From Dream to Destiny: The Ten Tests You Must Go Through to Fulfill God's Purpose for Your Life (14 page)

And as character is developed, something wonderful happens. We begin to have hope.

Character Produces Hope

When you respond the right way to a wrong situation, something happens to your perspective. You start to see the bigger picture—and you start to see what God has in mind for your life. Suddenly, God looks much bigger than that trial or that problem. And this is how character works to produce hope. Hope sees things from God’s perspective, no matter how the circumstances might look.

More than once Joseph did the right thing and suffered the wrong results. Thanks to Satan, Joseph often ended up on the receiving end of some injustice. But do you notice that Satan never had any new tricks? He used the same tactics on Joseph more than once.

First he used Joseph’s coat to fabricate evidence that Joseph had been killed by wild animals (see Gen. 37:31-32). Later he used Joseph’s coat to fabricate evidence that Joseph had attempted to rape Potiphar’s wife (see Gen. 39:12-15).

As a young man, Joseph was just trying to do a good job for his father, Jacob, and he ended up being thrown into a pit (see Gen. 37:13-14,23-24). Later, he was just trying to be a faithful steward for Potiphar, and he was thrown in prison (see Gen. 39:20).

Joseph interpreted his dream for his brothers, and they sold him into slavery and forgot about him (see Gen. 37:6-10,24-30). Years later he interpreted a dream for the butler. But the butler went back to the palace and forgot about him (see Gen. 40:23).

He continued wearing coats (I think!). He continued doing a good job. And he continued interpreting dreams, which opened the door for him to step into his destiny!

Joseph could have become bitter many times. But instead he kept his heart right and responded in the right way to those wrong situations. He kept his focus on God through it all, and he persevered. That perseverance developed character in Joseph, which helped him to see things from God’s perspective. And seeing things from God’s perspective produced hope in Joseph’s heart.

And here is the great thing about Joseph:
He didn’t allow his hope to turn to disappointment.
Joseph’s trial lasted for 13 long years. After the first 11 years had gone by, he interpreted the butler’s dream—and when the dream came true, Joseph probably thought his deliverance had finally come. I’m sure he was looking forward to being released from that prison any day. But then days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months—and months finally turned into two more years! Joseph had a perfect opportunity to become disappointed, but he kept his hope in God.

Of course, we know what the Word says about hope: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life” (Prov. 13:12).

Deferred hope is hope that has turned into disappointment. When you are going through a long and difficult trial, you must not allow that to happen. You must keep trusting God and hoping in Him. You must
persevere and allow Him to show you His perspective—because if you allow your hope to turn to disappointment, your hope will be deferred. And God says that if you allow your hope to be deferred, you will end up with a sick heart.

Joseph’s hope was deferred for 13 long years. If he had allowed those disappointments to rob him of his hope, he would have had a sick heart. Such a malady could have caused him to die before reaching his destiny. But Joseph did not allow his heart to become sick; rather, he kept his hope and trust in God alive.

Hope is for now. Hope is not just for the future. Hope is for the present! No matter what trial you might be in right now, even if you are in a dungeon, hope says God is right there with you. God is with you
now
.

I have observed that there is a tendency in some churches to continually preach about a move of God that is still to come. This bothers me, because they are not really preaching hope. They seem to have overlooked the reality that we are living in a move of God right now.

People must know that we don’t have to wait for a move of God in the future. We are in a move of God right now! We have been in a move of God since Jesus Christ came to the earth.
Right now
you can have deliverance!
Right now
you can have healing!
Right now
you can have the gifts of the Holy Spirit! You don’t have to wait for some move of God in the future. God is moving in the earth right now!

I know there are times of special outpourings of the Holy Spirit. But we need to thank God for what His Spirit is pouring out in our lives
right now.
If we continually look to the future, our hope will be deferred. And God says that deferred hope will make our hearts grow sick (see Prov. 13:12).

Hope is right now!

Hope is believing that God is working everything for our good
right now
.

Hope is believing that God loves us and that He is going to take care of us
right now.

Hope is believing we’re in the center of God’s will—so we can have peace and joy
right now
.

Hope is believing God is with us
right now
, no matter what trial we might be going through.

That is biblical hope. That is not deferred hope. And character produces that kind of hope.

And guess what hope produces?

Hope Produces Appointments

Romans 5:5 tells us what hope does
not
do:
“Hope does not disappoint”
(emphasis added).

Let’s look at that word “disappoint.” To “dis” means “to undo” something. To “disappoint” means the opposite of “to appoint.” So the word “disappointment” means that an appointment has been missed. If you say, “I was disappointed,” it means that you missed an appointment. And if you missed an appointment, that could explain why you are disappointed!

