Today, we continue our series entitled “Laser Focus,” with the point being that we should live with a Laser Focus on the Fixed Purpose God established for us before the world began.
This is the main scripture we will be looking at this year:
(Proverbs 4:25 TPT)
Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead, ignore life’s distractions.
We are also looking at these scriptures as we consider the life of Joseph.
(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 MSG)
But there in jail God was still with Joseph: He reached out in kindness to him; he put him on good terms with the head jailer. The head jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners–he ended up managing the whole operation. The head jailer gave Joseph free rein, never even checked on him, because God was with him; whatever he did God made sure it worked out for the best.
(Ecc 3:1 KJV)
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
(Ecc 3:1 ERV)
There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. We all go through DRY seasons.
While we all have a divine assignment from God that was established before the world began, we must discover it, develop in it, deploy into it, and then remain determined to complete it before we die. Along the way, we wind up living our lives out in times and seasons. Within each, there are levels and stages we must proceed through. To be clear, there will be times, seasons, levels, and stages that are not pleasant. Some are more enjoyable than others. Some are more fruitful than others. The truth is that we all have to endure DRY seasons from time to time
So there he (Joseph) was, in prison, beginning again. His father, who loved him dearly, thought he was dead. His brothers, who betrayed him, had no idea where he was or what he was doing. The friends he developed at Potiphar’s house, Potiphar being one of them, all thought he was a rapist. So, after doing nothing wrong and after trying to do everything right, Joseph woke up one morning in prison in the middle of a DRY season of his life.
I just laid out facts, but here’s the truth: God was still with him, and God’s favor was still on him. But from the outside looking in, many would question if Joseph was on the right path in life. He went from favorite child to slave, then from slave to prisoner. It looked like his life was on the wrong path, but Joseph was actually in the center of God’s will. He was just going through a dry season.
This may be a DRY season for you. From the outside looking in, it may look like you are not on the right path. It may look like you are not progressing through life the way others expected you to, or maybe the way you expected. But don’t take a DRY season to mean that you are outside God’s will. You may be the center of God’s will and still have to endure seasons that are not pleasant and possibly even not fruitful. Keep living long enough, and keep your attitude intact because seasons change! When it does, you want to be ready!
Here are a few things we can glean from this:
— We Must Learn To Embrace God’s Sovereignty in Dry Seasons: Recognize that God orchestrates the seasons of your life with precision. Your dry season is not without purpose; it’s a divine setup for future flourishing.
— God Is Looking For Consistency in Character: You will develop patient endurance during dry seasons if you lean into your faith. Just as Joseph maintained his integrity and trust in God through every trial, your character is being refined for greater things ahead.
— Perseverance Pays Off: Keep pressing forward even when progress seems invisible. Joseph’s journey reminds us that our greatest achievements often follow our greatest challenges.
— Choose Faith Over Sight: Live by faith, not by sight. The dryness of the present cannot stifle the fruitfulness of your future. Believe in God’s promises more than your current problems.
— God Is Preparing You While You Are Hidden: Just like seeds germinate in the dark soil before breaking through the surface, your spiritual and personal growth is often hidden before it becomes evident to all.
*** When God finally releases you, the growth you developed in your dry season will be evident to all!
2. God is still working in a seemingly DRY season.
If you look at an old, large, tall, and strong tree, you are looking at a living organism that has been around for possibly hundreds of years. Within those years, the tree has had to endure many seasons. There were seasons in the tree’s life when it was barren, dried up, and seemingly lifeless. But it was still alive, and it was actually preparing for the next season.
When you look at a tree in the middle of winter, you often notice the leaves gone. The fruit is nonexistent. The branches are naked. The tree seems lifeless. But that is from the outside looking in. On the inside, things are still working. The tree is still alive. It actually has not been internally impacted. It’s just that the external conditions have changed. Since things externally are not right, the tree is preparing on the inside, so it is ready to thrive again when the external conditions change!
A large tree, in the middle of winter, in the middle of a dry season, pulls up water and minerals from the ground and creates sap. It stores this sap throughout the winter, so it is ready to produce leaves and fruit when the external conditions change.
Sometimes, we have to endure sap-storing seasons. From the outside looking in, people don’t see much happening with us in these seasons. They don’t see leaves. They don’t see fruit. But they don’t know that God is still working and helping us store up all the sap we will need to thrive when the season changes!
Joseph was in prison. He was called by God to be the Prime Minister of Egypt. But during the prison phase of his life, he was in Egypt, in a prison reserved for offenses against the throne. He was actually closer to the dream than he had ever been, but from the outside looking in, this was still a dry season. Joseph made the most of this season, and since he did, he was ready when his season changed.
Right now, many children of God are enduring a DRY season. External conditions have changed for them. But that does not mean that their internal attitude is supposed to. God has given us an internal regulator in the person of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will also lead us to God’s Word. Between God’s Word and His Spirit, we can remain the same on the inside (which is what the word patient means, by the way; it is the force of consistency), no matter what is happening on the outside.
Since you are dedicated to remaining the same and committed to being consistent by God’s grace, you can make the most of this season and be prepared for the moment this season shifts to the next. You will be prepared when the external conditions change because you made the most of this season. You stored up your sap in the winter, so when spring comes, you will be prepared to produce leaves and fruit.
When this DRY season ends, ensure you are ready for the shift!
Here are a few things we can glean from this:
— Internal Growth Over External Show: Paul taught us that while our outer man is perishing, our inner man is being renewed day by day (2 Cor 4:16). This is a reminder that we can be renewed, restored, revived, and replenished, on the inside, even when it looks like we are going through a dry season on the outside.
— Develop Spiritual Resilience: While you are enduring a seemingly dry season, take the time to strengthen your inner man through God’s Word and prayer. This will help you deepen your roots, so when the external season shifts, your life will be ready to produce much fruit!
— Anticipate Change: Live in hopeful expectation of God’s promises. Just as trees store sap in anticipation of spring, store up spiritual strength and faith for the seasons of harvest ahead.
— Rest in the Truth that God Is Working: Maintain awareness that God is at work, even when His handiwork isn’t immediately visible. The assurance of His presence brings peace amidst uncertainty.
— Be Prepared for Opportunity: Position yourself to spring forth when God shifts your season. The work you do in secret prepares you for the public unveiling of your God-given destiny.
— The Promise of Renewal: Embrace the promise that after every winter comes spring. Your current dry season is not permanent; God has ordained a time of tremendous harvest. GREATER IS COMING! Don’t give up!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for Your grace, Your goodness, Your kindness, and Your mercy towards me.
You are always with me. You will never leave me, forsake me, nor turn Your back on me.
Even when I have to endure a DRY season, I find peace in knowing that You are still with me and that You still care.
And since You know how to squeeze every ounce out of every season, you use the DRY seasons of my life to prepare me for the seasons of plenty.
I will take advantage of this sense of preparation, knowing that blessed blessings come to prepared people!
I endure dry seasons with an attitude of grit, perseverance, determination, and patient endurance.
I will make the most of today, knowing it prepares me for the tomorrow You promised!
GREATER IS COMING FOR ME, and when the season SHIFTS, I will be ready to walk in the fullness of the Harvest!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
