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 45:4-8 MSG)
“Come closer to me,” Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. “I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don’t feel badly, don’t blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn’t you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people, but just remember that God is always present.
Joseph did not do anything to earn or deserve what his brothers did to him. Once he was in Potiphar’s house, he did not do anything to earn or deserve what Mrs. Potiphar did either. And then, when he was in prison, he was devastated when the butler forgot about him. But in the end, it all worked out for his good.
I would love to tell you that everything will be easy once you are walking with God. But that would be a flat-out lie. The truth is that for you to become the man/woman God called you to be and to realize the dream God put in your heart, you will have to endure more than you ever thought you could. You will have to rely on the grace of God to get you through tough times. You will have to lean on God every step of the way.
The good news is that God’s grace is on your life. Without God, you cannot. But with God, you can endure and overcome all things!
How this applies to you:
— Embrace the reality that challenges are part of the journey to fulfilling God’s purpose. God may not create these challenges, but He surely uses them to develop our faith and forge our character.
— Rely on God’s grace to sustain you through difficult times. No matter what you are facing this morning, here is an important reminder: God’s grace is always sufficient.
— Lean on God daily, knowing He will never leave you nor forsake you. Acknowledging God’s presence is often the little reminder you need to help you get through the day.
— Trust that with God, you can overcome any obstacle and fulfill your divine purpose. When you are facing something difficult, remember that God is ON you, IN you, WITH you, and FOR you, changes everything!
2. In every Godly story, there is a person who had to endure something (by God’s grace) that would have crushed others.
The story of Joseph is awesome. But for the story to be this incredible, Joseph had to endure being betrayed by his brothers, living for years as a slave, being imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, and living without his family for 22 years. That’s the part of walking with God that no one wants to highlight.
The story of David is fantastic. But for David to become the king of Israel, he had to leave life as he knew it, fight a giant, marry the king’s daughter, survive multiple attacks from the king, live as a fugitive (sometimes in caves) for over a decade, and fight for enemy armies. At his low point, his family was taken, his village was burned down to the ground, and his men turned on him. They wanted to kill him, and he had to encourage himself in the Lord. When most people talk about David, they conveniently leave that part out.
The story of Moses is impressive. But for Moses to become Moses, he had to be born with a death sentence looming over his head and was disconnected from his mother before he was 1yr. old, was forced to live in the house of the man who wanted him dead (Pharaoh), was raised as an Egyptian while he was called to the Jews, he killed a man unjustly, and he wound up living in the desert, in exile, for 40 years before God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When movies are made about Moses, most of them skip to the good part of his life and leave this part out.
The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is incredible. But for this story to happen, Jesus to had ignore the request of a family He loved, Mary and Martha had to sit there for days, wondering why Jesus was not coming, Lazarus had to die and stay dead for four days, and the family had to go through the entire funeral and grieving process, all-the-while wondering why Jesus, who loved them, never showed up. Most preachers preach about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead after four days, which became Jesus’ most powerful miracle, but most leave out the pain it caused this family.
When we read the stories of Joseph, David, Moses, Lazarus, and others, we often forget that real people had to endure real pain in order for these things to happen. And while God did not necessarily MAKE all the bad things happen to them, He was certainly able to grace them to get through it and then cause the bad to turn around for their good!
When the story of your life is read, people will see the amazing hand of God on you and with you, but they will overlook how much pain you had to endure and all the challenges you had to overcome in order to become the man/woman you were destined to be!
How this applies to you:
— Reflect on the challenges you’ve faced and recognize God’s grace in sustaining you.
— Understand that enduring and overcoming hardship is (unfortunately) part of your life’s story.
— Trust that God is with you every step of the way, even when it feels difficult.
— Look beyond the pain to see the growth and strength that comes from enduring (developing patience).
— Know that your story can inspire others to persevere through their own challenges.
— At some point in your life, God will turn your scars into stars and use your testimony for His glory!
3. God can work with anything that happens to you, good and bad.
God did not make Joseph’s brothers turn on him. God did not force Saul to want to kill David. God was not the reason why Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness (and later, he had another wilderness journey too). God did not put a deadly illness on Lazarus. But God is able to take all the bad things that happened to His people and cause them to work out, in the end, for their good!
As the years went by, and as bad things, after bad things happened to Joseph, God revealed to Joseph that He was working His purpose through the painful situations. This does not mean that God made the bad things happen. The brothers clearly did it with bad intentions. Joseph later said to them, “You meant it for evil, but God turned it around for my good!” (Gen 50:20). So this does not mean that God makes bad things happen to you. What it means is that God takes whatever is happening to you, good or bad, and makes it turn out for your good. So, keep the right perspective.
Greater is coming for you!
How this applies to you:
— Trust that God can turn any situation, good or bad, into something that works for your benefit.
— Maintain a positive perspective, knowing that God is always at work in your life.
— Remember that God’s plans are bigger than any challenge or setback you face.
— Recognize that while others may do what they do with bad intentions, God can turn it around for your good!
4. If you have the right perspective, what happened To you can actually wind up turning out FOR you!
God never said life would be easy. God never promised a pain-free path to your purpose. But what kept Joseph going through the 22 years he was disconnected from his family was his faith in God. He knew that in the end, God’s dream was still going to come to pass. This is what this series is all about. Faith and patience are the keys to Godly living, and they will keep you connected to God long enough for His purpose to come to pass.
Bad things are going to happen to you. People will rise up against you. Things will sometimes seem harder than they need to be. Challenges may come in wave after wave. But in the end, the only way you can lose is if you quit.
If you choose to give up, cave in, and quit, God will allow it. God will allow whatever you allow. God will permit whatever you permit. God will not force you to become the best version of yourself. But, if you DECIDE to keep going and EMBRACE the grace of God that is on your life, you will make it to God’s purpose, and you will look back someday in amazement because you won’t believe everything you endured along the way.
Please don’t quit! For God to fully operate in your life, He requires your cooperation. If you say, “YES“, God will say, “LET’S GO!” It won’t be easy. Greatness never is. But if you keep going, you will leave the mark you were born to make!
How this applies to you:
— Keep faith and patience as your guiding principles in life.
— Understand that setbacks and challenges are part of the journey to greatness.
— Decide not to quit, no matter how tough things get.
— Embrace the grace of God and allow it to empower you through difficult times.
— Believe that your perseverance will lead to fulfilling God’s purpose for your life.
— Acknowledge God in all things. God is always working; you will see His hand at work if you look for it.
GREATER IS COMING FOR YOU!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I trust Your grace to sustain me through every challenge.
I embrace every situation, knowing You can turn it for my good.
I rely on Your strength to endure and overcome all obstacles.
I maintain a positive perspective, expecting Your greater plans for my life.
I align my thoughts with Your purpose, seeing You in everything.
I declare that my faith and patience will lead me to victory.
I will not quit, for I believe You are with me every step of the way.
I accept Your grace to fulfill my divine purpose.
I boldly declare that GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
