PURPOSE-ORIENTED PROBLEMS ARE FOR YOUR LIFTING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JULY 11, 2021.

SUBJECT: PURPOSE-ORIENTED PROBLEMS ARE FOR YOUR LIFTING! 

Memory verse: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called to His purpose.” (Romans 8 vs 28.)

READ: Genesis 45 vs 4 - 5; 7 - 8; 50 vs 20:

45:4: And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.

45:5: But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.

45:6: For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years, in the which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.

45:7: And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and save your lives by a great deliverance. 

45:8: So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. 

50:20: But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive

INTIMATION:

God customizes some of our problems so that we can fulfill the purpose for which we are created. They are stepping stones, and ordained platform en-route to our divine destiny. God knows you and your potentials. The cross you carry was tailor-made by the carpenter's Son.

A case-study of Joseph the son of Jacob, makes the concept very clear. He was a favorite son to his father, and envied by his brothers, a favorite servant in Potiphar's house, a favorite prisoner to the warden and other prisoners, a favorite interpreter of dreams, and a favorite lieutenant to King Pharaoh. And after many years, he became the favorite even to his ten brothers who were envious of him.

He was pre-ordained by God to be the savior of his people, God's own chosen people. God was with him in all his travails. So many problems were lined up en-route to his destined purpose; he was betrayed and deserted by his brothers; he was exposed to sexual temptation; suffered false accusation, and punished for doing the right thing; he endured a long imprisonment and was forgotten by those he helped. 

Joseph didn't plan to be in the bottom of a pit after he recounted his God-given dream to his loved ones, but he was. He did not foresee his brothers selling him into slavery, but they did. God had destined him for great things, but people and problems got in the way, apparently fashioned to get him his promise and provision. 

Joseph was faithful in the problems. He maintained his character and integrity while enduring the problem. He was patient throughout the duration of the problem. He did not complain while facing ridicule, rejection, envy, and jealousy. He held to his dream in the midst of lies, false accusations, and prison. Through it all, God showed favor to Joseph until the provision came.

In the passages we read today, he told his brothers not to be grieved or angry with themselves because though they sold him to Egypt; but God sent him before them to preserve a posterity for them in the earth, and save their lives by a great deliverance. Therefore, it was not them who sent him to Egypt but God. The problems he encountered are purpose-oriented for their lifting; for his brothers, they meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to prepare a savior for the life of his people. Joseph had the vision, and interpreted the purpose of his problem. Even though Joseph spent years in the problem, he never stopped listening to the voice of God. He remained faithful to God, and God remained faithful to him, leading him to the divine purpose for which he was created.

Are you in the middle of a severe problem? Have you gone through your spiritual checklist to make sure that you are not the cause of the problem? Do you find it difficult to find the purpose of the predicament you are in? Look for the promise in God's Word. Hold to that promise. It is given to you by your Father in heaven, who is faithful to fulfill it. All of the provisions God offers in the pantry of heaven are available to the child of God who faithfully stands on His promises.

Prayer: Abba Father, though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of my hands fail, and there is no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd In the stalls, yet I will rejoice, and joy in You my God. Forever You are my Lord, in Jesus’ Name I prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!