From Dream to Destiny: The Ten Tests You Must Go Through to Fulfill God's Purpose for Your Life (6 page)

So Jonah ended up in the maritime version of a pit—the belly of a fish. “ThenJonah prayed to the L
ORD
his God from the fish’s belly. And he said: “I cried out to the L
ORD
because of my affliction, and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice” (Jonah 2:1-2).

“Sheol” is simply an Old Testament word for “the pit.” So Jonah cried out to God from the bottom of the pit.

It shouldn’t surprise us that Jonah ended up in a pit. He had messed up pretty badly. God had given Jonah a very important assignment, and Jonah basically had refused to do it. Jonah had run away from God’s plans—and as a result, he ended up in the pit. But from the bottom of that pit, Jonah cried out to God. And when he cried out to God, God heard his voice and delivered him.

That is the purpose of the pit.

It is to get us to cry out to God. The purpose of the pit is to get us in a place that is so far down we can’t get ourselves out of it—a place where we can’t do it on our own. And when we realize we can’t do it on our own, we will cry out to God.

I want you to know that no matter what pit you’re in—even if you dug it yourself—God is big enough to get you out of it!

It’s not a hard thing for God to get you out of a pit. He is a redeeming God, and He actually delights in getting His children out of pits. It doesn’t matter how many pits you might be in. You could even be in several pits at the same time. You might be in a pit test with your finances, a pit test with your marriage and a pit test with your job. But God can deliver you out of every one of them, if you’ll just call out to Him.

The most important question is not whether God can deliver you out of the pit. The most important question is whether you are going to call out to God in humility—or are you going to simply gripe, murmur and complain?

I hate to point this out, but much of what we like to call prayer is nothing more than complaining. Just because we are “talking” to God,
we think of it as prayer—but it really isn’t talking to God as if He were our loving Father. It’s griping to Him about everything we don’t like.

I’m sure Joseph was tempted to gripe when he found himself in his pit. It’s not hard to imagine him pacing back and forth in the pit, murmuring to God about how unfair it all was: “God, why would You let this happen to me? After all, I’m such a good and upright person. I have such a destiny on my life. I just can’t believe You would let this happen to me!”

I’ll bet the first part of Joseph’s conversation was like that—just griping.

But somewhere in that pit Joseph must have changed. Somewhere in that pit, Joseph must have cried out to God in true humility—because after the experience in the pit, Joseph was a changed man. Joseph may have failed the first test, but he went on to take nine other tests in his life. And from that point on, he started to do the right thing every time. It is actually amazing to see how many times Joseph did the right thing when he was faced with a temptation.

Something happened to Joseph in that pit. Somewhere in that pit Joseph must have taken responsibility for his own sins and failures. Somewhere in that pit Joseph must have cried out to God in true humility. Somewhere in that pit Joseph must have knelt and said, “God, I need You to forgive me. I admit that I’m a prideful, arrogant person—and I ask You to do a work in my heart.”

When Joseph did that, his situation began to change. Although it wasn’t apparent at the time, circumstances began to line up in the direction of his destiny. First his brother Judah got the idea to sell Joseph to Midianite traders, rather than leave him in the pit to die (see Gen. 37:26-28). And those Midianite traders brought Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar (see Gen. 37:36). Now being sold as a slave might not seem like a great alternative to the pit, but it was better than certain death—and Joseph certainly would have died if he had been left in the pit.

Before Joseph ever got into that pit, God had a plan to get him out, and bring him into his destiny. And when Joseph cried out to God, God began working through that situation, because being sold as a slave in Egypt brought Joseph one step closer to his destiny. Joseph’s brothers meant it for evil, but God meant it for good (see Gen. 50:20).

Redemption from the Pit

God always has a plan. No matter what pit we might be in, God has a plan to get us out of it. And if we dig a little deeper in this story, we can see some types and shadows of God’s master plan of redemption. His ultimate plan was to redeem us through His Son Jesus Christ. And there are types, or images, of Jesus in this story.

