SCRIPTURE:

2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Psalm 37:3-4
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

DEVO:

A promise delayed isn’t a promise denied. I wonder if you’ve ever experienced, or are currently experiencing, a dream, a vision, or a promise from God that seems to have been delayed. Maybe worse yet, it seems to have been thwarted. Life looks to have taken a detour that you did not anticipate. What you thought God promised you back then appears to be contrary to what is now and — as far as you can see — what is to come.

The story of Joseph begins with a dream. Two dreams, in fact. Joseph dreamt that his brothers, his father, and his mother were bowing down to him. We as the reader have the luxury of knowing that these dreams were given to him by God. They were a vision into his future. However, as Joseph was being sold by his brothers into slavery, and as the next 13 years of his life unfolded, I’m sure Joseph’s last thought was, “Wow, this is an exhilarating adventure that will culminate in my dream coming to reality.” And yet, at the end of the story, Joseph sees his dreams come to fruition when his brothers literally bow to him and beg from him. 

What I’ve come to realize in my short life is that the road from dream to destiny is marked with much delay, detour, discouragement, and drudge. In the beginning of Joseph’s story, his beautiful coat of many colors was stripped from him, but that was only the beginning of Joseph’s de-robing. God needed to strip Joseph of some things at the heart level — pride, ego, self-reliance, self-absorption — before Joseph could fulfill his destiny in a God-honoring way. What young Joseph didn’t understand that older Joseph later understood, was that his position of authority was not to be used to glorify himself and relish in people serving him, but to glorify God and serve others.

You see, I fully believe God puts dreams in our heart and visions for a desired future. As we delight ourselves in the Lord, scripture says He gives us the desires of our heart. But that doesn’t mean He is giving us what we want. In fact, it means He is giving us what He wants for our lives. Thankfully, His plans for us are always exceedingly greater than what we want. The more we walk in step with Jesus, delight in Him, and rid ourselves of the desires of the flesh, our heart becomes attuned and aligned with His heart. The two begin to work in sync. So, as he downloads dreams in our heart, they are no longer our dreams, but His dreams for our lives. That, however, is only the beginning. Once the dream is downloaded, then the difficult work of getting our lives ready for the fulfillment of the dream begins. This is where trials and refinement enter the scene. 

This week we’ll look at some of the trials and refinement God allowed Joseph to go through in the delay between his dream and his destiny. The whole journey was necessary in order to get his life ready for the position of influence and favor he would be elevated to.

God desires to work incredible things through you and use you to impact the lives of others around you. But before He can do something great through you, He must first do something great in you. Throughout the journey, remember the words of Crawford Loritts, pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Atlanta, Georgia, “No mortal man can rob from you what God has intended for you.” God’s plans cannot be thwarted and each “detour” in the journey is in fact carefully designed in preparation for the destination. 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND JOURNALING:

1. Do you currently feel discouraged by where you are now in your life? Why or why not?

2. Have you seen God work out things in your life in a different timetable than you had in mind?

3. What kinds of things could God be preparing in you right now to prepare for what He wants to do through you? 

PRAYER:

Lord, no matter what trial or refinement I’m currently facing, help me to know that you are leading me into the desired destiny for my life that will produce joy for me, glory for You, and hope for others. Help me to soak up everything you want to do in me during this time of waiting so that I can pour out everything you want to do through me. Give me supernatural patience and perseverance for the journey.