Today, we continue our series entitled “Laser Focus,” emphasizing living with a Laser Focus on the Fixed Purpose God established for us before the world began.
(Proverbs 4:25 TPT)
Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead, ignore life’s distractions.
Scriptures for today:
(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 42:21-24 TPT)
21 With Joseph standing there, they began to speak among themselves, saying, “Look what’s happened to us! We’re being punished for what we did to Joseph long ago. We heard his cries of anguish and saw the agony of his soul when he begged us for mercy, but we turned a deaf ear. That’s why all this trouble has come upon us!”
22 Then Reuben spoke up, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! So now we’re paying the price for his murder!”
23 They had no clue that Joseph understood every word, for he had been speaking to them through an interpreter.
24 Deeply affected by what he heard, Joseph began to weep and hurriedly left their presence. After he had composed himself, he returned to them, and pointing to Simeon, said, “This one will remain here.” Then he had him tied and bound while they all watched.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Pain is Part of Life – Especially for those called to do something significant in God’s Kingdom.
Yesterday, we left off with Joseph’s brothers realizing that they were reaping what they had sown. Reuben said, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t hurt the boy’? But no, you wouldn’t listen. And now we’re paying for his murder.” Little did they know that Joseph was standing right before them, listening to the entire conversation. They spoke freely in front of him because they thought he could not understand their language. The entire time, Joseph remained in character, and he spoke to them through an interpreter.
Think about Joseph for a minute. The brothers who sold him into slavery and left him to die were standing before him. He was no longer the kid brother with no power against them. The tables were now turned. He had the power. He had armed killers at his disposal. One word and all ten brothers could be assassinated. But he restrained himself.
What gets me is that he could understand everything they were saying, and since the brothers did not know it, they spoke freely in front of Joseph. It would be like a group of people are talking about you, and you have a front-row seat to the conversation. No doubt, their conversation brought back distant memories of his horrible experience in the pit, as a slave, and then later as a prisoner. 20+ years of emotion flooded through his body. It was too much to handle. He stepped away for a few moments, and he broke down and cried. He was living so well that he had suppressed the hurt and pain. But in that moment, looking at his brothers, hearing openly talk about what they did to him, he lost it.
— Being a Christian does not exonerate us from painful situations. I have endured my fair share of pain. The good news is that God gives us the grace (the empowerment and ability) to overcome the pain, to get back up again, and to move forward by faith! Joseph did just that. He regained his composure, looked past the pain, and focused on the promise of God (the dreams).
— Joseph still had a plan to complete. He wanted to see Benjamin, and he wanted the second dream fulfilled. So, he continued to act out his plan in character and had Simeon arrested while the rest of the brothers watched (see Genesis 42:22-24).
— Joseph’s focus on the promise was what enabled him to operate in compassion and forgiveness instead of resentment and revenge. Learn from Joseph. If you focus on God’s promise, you will be amazed at how much pain you can overcome and how much forgiveness you can extend.
— We have been looking at Proverbs 4:25 TPT all year. Setting your gaze on the path before you (looking straight ahead) will keep you from being distracted and from looking back.
— The biggest advantage you will have over past pain is your focus on future purpose. You won’t relive the pain of your past when you are moving FORWARD!
2. A Strong Focus On The Promise Will Get You Past The Pain.
This series is about remaining in faith no matter how long it takes for you to SEE what God SAID! If you are going to live this way, you are going to have to learn to get past painful situations. People are going to hurt you along the way. You can choose to hold on to that pain, or you can learn to get past it. One of the greatest ways to get past the pain is to focus on God’s promise!
— Despite having the power to retaliate, Joseph chose to stay in God’s will. This reflects the strength of his character and his unwavering faith in God’s promises.
— By keeping his eyes on the dreams God gave him, Joseph was able to rise above his immediate emotional frenzy. Similarly, focusing on God’s promises can help us overcome our own painful situations.
— Joseph’s ability to forgive his brothers allowed him to heal from his past wounds. When we choose forgiveness over resentment, we open the door for God’s healing in our lives.
— Just as God gave Joseph the grace to endure and overcome his trials, He provides us with the same empowerment to face and overcome our challenges. God’s grace is sufficient for every situation.
— Joseph’s commitment to God’s plan kept him moving forward despite his pain. When we set our eyes on God’s purpose for our lives, we can navigate through past hurts and step into our future with confidence.