Remember, Joseph’s brothers hadn’t really wanted to throw him into a pit. Their original plan was to kill him! But Joseph’s oldest brother Reuben intervened.

And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father (Gen. 37:22).

Now if anyone had a right to be jealous of Joseph, it was Reuben, because Reuben was the firstborn son—and the firstborn was the one on whom the honor should have rested. But Reuben gave up that honor for Joseph’s sake. In this situation with Joseph, Reuben had two purposes as the firstborn son: He wanted to
deliver
Joseph, and he wanted
to bring him back to his father.

In this way Reuben was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the firstborn Son of God, the One on whom God’s favor rests. But Jesus gave up all those rights and privileges so that you and I could become God’s favored sons and daughters. Jesus left the glories of heaven with a twofold purpose: to deliver us and to bring us back to His Father. So Reuben is a type of Christ.

Joseph is also a type of Christ.

Joseph was stripped of his robe of many colors (see Gen. 37:23). Jesus was stripped of His robe, and soldiers gambled for it (see Matt. 27:28,35).

Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver (see Gen. 37:26-28). Jesus was sold for 30 pieces of silver (see Matt. 26:14-15). (Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver to the Midianite traders. But they took Joseph to Egypt
and sold him at a profit. The price of a slave at that time was 30 pieces of silver. So history indicates that Joseph was ultimately sold for 30 pieces of silver, too).
¹

Joseph was betrayed by Judah (see Gen. 37:26-27). Jesus was betrayed by Judas (see Matt. 26:25). (“Judah” and “Judas” are the same word in Hebrew.)

The Midianite traders who brought Joseph to Egypt were carrying spices, balm and myrrh (see Gen. 37:25). The disciple Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes to the tomb to embalm the body of Jesus (see John 19:39).

Joseph was thrown into a pit, and then God delivered him out of that pit. Jesus was in the grave for three days, and then God raised him up.

But there is a very important difference between Jesus and Joseph:
Jesus didn’t do anything to deserve being thrown into that pit.

Rather, we deserved to have been thrown into the pit. We sinned, and we should have been thrown into the pit for all eternity. But Jesus Christ went to the pit for us, so we would never have to go there. He spent three days in “Sheol,” so we wouldn’t have to spend eternity in hell. Jesus did it willingly for you and for me—and God didn’t leave Him there in that pit.

Psalm 16:10 says, “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” This was a Messianic prophecy about Jesus—a prophecy that was fulfilled. God did not leave His only begotten Son in a pit. And He will not leave you in a pit either.

If you are in a pit right now, and it looks like there is no way out, I have good news: Jesus Christ has been there before you. Our Lord and Savior went to the pit for you—and then God raised Him up from that pit, as the firstborn of many brothers and sisters.

Jesus Christ died to deliver you from every pit. He died so that you might have life. Receive what Jesus did for you. He came to deliver you and to bring you back to the Father.

You may have walked away from the gift God gave you by walking in pride. God can restore that gift a hundredfold, if you’ll simply call out to Him. Just do what Joseph did; do what Jonah did. Cry out to God from
that pit. Say, “God, I’m sorry. I’ve walked in pride.”

And when you humble yourself and cry out to God, He will deliver you out of every pit. He will promote you beyond the pit, and He will exalt you so that you might walk in the destiny He has planned.

C
HAPTER
T
HREE

My tires screeched a little as I hurried my car around a tight corner at the airport parking garage. Debbie and I were running late, and there wasn’t a moment to lose if we were going to catch our flight.

I breathed a little prayer of thanks as I spotted an open parking space.

As I tried to fit into that spot, I forgot to take into account a trailer hitch that we had just put on the week before. The trailer hitch was sticking out just the “wrong” amount; and I as I backed up, it hit the bumper of the car behind me. Just what we didn’t need at that moment! I jumped out to investigate, only to see that the impact had just barely damaged the plastic on the other vehicle’s bumper.

