Kingdom Purposes

Starting in Genesis 37, we see Joseph’s story, which reads like an episode of a television program. His brothers tried to kill him, throwing him into a pit, and eventually selling him into slavery. Even Jacob, his own father, neglected to step in when Joseph was tormented by his brothers. Joseph paid a penalty for his family’s dysfunction.

Does this describe you? Do you still bear mental scars from your family’s chaos? Or perhaps your chaos is in the workplace, where the willful sins of others affect you directly. That happened to Joseph when his boss’s wife tried to seduce him. When Joseph turned her down, she lied about him vengefully and he was tossed into yet another pit, a death-row prison.

Scripture makes it clear that with every pit Joseph fell into, God was at work speeding up the process of achieving his kingdom purposes. I hear God saying of him: “I want someone who’s willing to endure every test faithfully, so that I can strategically position him to save my people. I choose Joseph for this job.”

Think about the incredible trajectory of Joseph’s life. As a teenager, he was a shepherd who eventually became second in command of the world’s greatest empire. It makes me want to pray, “God, take me out of my comfort zone. I want to see you work your purposes in my life.”

Are you willing to say, “Lord, I’ll gladly go wherever you want me to go”? I know many Christians who hunger for this kind of faith. They cry, “Lord, there must be more to this walk. I don’t want just to occupy space on the earth. I want you to work in me so that I can impact your kingdom.”

The bigger our dreams for God’s work, the larger our pit will be. Do you believe God for a marriage that reflects his glory? Then be prepared to have your marriage tested almost beyond your limits. The truth is faith throws us into a pit almost every time. If we want God to use our lives, then we had better prepare ourselves for a pit.

“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20, ESV).