If “hope does not disappoint” (Rom. 5:5), then what does hope do? That’s easy—hope appoints! Hope produces appointments for you. And the appointments hope produces are
divine appointments.
They are appointments for you to minister to others and see their lives change, as well as your own. But without hope, you could become caught up in the trial you are going through and miss those divine appointments.

Joseph had a divine appointment in his future. But he could have missed that appointment if he had allowed his hope to turn to disappointment.

Joseph could have been having a pity party for himself every day. After all, he was in a very unjust situation, and it didn’t look as though there was any way out. But instead of feeling sorry for himself, he kept his heart right. He kept looking for opportunities to minister. He didn’t let that hopeless situation prevent him from reaching out and ministering to the needs of others. Joseph looked for divine appointments every day, right there in the prison. “And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, ‘Why do you look so sad today?’” (Gen. 40:6-7).

Joseph was able to notice that the butcher and the baker were sad, because he had not allowed his own problems to consume him. In spite
of his troubles, Joseph had persevered and allowed character to produce hope in his heart. And because he had hope in his heart, Joseph wasn’t focusing on himself. He was looking to see how he could minister to someone else. Ironically, it was his ministry to one of his fellow prisoners that would eventually be the key to Joseph’s deliverance!

Like Joseph, you must keep your hope in God, no matter what you are going through. You must remember that He has divine appointments for you every day. There are people all around you who need God, and God wants you to minister to those people. But if you focus only on your own problems and your own trials, you will walk right past opportunities to minister to the needs of others. You will miss appointments that are important to God. And if you miss an appointment that is important to God, you miss an appointment that is important to your destiny.

Here is my point: Joseph’s brothers tried to thwart his destiny. Potiphar’s wife tried to thwart his destiny. Then the butler messed it up. All those people did things which seemed certain to thwart God’s plan for Joseph and to prevent him from entering into his destiny. But in spite of all those people, Joseph kept doing the right thing. And because he kept doing the right thing, Joseph didn’t miss his divine appointment.

You must understand this truth. There is only one person who can thwart your destiny. There is only one person who can hinder you from reaching your destiny. There is only one person who can delay your destiny. Anyone want to take a guess? You. You’re the only one.

I have accepted the fact that no one except me can mess up the destiny that is on my life. Just like you, I have others do things to me and say things about me that are wrong. I realize that if I don’t respond in the right way to those injustices, I can mess up God’s plan for my life. But I also know that if I choose to do what is right, there is nothing anyone else can say or do that will interfere with the plans God has for me! And if you choose to do what is right, no one else can stop the destiny that God has for you.

In the same way, no one else could interfere with Joseph’s God-given destiny. Without a doubt, Joseph is a wonderful example for us of how
we can persevere and come through tribulation with character and hope.

And Joseph is also a type of Christ.

Joseph went to prison for something he didn’t do. Christ suffered for something he didn’t do.

Joseph was numbered with the criminals in the prison. The Bible says Jesus “was numbered with the transgressors” (Isa. 53:12).

Joseph was jailed with two prisoners. One was set free, and one was condemned (see Gen. 40:21-22). Jesus was crucified between two thieves. One received forgiveness, and one did not (see Luke 23:33,39-43).

Joseph said to the butler, “Remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharoah and get me out of this house” (Gen. 40:14), but the butler forgot about him. The thief said to Jesus, “Remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42), but Jesus did not forget about him. Jesus remembered him that very day, as he was with Jesus in heaven (see Luke 23:43).

Here is my word for you: Even if other people don’t keep their word, even if other people forget you, God never will. God will always keep His Word, and He will always remember you.

So when you are going through a long and difficult trial, allow that trial to produce perseverance in you. Keep fighting the good fight of faith as you wait with contentment for God’s deliverance.

And as you allow God to develop His character in your life, you will start to do the right thing, no matter how wrong your situation is. You will start to see things from God’s perspective. From His perspective, that trial is just a “light affliction, which is but for a moment”; from His perspective, that trial is working in you to produce “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17).

His perspective will cause you to always have hope.

And His hope will not disappoint you. It will carry you to a divine appointment with your destiny.

C
HAPTER
S
IX

Have you ever thought about how it is that God goes about creating something? Does He just wave His mighty hand? Or does He dream about something and then it automatically comes into being? We know that God is the Creator of all things. He has created each one of us, and that means that He is the Creator of our destinies as well. And the Bible tells us very plainly how it is that God creates. When God wants to create something, He
speaks.

