diff --git a/lib/classes/Variables.js b/lib/classes/Variables.js
index 7e8c0a888..6a99a6dd6 100644
--- a/lib/classes/Variables.js
+++ b/lib/classes/Variables.js
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ const replaceall = require('replaceall');
 const logWarning = require('./Error').logWarning;
 const BbPromise = require('bluebird');
 const os = require('os');
+const fse = require('../utils/fs/fse');
 
 class Variables {
 
@@ -230,9 +231,13 @@ class Variables {
       .replace(this.fileRefSyntax, (match, varName) => varName.trim())
       .replace('~', os.homedir());
 
-    const referencedFileFullPath = (path.isAbsolute(referencedFileRelativePath) ?
+    let referencedFileFullPath = (path.isAbsolute(referencedFileRelativePath) ?
         referencedFileRelativePath :
         path.join(this.serverless.config.servicePath, referencedFileRelativePath));
+
+    // Get real path to handle potential symlinks
+    referencedFileFullPath = fse.realpathSync(referencedFileFullPath, 'utf8');
+
     let fileExtension = referencedFileRelativePath.split('.');
     fileExtension = fileExtension[fileExtension.length - 1];
     // Validate file exists