“THE JOURNEY”: Pasture ➡️ Pit ➡️ Potiphar’s (House) ➡️ Prison ➡️ Palace

 

Key Scripture:

Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more.       Genesis 37:3

                                                                                               

Sometimes when the Lord shows us a vision of His plans for our lives, we assume that it will happen right away.  We may even begin to make plans.  But we soon learn that His itinerary for our journey is much different than we imagine because His timing and plans are rarely the same as ours. 

As a youngster Joseph knew and was confident in the visions/dreams that God had shown him about his future, but when he shared it with his brothers and even his father, Israel,  they saw him as bragging (Verse 10).  His brothers went from disliking him to actually hating him because Joseph was also Israel's favorite.   When Israel gave Joseph the “coat of many colors” (Verse 3a), Joseph’s brothers despised him even more. Might one of  the lessons here be that it is not wise to share with everybody the details of what the Lord reveals of His calling and destiny for our lives? 

Joseph is a prime example.  God showed him that one day, he would be in a palace with great authority, and that his brothers would end up looking to him for help (during a future famine).  What Joseph did not understand was that his journey was not a straight shot.  The journey to the “palace” would have some unexpected bends in the road, as well as,  detours.  He started in the Pasture, but there were detours that led him to time spent in “the Pit”, Potiphar’s House, Prison, then finally the Palace.  

He had no idea that each of these detours would be rife with challenges that would try and test him on many levels.  We often lose sight of the visions and promises of God when we hit snags, or detours, or someone says “you can’t do that.”  Doubt begins to raise its head.  Each one of those unexpected detours presented different challenges and tests of Joseph’s steadfast faith in God.  They were also tests of his character as he faced brothers who wanted to kill him, Potiphar’s wife trying to seduce him, and his disappointment when it seemed that Pharaoh’s chief butler (who was in prison with him) had  forgotten about Joseph once he got out of prison. There were, however,  two things that were always consistent.  Throughout all of the trials and tests, God’s favor was always with Joseph, and Joseph was always faithful no matter the test.

If your faith is never tested, you will not have any assurance that you actually have faith.  Each victory strengthens your faith.  Each trial, test, detour and bend in the road is attached to a lesson which is designed to strengthen ones character and produce spiritual maturity.  Just as God’s hand was always on Joseph’s life, He has made that same promise to us.  As long as we are faithful to trust Him instead of our own wisdom, He has promised to not only be with us but to never leave or forsake us. Trust Him.  Trust His process of spiritual refinement. Sometimes we feel that the blessing is in reaching the goal or the destination, but there are many blessings to be experienced during the journey! Faithful is He Who promised!

Blessings.

~CWP~