In the very first chapter of Genesis we read that when God wanted to create the heavens and the earth, He
spoke
and said, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3). When God wanted to create the animals, He
spoke
and said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind” (Gen. 1:24). And when He wanted to create man, God
spoke
and said, “Let Us make man in Our image” (Gen. 1:26).

Hebrews 11:3 tells us, “The worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

So everything that God has created, He has created by the words of His mouth. God brings things to pass by
speaking.

In John 1, God says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him [the Word], and without Him [the Word] nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1,3). In this verse, God tells us that He and His Word are one. And the next thing He tells us is that “all things” were made through His Word (v. 3). (Obviously, “the Word” refers to His Son, Jesus. But notice, He calls His own Son “the Word.”) Then, just in case that wasn’t clear enough, God also lets us know that without His Word, “nothing was made that was made” (v. 3). In other words, everything that is made is made by God’s words—and if it isn’t made of God’s words, it simply doesn’t exist!

So when God wants to make something, He
says
it. When God has a plan for something, He speaks it forth. And when He speaks it forth, power is released for that thing to be created.

God had a plan for Joseph’s life—so surely God had already spoken over Joseph’s life before Joseph had the dreams. Before Joseph ever endured a test, God had already spoken regarding the final outcome He had planned. And long before Joseph stepped into his destiny, the power of God’s words had already been released to carry him toward that destiny.

God has a plan for every one of us, just as He did for Joseph. And as we have just seen, when God has a plan for something, He
speaks
. That means that God has
already spoken
His plan over every one of us. He has
already spoken
a specific word over your life, and He has
already spoken
a specific word over mine. And when He spoke, the power was released to carry each one of us toward the destiny He has planned.

The Prophetic Test: Finding God’s Word for Our Lives

God has called each of us for a specific purpose. There is no one else who can do what God has called you to do; there is no one else who can do what God has called me to do. But it is up to us to find out the specific
words God has spoken over our lives. And it is up to us to believe the prophetic words that God has spoken, and then obey Him.

Will we believe God’s words and stand on them, come what may? This is the Prophetic Test—the test of God’s word.

God had spoken a word over Joseph’s life. But Joseph went through some tough times when it seemed as though God’s words and God’s plans would never come to pass. In those times, Joseph was tested
by the words God had spoken over him.
Would he believe God’s words—or the words of despair and hopelessness that his circumstances seemed to confirm?

The Bible describes how Joseph experienced this test: “He sent a man before them—Joseph—who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him” (Ps. 105:17-19).

It says here that they hurt Joseph’s feet with fetters and that he was laid in irons (see Ps. 105:18). So we know that Joseph experienced some real physical suffering during this trial. But it also talks about something else that tested Joseph’s character. It says that “the word of the LORD” (Ps. 105:19) actually tested Joseph as well.

I want you to notice that in the English translation of this verse, the word “word” occurs twice. But in the original Hebrew, there are actually two completely different Hebrew words translated as “word.” They carry two very different meanings. They are the Hebrew words
dabar
and
imrah.
This verse actually says, “Until the time that his [dabar] came to pass, the [imrah] of the LORD tested him” (Ps. 105:19).

Now let me explain something to you about these Hebrew words. The first word, “dabar,” is used 1,441 times in the Old Testament and is the Hebrew term most frequently translated as “word.” The word “dabar” means “a matter” that is spoken of.
¹

With that in mind, we can see this verse is actually saying, “Until the time that [the
word that was spoken
over Joseph’s life] came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.”

The second Hebrew word for “word” is “imrah.” The word “imrah” appears only 37 times in the Old Testament. It means “commandment,” “speech” or “word” and refers to the very Word of God—the literal Word of God.
²
This word is not used very often in the Bible. Let me give you a
few passages in which the word “imrah” is used.

The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times (Ps. 12:6).

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him (Ps. 18:30).

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You (Ps. 119:11).

In each of these verses the Hebrew word “imrah” is used, and it refers to the literal Word of God.

So what Psalm 105:19 is actually saying about Joseph is this: Until the time that Joseph’s
prophetic
word (or
spoken
word) came to pass, the
literal Word
of God tested him.

Here is an important insight.

The prophetic word tends to test our
faith.
But the literal Word of God tests our
character
. And the literal Word of God is the Bible. The Bible is our standard. The Bible is the Word by which all other words from God must be measured. And because of that, it is absolutely essential that we know the Word (the Bible) of God.

