(Gen 41:55 ERV) The famine began, and the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to the Egyptian people, “Go ask Joseph what to do.”
This morning we continue our series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing with our mini-series entitled, “Grace Based Success (Prosperity)”, by continuing on with the story of Joseph. Yesterday we discussed how during the seven years of plenty Egypt prospered as a nation and Joseph prospered in his personal life. Well, the seven years of plenty came to an end. The seven years of famine began and just as Joseph had said, there was not enough food in other countries. However, because of God’s grace (divine revelation) and Joseph’s planning there was an abundance of grain pre-positioned all over Egypt. The question is: was it enough? Joseph had done what God told him to do. He operated in Godly wisdom, he prepared the nation for the famine, and he held reserves of grain throughout a decentralized distribution network. This is where Joseph’s belief system, his reliance on God, had to be strong and steadfast. When the people started asking the king for food he directed them to Joseph. Pharaoh said, “Go ask Joseph what to do.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. Be a care-caster, not a care-carrier.
a) Not only did Joseph have to trust God for the plan, but he now had to trust God for the execution of the plan. The national pressure was on Joseph. This is too much pressure for a man to carry. For Joseph to be successful he had to keep his trust in God and divert the pressure to Him.
b) The Lord wants you to cast your care over to Him, because He knows it will weigh you down. Peter said, “God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him” (1 Peter 5:7).
c) It is not God’s will for you to walk around stressed out and frustrated. If you cast your care over to Him you can live in a stress-free zone every day.
2. Believe that God will never lead you into failure.
a) The people were expecting Joseph to exercise the same wisdom during the years of famine that he did during the years of plenty. As a matter of fact, the stakes were higher. A mistake made during the years of plenty could go unnoticed. A mistake made during the years of famine would mean that people would starve to death. Joseph had to know how much grain to sell and at what intervals to sell it. He also had to balance the selling of grain between both the Egyptians and those from other countries who would soon be arriving with starving people. Everything was riding on Joseph. The survival of millions of people would depend on the decisions of a 37 yr. old ex-con and ex-slave. This was a lot to deal with. The average person would buckle under the pressure, but Joseph was no average person. He was God’s chosen man for God’s assigned time. Like Joseph, God has chosen you for such a time as this! He did not lead you this far to fail now!
b) God had given Joseph the position and God would give him the wisdom. If Joseph ever became overwhelmed he could simply remind God that He was the one that elevated him there in the first-place. If God had kept him through the pit, Potiphar, and prison phases of his life, He would also keep him through the palace phase. God had not brought him this far to fail. Guess what? The same can be said of you!
c) If it’s God’s will, then it’s God’s bill! Wherever God leads, He’ll feed; wherever He guides, He provides.
3. Trust God.
a) Think back over your life. The same God that brought you to the point where you are today, the same God that kept you time after time, the same God that made a way when there seemed to be no way, is the same that will see you through whatever you are going through. He did it before and He will do it again!
b) When you don’t trust God you are telling him that your problem is bigger than your God. Have you made that mistake? If you have, repent right now. Place your trust in God and you will feel the weight, pressure and stress fall off of you like water falling off a duck’s back.
c) You don’t have to know how God is going to do it. You can trust Him even when you can’t trace Him!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. My faith is rooted and grounded in Your grace towards me. I am able to live by faith, because I know You made plans for me before the world began, by Your amazing and unearned grace. So when I am facing something, I know I already have the grace to do it. I don’t buckle under the pressure, I don’t even accept the pressure. I don’t take on the cares of the situation. No matter how big the challenge, I cast my care upon You, because You care for me. I am NOT a care-carrier, I am a care-caster! By faith I declare that I will leave this screen stress-free. I release the stress and pressures of my current responsibilities over to You. I know I can handle everything I am required to do today because You have blessed me to be in the position I am in. Where I am today is Your will, and since it’s Your will, it is also Your bill. You did not bring me this far to fail. I trust You with my whole heart. My confession is: my God is bigger than my problems and I am anointed to handle everything I face! I am called for such a time as this! This is my season. This is my time. This is my moment! I was born to succeed. Not because I am so good, but only because You are so good; only because of Your grace! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
1 comment
Thank you so much for this Word. I am right at a point of God fulfilling His promises for my life. It has been a long but amazing and supernatural 7-year journey. The warfare is fierce. It is all just as those who have experienced it say it has to be for God’s glory…all done in His power. I so needed this Word that He hasn’t brought me this far to fail now.