What to do? Certainly the right thing to do was to leave a note—but taking the time to do so would certainly cause us to miss our flight. I hate to admit this, but I couldn’t help noticing that the car was old and had quite a few dings, dents and scratches.
The dented plastic would hardly be noticeable
, I rationalized. I was in a dilemma, so I made a decision. I told myself that the damaged plastic probably wouldn’t have any effect on the owner of that car—but missing our flight would certainly have a
big
effect on us and on our plans.

“We’ve got to get to that plane!” I announced, and I then headed toward the terminal. But I hadn’t gotten very far when a still, small voice spoke up inside me.

“Is that really worth it?” the voice asked. “Is catching a plane so important that it’s worth forfeiting the favor of God?”

I stopped in my tracks, turned to Debbie and said, “I’m sorry, Honey. I just have to leave a note.”

“I know,” Debbie said, her voice a mixture of pride and relief. “I knew you would.”

“We’re probably going to miss our flight, you know.”

“I know,” she replied, without a hint of misgiving.

So I wrote a note and left it on the damaged car, with my phone number and apologies. We did end up missing our flight, but we were able to line up a later one. So we went to lunch, enjoyed each other’s company for a while and took the later flight.

The Palace Test: Learning Good Stewardship

What had seemed so important at the time was really just a temporary inconvenience. In retrospect, it seems ridiculous that I could have looked upon that inconvenience as more serious than the consequences of not doing the right thing. Because Jesus said that if I am unfaithful in a small thing, or that which is “least,” then He will rightly assume that I will also be unfaithful in “much.” And a person whom God cannot trust with much is a person who will have to wait a long time to enter into his or her destiny.

Jesus talked about this in Luke 16:10-12:

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?

What are you going to do with another man’s goods? What are you going to do with those things that have been entrusted to you by God—right down to the pavement you share in a parking lot? This is the test
of stewardship, and it is the first test that Joseph encountered after he was delivered out of the pit.

Every one of us would like to move on into a glorious destiny. But as we’ve already seen, every great destiny carries with it great responsibility. And God will not allow us “to be tempted beyond what [we] are able” (1 Cor. 10:13). So God is watching to see whether we can be trusted with little things, before He will give us those great things He has in store for us.

What will we do with the job He has given us? With the boss He has given us? Will we be faithful with another person’s goods—even if that person is an unbeliever? God says this is the test that determines whether He will trust us with
His
goods. So until we pass the test of stewardship, we will never move on into our destiny.

In the book of Colossians, God speaks to us about our roles as servants.

Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality (Col. 3:22-25).

God is saying that He wants us to serve our earthly masters with all of our hearts, just as if we were serving Him. And He reminds us that He is the One who will reward us, since it is really Christ Jesus we are serving (see v. 24). So even if you are a “bondservant” (v. 22), even if you are serving an unbelieving boss, God wants you to serve that boss from your heart with all sincerity—because when you do, you are serving “the Lord Christ” (v. 24).

Can you serve someone else well? Can you serve an unbeliever well? Do you work with unbelievers? Can you have a right attitude toward them? If you can’t serve unbelievers well, you will never pass the test of stewardship, because God has placed you in that situation as His servant, and He is watching to see if you will faithfully represent Him to the world.

Whatever your job may be, you must understand that you don’t only work for your employer—you also work for God. And because you work for God, He will reward you. He will promote you, and He will put His blessing on all that you do.

This is the reason Joseph was promoted everywhere he went. Joseph didn’t only work for Potiphar; he didn’t only work for the keeper of the prison; and he didn’t only work for Pharaoh. Joseph also always worked for the Lord, whatever his circumstances were. And because Joseph worked “heartily, as to the Lord” (v. 23), God blessed him.

It wasn’t very long after Joseph was delivered out of the pit that he found himself living in a palace. And soon afterward Joseph was given rule over almost everything in that palace. Yet he had to remember that
nothing in that palace belonged to him.
Joseph was only a steward. (And that is why I like to call the test of stewardship the Palace Test!)