Right now, you are being tested by the Word of God. God has declared His Word to you in the Bible, and that Word is testing you. Whether you reach your destiny or fail to reach your destiny will be directly related to how well you know God’s Word, as revealed in the Bible. I can’t emphasize this enough:
You need to know the Word of God!

I see believers all the time who are trying hard to make progress, but they are not fulfilling their destiny. And the reason they are not making any progress is really quite simple: They are violating Scripture! The sad part is that they don’t even know that they are violating Scripture. If you never read the Bible, how will you know what it says? And if you don’t know what it says, how will you know how to live?

The only way to know what the Bible says is to read the Bible. The only way to know what God has said is to read His Book. So read the
Bible, meditate on it, memorize it, and get to know it. Because when you study the Bible, you are studying God’s words. As a friend of mine, Pastor Bill Leckie, says, “If you are a Christian, you might as well face it: sooner or later, you’re going to have to read the Bible!”

When I got saved, I wanted to know as much as possible about the Bible. And I still do! Something in me just craves what is in that Book! I don’t read many other books. I wish that I did, because people ask me all the time whether I have read this or that book—and I have read some good books. But there is something about
God’s Book
that I just can’t get away from. I can’t seem to get enough of His Book.

When I prepare a message, I never have a problem coming up with Scripture passages for my message. My problem is that I always have too many Bible verses, and I have to leave some of them out. I study and study, and sometimes I end up with hundreds of verses, too many to share in a single message. So I’m always saying to myself,
I guess I can take this Bible quote out—or maybe that one. I suppose I can make this point with just these 4 verses, instead of these 47!

That may seem excessive to some, but not to me—I simply love God’s Book! Ever since I met Jesus Christ and He changed my life, I have wanted to know Him as intimately as I can. And He has revealed Himself to us in the Bible. The Bible is the book of His words and the book of His life. So I want to know as much as I can about the Bible, not because I am a minister but because I’m a Christian—because I have met Jesus Christ, and I want to know more about Him.

When I first got saved, I spent hours and hours reading the Bible. I wanted to know how Mark related to Lamentations and how Hosea related to Acts. I wanted to put the whole thing together as one book. So I used to read 10 chapters a day. If you read 10 chapters a day, you can go through the whole Bible in 4 months. It is very simple. You can go through the whole Bible 3 times in single year by just reading 10 chapters a day.

For years, I read 10 chapters a day, which takes me about an hour. But there were times when I would read 50 chapters a day, and that would take about 5 hours. There were a few times that I was able to read 100 chapters a day. I realize that not every person would be able to do
that—I’m in vocational ministry, so my job allows me to spend a great deal of time in the Word. But anyone—including you—could read through the whole Bible in single year by reading just 3 chapters a day. The important thing is to get started somewhere and to spend time every day in the Word of God.

The Bible is the greatest book there is. The words of the Bible are “life to those who find them and health to a [person’s] whole body” (Prov. 4:22,
NIV
). The words in the Bible are “gold” (Prov. 25:11). And God Himself has said, “I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled” (Jer. 1:12,
NIV
). The Bible is the Word of God!

We should spend time in the Bible—and spending time in the Bible is fun! I used to get those Bible trivia books; and every time they came out with a new one, I would get it. I was in traveling ministry at that time, so when Debbie and I were on the road, I would have her quiz me. They had the beginner section, the amateur section and the expert section. We’d be driving down the road, and she would ask me questions such as, “Who were Huz and Buz?” Now you might think that it’s not very important to know the answer to that question—but it was interesting to me, because I just wanted to know everything I possibly could.

Then I would say to Debbie, “Name a chapter in the Bible, any chapter.” She would randomly pick a chapter and say something such as, “Ezekiel 45.” Then I would try to tell her what that specific chapter talks about. I wanted to memorize as much as I could. So if she asked me about a chapter and I couldn’t tell her what it talked about, I would have her read it to me, and then I would try to focus on it.

Then I would say to Debbie, “Name a Scripture. I’ll see if I can tell you what that chapter says, what the context is and if I can tell you some other cross-references relating to it.” Then if she said, “Mark,
chapter 7
,” I would try to tell her what happened in that chapter. I would try to tell her where that same story is found in Matthew and Luke, and whether it is in all four of the Gospels or just in the Synoptic Gospels. That may sound a bit extreme to some, but my love for the Bible was coming straight out of the hunger in my heart—because I wanted to know the Word of God.

My hunger for God’s Word didn’t spring from the fact that I was a minister. It came from the fact that I was a believer. Jesus Christ changed my
life—and He gave me His written Word so that I could know Him better.

So if you want to know Him, get to know the Word of God. It’s that simple.