Jesse Tree, Day 7 – Favored by God for a Divine Destiny

Read: Genesis 37:1-8

When he was just a teenager, God gave Joseph the favored son of Jacob, a big dream for his life. However, the pathway to that dream would involve hardship after hardship. 

I imagine that long before Joseph’s brothers devised the wicked plan to get rid of him, their resentment had been brewing. It was clear to them from the day Joseph was born, that he would occupy a large space in their father’s heart. As if that were not enough, Joseph dreams suggested that one day he would rule over them all.  Their resentment grew:

But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him. Genesis 37:4, NLT

Then when Jacob presented young Joseph with a fancy coat which none of them were given, it was more than they could bear. Their jealousy led them to do the unthinkable–sell their brother into slavery.

Listen to me! When God has a call on your life and or He has placed a dream in your heart, he will be faithful to fulfill it. Don’t kid yourself though. Because our dreams are God inspired, it does not mean that the pathway to getting there will be easy. 

In reading the story of Joseph hidden away in prison, we may miss the full extent of the emotional and mental cost to him during that time. What must it have been like for Joseph to have the gift of leadership bound up within him, only to be hidden away for so many years? What must it have been like for him to have a vision for an elevated status and be demoted to the positions of slave and prisoner? When would that day come?

The path to that day was full of injustice against him and long periods of remaining hidden away unsure of when his arduous journey would end. The path to that day would see him thrown into a pit by his own brothers. The path to that day, would land him as a slave in an Egyptian household. The path to that day would take him into the recesses of a dark and putrid prison dungeon. 

Whether in a pit, in slave quarters or in a prison cell: “The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man.” Genesis 39:2.  Joseph was eventually promoted to the position of  second in command in Egypt.

Our circumstances do not determine our success. When we are favored by God, He is able to use even our enemies to bless us; He is able to turn even our misfortune into an advantage. 

The pathway to the fulfillment of Joseph’s dream went straight through his prison cell.*

REFLECT: Are you are currently facing a difficult life experience? Ask yourself: “What lessons might God have for me to learn during this difficult experience?”

*This devotional is an adapted excerpt from the book, Waiting by the Brook: Seven Steps to Deeper Intimacy With God.