This morning we continue our series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing with our mini-series entitled, “Grace Based Success (Prosperity)”. This morning I feel led to go back to a point I made last week. It is easy to read the following scene in Joseph’s life and get caught up in the moment:
Then Pharaoh gave his special ring to Joseph. The royal seal was on this ring. Pharaoh also gave Joseph a fine linen robe and put a gold chain around his neck. Then he told Joseph to ride in his second chariot. (Gen 41:42,43 ERV).
I am sure some of those present that day thought Joseph was the luckiest man alive. All they saw was a prisoner getting promoted to Prime Minister. They knew nothing of Joseph’s struggle prior to his moment of breakthrough. And when Joseph rode around in his new chariot, with a tailor made robe on his back, a gold chain on his neck, and the King’s signet on his finger, the people of Egypt would see his glory, but they did not know his story. Overnight successes often come after years of investment.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
- You can be in church and see someone SUDDENLY get out of a wheelchair and walk. The church goes crazy, high praise erupts and God is glorified. You leave thinking of how SUDDEN that person’s breakthrough was. But what you did not see was the 10 years they spent in the wheelchair, the countless times someone had to bathe them, the challenges they had getting up stairs, and the countless prayers they prayed before their SUDDENLY moment came.
- You can be in the room when a person SUDDENLY puts down their walker and begins to walk perfectly. People begin to weep, the power of praise sweeps the atmosphere and you leave in awe of God’s goodness and power. But what you did not see was the years that person spent dragging around their leg and all the times they cried out to God in frustration.
- You might be in church one day when you see a man walk down to the altar and give his life to Christ. You might not think much of it when his family comes down to the altar, with tears running down their faces, to hold their husband and father. What you did not know was that the man at the altar was an alcoholic husband and an abusive father. The tears are coming from a wife who faithfully prayed for her husband for 20 years and from children who repeatedly asked God to change the heart of their father.
- You hear of an artist who was “discovered” by a producer in what seemed like a random meeting of chance. The producer was amazed by her voice, signed her to a deal, and she became an overnight success. What you did not know was that the woman, 23 years old, had been practicing her singing since the age of 6, believing God that one day she would get her breakthrough. She was an overnight success after 17 years of investment.
- To Pharaoh’s royal staff Joseph was a nobody, a prisoner, a former slave, a Hebrew, a foreigner, a random man who luckily got a break from Pharaoh. What they did not know was that luck had nothing to do with it. Joseph had been preparing for that moment all his life. Since the age of 17, when he was ruthlessly betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery, Joseph kept believing that his dream would come to pass. God gave him the dream and God would make a way for the dream to come to pass. It took 13 years for his breakthrough to come, Joseph could have easily given up along the way and most of us would have not blamed him, but Joseph never gave up and his SUDDENLY moment finally came.
- God made plans for you before the world began and He will see to it that those plans come to pass. But God never promised you a perpetual picnic. God never promised you a painless journey. God never promised you an open path to success. No, if you are going to fulfill your divine purpose you are going to have to develop the resolve to keep going when the world is telling you to stop. Your breakthrough can come SUDDENLY, but that moment may not come for years.
- What you are going through today is actually preparing you for your next level. What Joseph learned at Potiphar’s house and in the royal prison actually helped prepare him to operate as Prime Minister of Egypt. You may not realize it, but the challenges you are facing right now are actually helping to try/approve you for your divine purpose. God will not give you your breakthrough before you are ready to walk in it. So have the patience to get ready and once you are ready, then GET READY, because your breakthrough can come at any moment.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith and patience. If it were up to me, every day would be obstacle-free. But I have learned that I require patience in order to become the person You called me to be and in order to experience Your best for my life. Satan is not going to idly sit by and watch me be blessed. Satan will come up against me, but I am not afraid and I shall not be moved. I am confident that what You promised me shall come to pass, in the fullness of Your timing. I stand, I keep on standing, and when the pressure is on me to give up, I stand some more! I will never give up, cave in or quit. What I am going through is actually helping to prepare me for my divine assignment. So I endure hardship, like a good Soldier in Christ Jesus, determined to see in my HANDS what I have already seen in my HEART. When people look at me today, and they see Your blessing all over me, they see my glory, but they do not know my story. I have already been through too much — won too many battles, been tested too many times — to give up now. Divine success requires divine patience and I declare that I have the patience to endure until the end. I shall arrive at Your desired destination for my life and I shall get there using my faith to access Your grace. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
