Today we continue our series entitled, “Faith and Patience Volume IV — The Wonder Twins”. I am using Joseph as a good example of our need for patience. We are seeking to learn from the different phases of Joseph’s life. Each phase (paternal, pit, Potiphar, prison, and palace/Prime Minister) has significance to this series and to our lives. Let’s get into it.
(James 1:2-4 TPT)
2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!
3 For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things.
4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
(Gen 39:21-23 ERV)
21 The Lord was with Joseph and continued to show his kindness to him, so the commander of the prison guards began to like Joseph.
22 The commander of the guards put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. Joseph was their leader, but he still did the same work they did.
23 The commander of the guards trusted Joseph with everything that was in the prison. This happened because the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord helped Joseph be successful in everything he did.
So what does this mean for you today? I will attempt to share this with you, the way God gave it to me. Here we go.
1. You have to GROW into Your life’s assignment.
a) God calls you into your life’s assignment. This is something He decided for you before the world began. Once you are born, He pursues you until you accept His Son, Jesus the Christ, as Lord. Once you accept Jesus and you are Born-Again, the Holy Spirit begins to reveal to you, in glimpses, what you are called to do. The clearer the glimpses, the stronger the PULL into your future.
b) The grace to walk in this assignment was stored up for you before the world began. Everything you will ever need to become the man/woman you are born to be is allocated to your divine account in heaven, and it is only a matter of time before these things manifest for you in the earth.
c) When God calls you into your purpose, the assignment is so far beyond your natural abilities that you are forced to rely on God and His grace. God calls you into things you cannot do without Him. He calls you to lead things you are unprepared for, to fund projects you don’t have the money for, and to operate in realms and areas that you clearly don’t have the education or experience for. As soon as you feel like you master one level, God opens the door to the next and you repeat the process over again. This puts you in a continual state of relying on God, which is exactly the way He wants you to live.
d) The grace of God on your life is God’s empowerment to do what you could never do without Him. Without Him, you cannot. But without you, God will not. Because He is dedicated to you and to the plans He made for you before the world began. He is dedicated to you becoming YOU; to you becoming the man/woman He saw, in His heart, before the world began.
e) Without God and His grace, there is no way you could ever walk in the fullness of your divine assignment. But with the grace of God, there is nothing you cannot do, because God is living in you and there is nothing He cannot do.
f) While God does what He does for us by grace, and He offers us His divine assignment freely, He still requires us to learn to live by faith (relying on Him), and to develop Godly character (this is where patience comes in). This development happens at different times and seasons, levels, and stages. Each season of your life is designed to prepare you for the next. Every stage is designed to equip you for the next level. If we don’t make the most of the season and stage we are in, we run the risk of delaying our destiny.
2. Since your development takes time, you must learn to be patient.
Tomorrow I will connect what I just said (in #1) to the life of Joseph. But I will share a few nuggets as I close today.
a) God calls you into your future from your present. When He does, at first, you 1) don’t truly understand the enormity of the call, and you 2) have no earthly idea how much processing you will be required to endure in order to become the person God called you to be.
b) In the life of Joseph, we see a good example of what this looks like. He was called by God, in a dream, while he was still living at home with his parents. During this season he was enjoying the favor his had with his dad. This was the paternal phase of his life. When he received the dream, God literally allowed him to see himself in the palace/Prime Minister phase of his life. Joseph believed the dream and he opened his heart to it. But what he did not know what that before he could enjoy the palace, as the Prime Minister, he would have to endure the PIT, POTIPHAR, and PRISON phases of his life. With each phase, no matter how painful, he was actually getting closer to his destiny. So while he had faith, he required patience as well. He had to keep on believing until what God said came to pass.
c) As I close, I want you to know that God is still working in your life. Yes, the promise has taken longer than you expected. Yes, you have had to endure more things than you wanted. But please know that you are getting closer. Every step, every stage, every level, every phase, is taking you incrementally closer to the manifestation of the promise. Be patient. Greater is coming because you are called to greatness and YOU ARE GROWING INTO IT!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I know You call me into my future from my present. The more I walk with You, the clearer my future is. And the more clear I can see my future, the stronger the PULL into it is. I am compelled to become the man/woman I am called to be. I feel like I can’t NOT DO IT! This is my purpose. This is why I am on this planet. This is my calling. This is my destiny. So I will never give up. Every day I get incrementally closer to Your overall expected end for my life. I live every moment with an expectation of the manifestation of Your promises, so I am able to maximize every step, stage, season, and phase I am in. As I do, I am ready for the next one! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