— Joseph’s painful experiences molded him into a wise and compassionate leader. While God may not cause the pain, He can certainly use the pain we have endured to help develop us into leaders who are spiritually mature and relationally adept.
— Joseph was able to keep the proper perspective by focusing on the promise, which enabled him to look past the pain.
— Make a decision to live life from God’s point of view. If you look at your situations from God’s perspective, you will be amazed at how much you endure and overcome!
3. Love is a Choice, and So is Forgiveness.
God commands us in His Word to operate in love and to forgive, but we are free moral agents, and we still have to “choose” to do so. Love is a choice. Forgiveness is a choice. This also means that hatred is a choice. Resentment is a choice. Make the right decisions. Choose to operate in love, compassion, and forgiveness, not hatred, resentment, and pain. Joseph was blessed, but it was partly because he had the ability to forgive.
In Luke 6, Jesus was being followed by a great number of disciples. He broke away from the crowd and spent all night praying for direction. The next morning, He chose the 12 Apostles out of the crowd. With His team in place, Jesus went on to minister to the crowd, healing the sick and casting out demons. Afterward, Jesus said, “To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies…“
Jesus was talking about supernatural love. Jesus made it clear from the beginning that Godly love extends beyond human love. Human love loves those who love them back. Human love loves those that are easy to love. Human love is contingent upon circumstances being right, but the love of God empowers us to extend beyond the limitations of human love and to love those we would never love otherwise.
— If you want to make the most of the life God has given you, you must learn to release every BLESSING BLOCKER from your heart. Bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness are BLESSING BLOCKERS!
— Choosing love and forgiveness over hatred and resentment aligns you with God’s will, opens the door to His blessings, and ushers you into your purpose.
— God’s supernatural love enables us to love beyond human limitations, extending grace even to those who have wronged us.
— Forgiveness is not about condoning wrong actions but about freeing your heart from the bondage of bitterness and resentment.
— Every act of forgiveness is a step towards healing and spiritual growth, allowing you to reflect Christ more fully.
— Resentment and unforgiveness hinder your spiritual progress, while love and forgiveness propel you forward in your walk with God.
— Love is an active choice, made daily, to embody the character of Christ in every interaction.
— Embracing God’s command to love and forgive leads to a life of peace, joy, and divine favor.
— By choosing love and forgiveness, you become a conduit of God’s grace, impacting others with His love.
4. Don’t Allow Pain To Stop You – Choose Your Divinity Over Your Humanity!
One of the most common characteristics of champions is their ability to keep going. They simply never give up. Joseph could have given up in the pit, in Potiphar’s house, in prison, or during this resurrection of pain. But through it all, Joseph refused to quit. He kept going, and we must do the same!
— When you add patience to your faith, you will build up the divine power to keep going when your humanity is telling you to quit.
— You are a human conduit of the divine. If you are Born-Again, you are a human walking around with God on the inside of him/her. This means you have humanity and divinity in you. There will be many times, on the road to your destiny, when your humanity gets overwhelmed, when you will cry as Joseph cried, and when you will feel waves of urges to give up, cave in, and quit. But if you want to become the man/woman God called you to be, if you want to arrive at God’s overall expected end for your life, you will have to tap into your divinity in those moments of humanity.
— Joseph was dealing with 20+ years of unresolved pain, and it seemingly flooded through his body all at once. He couldn’t take it. He had to leave the room. He cried loudly and let it out. But once that was over, he got back to the mission. He walked back into the room, addressed his brothers through an interpreter, and maintained his composure so he could see the second dream come to pass. This type of resilience is required for us to maximize our purpose and potential.
— There will be many moments when you realize the pain is real. You will feel it. It will hurt. You may cry. You may weep uncontrollably. I have been there. But if you are determined, you will find the supernatural strength (grace) TO KEEP GOING!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I embrace every test as an opportunity for growth.
You empower me to look past my life’s pain and focus on Your promises.
My outlook helps shape my outcome; I maintain the proper focus and perspective.
I walk in Your love, compassion, and forgiveness.
You are love, and You live in me, enabling me to love with Your love and walk in Your peace.
My focus on Your promises enables me to overcome every pain and setback.
My faith and patience stir up divine power within me.
Your love empowers me to keep on going, and therefore, I do!
Living this way, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
