew this one was from God and it lit a fire inside you, a calling too loud to ignore. As believers we are often encouraged in our dreams however after the dream when silence comes of the doors slammed shut we become perplexed and even discouraged Heaven seemed quiet. The dream faded, and all you were left with was broken pieces. Pastor Jocelyn Perez of V1 Church Brooklyn said a word to help everyone hope in their dream again. Dreams may be shattered, but our faith can remain unshaken.
Divine Dreams / Divine Development
Joseph from the Bible is a great example of a dreamer who could have given up the dream God promised after years of waiting to see it come to pass. He was only 17 when he shared his dream with his brothers. “Listen to this dream,” he said boldly in Genesis 37:6. He saw sheaves of grain bowing to his. He was young, immature even, and unprepared for the weight of a calling that massive. God often gives us a glimpse of the future to provoke the process. Like his dream, we have divine dreams but we should know they require divine development.
What followed Joseph’ dreams was betrayal. His brothers burned with jealousy and sold him like property. What they meant for evil, God had already folded into the blueprint for destiny. Pastor Jocelyn encouraged: “If the dream came from God, it will require God to fulfill it.” The calling of our dreams come with a price. The dream isn’t the problem. It’s the process that’s painful.
She highlighted three phases in the maturing into your calling process: The dream, the shattering and having unshaken faith.
The Shattering
Genesis 38–39 takes us into the shattering. Joseph, faithful yet falsely accused, ends up in prison. His destiny now looks like a delusion. But Pastor Jocelyn reminded us: “The prison doesn’t cancel the prophecy.” Romans 5:3–4 teaches us that trials develop perseverance, and perseverance builds character. The shattering doesn’t disqualify you, it shapes you.
“God’s not just trying to elevate you. He’s trying to form Christ in you,” the minister shared. Pastor Jocelyn knows the cost of shattering. She shared her own heartbreak: confronting her cheating father, her mother forgiving her dad, then years later losing her mother to cancer, only to find that same woman her father cheated with had re-entered his life. It could’ve broken her completely. But instead, God formed compassion in her. She forgave him and even showed grace and kindness to the other woman. That wasn’t weakness, she operating in spiritual authority.
Unshaken Faith
Joseph’s brothers tried to kill him but sold him into slavery instead. He later found himself in the house of Potiphar and gets falsely accused, then thrown in prison for a number of years. Genesis 39:2 declares that through it all, “The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did.” Not because Joseph was strong and gifted but he succeeded because God was present.
Joseph didn’t get bitter. He kept his purity, his posture, his perspective. Even when forgotten by men, he was remembered by God.
And just like Joseph, Pastor Jocelyn heard God in her own pit. As a teenager caught in a double life herself, she attended a women’s breakfast. A missionary prayed, the Holy Spirit touched her, and she heard the audible voice of God say: “Seek Me.” From that moment on, Matthew 6:33 became her life anthem: “Seek first the Kingdom of God...” And though it didn’t erase the pain, it birthed unshaken faith.
From the Pit to the Palace
Twenty years passed from Joseph’s dream to its fulfillment. Twenty years of silence, betrayal, injustice. But in Genesis 47, the dream breathes again. Joseph is second-in-command and his brothers now need him to rescue his family. He feeds the nation.
We see unshaken faith in Joseph just as we did in Jesus. “Joseph was thrown in a pit. Jesus was thrown in a tomb. Joseph saved Egypt. Jesus saved the world. Joseph fed a nation. Jesus is the Bread of Life,” Pastor Jocelyn recalled. Jesus had a dream too. That was to redeem all of humanity. He also was betrayed, mocked, beaten and eventually crucified. His mission looked like a failure on the outside. The tomb looked like the end. But God doesn’t bury dreams, He plants them.
The death of Christ was a launching pad for the salvation of the world. The resurrection was the reward. And that same resurrection power is alive today in every believer.
If you have been feeling broken, disappointed, paralyzed by betrayal, aching from delay it’s time to activate unshaken faith. Don’t let the dream die. Don’t let it shatter. Don’t let your faith go silent. Jesus was broken so we could be made whole. What was meant to destroy you is the very tool God is using to develop you.
Declare this truth over yourself and situation right now:
“I may be in the pit, but God is still with me. My dream may be shattered, but my faith is rising. I am not forgotten. I am being formed. I will not be a victim of the process—I will be a vessel of the promise. I wont live shattered but rather with unshaken faith in Christ Jesus AMEN.
About the Author
Jeannie Ortega Law is a chart-topping singer, evangelist, media personality and author from New York City. She can be reached on social media: @JeannieOrtega or emailed at Info@JeannieO.com
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