Note: On the video version of Today’s message, I will share a prayer for our nation before I get into the Word. On this written formate, I ask you to please pause for a moment and say a word of prayer for peace and reconciliation in the United States.
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. There are lessons to be learned in every season.
(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.
(Ecc 3:1 ERV)
There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time.
(Gen 41:14-16 NIV)
14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.
15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Setting the stage of the story — Faith and Patience!
Yesterday we saw how Joseph readied himself when he heard he had to stand before Pharaoh (the king). He shaved, cleaned himself up, and put on a fresh set of clothes. Although he was living as a prisoner he did not have to look like one when he came before the king. He was expecting a breakthrough, although he did not know what the situation was about. All he knew was that he was called for and he believed that God would grace him to handle whatever the need would be. When you walk with God and you truly believe that He is On you, IN you, WITH you, and FOR you, you face every situation with fearless confidence.
I am sure that Joseph was mentally and spiritually preparing himself for the moment he stood before the king. He must have thought of the dream God gave him and how this might have something to do with it. When he finally got before the king. Pharaoh said, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” Now, watch what Joseph says. Without skipping a beat, without knowing what the dream was, without knowing the specifics of the assignment, he replied, “I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” Notice the verbiage. He did not say, “God might,” or “God can.” Joseph said, “God will!” That is strong language and it comes from a man who operated in strong faith.
This series is about faith and patience. At first, Joseph needed faith to believe the dream. That’s how it is with us too. We must have the faith to believe on God’s level. When God reveals something to us that was birthed in His heart, it is often so big, that it requires unfiltered faith to believe it. Once we get past that stage and we open our heart to believe God, we are in faith, and we are (in our minds) ready to receive what God said. But then here comes the timing component. God will not perform the promise until the right time. So we have to wait. This is why we need patience. But then, when the fulness of time comes (like it did for Joseph in this story), we need faith again! We first had faith for the expectation and in the end, we must have faith for the manifestation.
When the time came for Joseph to get his breakthrough and walk out of the prison, his faith was HIGH! He was ready. Even without hearing the dream, Joseph was like, “Mr. King, it does no matter what the dream is. I am not the one doing the interpretation anyway. God is the one who will give it and there is nothing God can’t do. Go ahead and tell me the dream. No matter what you say, the interpretation is here. Because I am here and God is with me!” That’s the type of faith (or confidence) God requires of us!
2. God wants maximum glory out of every situation.
God makes it clear in His Word that He does not want us to put any other gods before Him. He expects His glory to go to Him and not any other gods. The same applies to people. God can and will bless you to do great things, but He expects the glory. He does not want you to give His glory to any person and He does not want you to take it yourself either. God can enable you to do anything in Him. There is nothing He can’t do through you. But just remember that He expects the credit. Joseph was clear. He made it plain. He was like, “Mr. King, to be clear, I can’t do it. But God can and He will! God will give you the interpretation and He will do it through me!”
This is how we are supposed to live. Our full confidence must be in God and not our human abilities. The good news is that while God gets the glory, we get the earthly benefits. That day Joseph was promoted from prisoner to Prime Minister in a moment. That the kind of God we serve. When you live your life committed to giving Him the glory, you will experience the benefits of His divine favor!
3. True faith puts all your confidence in God and His divine power!
Some people today would have called Joseph cocky or maybe even arrogant. Sometimes confidence is mistaken for arrogance, but God wants you to operate in confidence nonetheless. Joseph carried a holy boldness in him. He was standing before the king, but he knew that the King of Kings was with him!
Face every day and every situation with a fearless confidence, with your confidence in God and God alone, and know that God will bless you for it. When you walk in fearless confidence you are telling God that you trust Him to be bigger than your situation. This pleases God. When you don’t you are making your situation bigger than your God. This disappoints Him.
4. Get ready for God to BLOW YOUR MIND!
Joseph did not know what the dream was about, he did not know any of the specifics, but as far as he was concerned they did not matter. No matter what – Joseph believed that God could handle it. I will give you a few closing nuggets on this:
— Without God, there are countless things we cannot do. Because we are human and finite.
— With God, there is nothing we cannot do, because God lives in us and He is infinite and divine.
— You must learn to know God through experiences. You cannot just know God from a book or from a church. You must know God through real-life experiences. Joseph had 13 years of divine experiences behind him when he stood before the king. That’s why his faith was so strong. Paul had countless experiences with God as he sought to blaze trails for the early church. After all those experiences, Paul said, “I learned something along the way. This is what I learned: I can do all things through Christ who enables me to do what I cannot do without Him.” (Rick Pina Version).
— You need faith and patience for life, for the long haul. At first, you need faith to believe what God said. After you believe it, you need the patience to wait on His timing. But when the fulness of time comes, you need faith again. You need faith to RECEIVE what God is RELEASING. And your faith for manifestation must be strong because when God finally does it, it is going to be BIGGER than you imagined. Joseph would have never imagined, in a thousand years, that he woke up that morning a prisoner, but he was going to fall asleep as the Prime Minister of Egypt!
*** When God finally does it for you, He is going to exceed your expectations. So get your hopes up! GREATER IS COMING!
That is enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I know You want maximum glory out of every situation. I declare that I will always give You the glory for everything You do in my life. I face every day and every situation with fearless confidence. I know You are bigger than anything I will ever face and as long I am able to believe You can do it, You will. I expand my capacity to believe You, I rely on Your ability over my own, and I live my life with an expectation of the manifestation of every promise. And finally, I know Father, that when You finally do it, Your “IT” will be far GREATER than anything I ever imagined. GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