Genesis 39 tells the story.

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The L
ORD
was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the L
ORD
was with him and that the L
ORD
made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the L
ORD
blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the L
ORD
was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. And Joseph was handsome in form and appearance (Gen. 39:1-6).

Joseph had gone from the pit to the palace pretty quickly. That might sound wonderful, but don’t forget that Joseph was still a slave. Although he was put in charge of all Potiphar’s goods, he had no
promise of a natural reward for doing a good job—not even the minimum wage! Joseph was a slave, and as a slave he had no rights of any kind. Yet we know that Joseph proved himself a faithful guardian of Potiphar’s goods—and that he passed the critical test of stewardship. How do we know that?

Look at verse 2 again: “The L
ORD
was with Joseph” and that caused Joseph to be “a successful man.” In fact, the presence of God was so obvious on Joseph’s life that even his Egyptian master somehow knew that “the L
ORD
was with him” (v. 3). And that tangible presence of God in Joseph’s life caused him to have favor with his master. But Joseph did not try to take advantage of his favored status. Rather, God’s Word tells us that Joseph “served him” (v. 4).

In other words, Joseph had the right attitude toward his job, even his job as a slave. He didn’t allow the injustice of his situation to prevent him from serving his master faithfully. And because of this, Potiphar made Joseph the “overseer of his house and all that he had” (Gen. 39:4). Now this Hebrew word for “overseer” is translated in the Septuagint as the same Greek word that is used in 1 Timothy and Titus to refer to an elder of the church.
¹
So Joseph’s master actually gave him the position of an “elder” in his house—a pretty high honor to bestow upon a slave.

If you look at verse 23, you can see that Joseph carried this same attitude with him when he was sent to the prison. “The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the L
ORD
was with him; and whatever he did, the L
ORD
made it prosper” (Gen. 39:23).

Once again, Joseph did not allow the injustice of his situation prevent him from being a faithful worker. And because he was such a good steward, “the L
ORD
was with him” (v. 23) in the prison, just as He had been in the palace. So Joseph was made the overseer of the prison as well.

How did Joseph pass the test of stewardship? He passed it by being faithful with another man’s goods; by being faithful to do the right thing, even when there seemed to be no reward for doing so. And because of that, God was with Joseph and prospered the work of his hands.

Think about that for just a moment. Whatever Joseph did, the Lord made it prosper. Even the labor that he did as a slave was so blessed by
the Lord that it caused the house of his master to prosper—just for Joseph’s sake!

Now think about something else for just a moment. Would it be okay if that happened to you? Would it be okay with you if the Lord made whatever you touched prosper? Would you mind if He made your marriage prosper? If He made your children prosper? If He made your job, your health and your relationships prosper? How would you like it if you could be like Joseph and have the Lord make you prosper in everything you do?

The wonderful news is that you
can
be like Joseph. You can learn the keys to being a faithful steward. When you learn these keys, the Lord will be with you as He was with Joseph. And the Lord will cause you to prosper in all that you do.

This is a simple message, but it is so simple that you could easily miss it. You could easily assume that you’ve heard all of this before. But if you are not prospering in every area of your life, I encourage you to think deeply about the truths I am about to share. Because if you’re not prospering in every area of your life, you may not be putting some of these truths into practice.

“Prospering” Is Not a Bad Word

Let’s settle something right at the start: “Prospering” is not a bad word! But it seems that every time God restores a truth to the Church, Satan tries to deposit an error. In other words, when God reveals a truth to us, Satan tries to make us abuse that truth and turn it into an error by taking it too far. I believe God tried to restore the truth about biblical prosperity to the Church, but then Satan tempted some people to get greedy in this area. I believe it is possible that Satan even tempted some influential pastors and leaders in the ministry to get out of balance in this area. All of a sudden we had what was labeled the “Prosperity Doctrine”—and because of the errors of a few, “prosperity” was suddenly viewed as a bad word.

But the word “prosperity” is a biblical word; it is not a bad word! Why would you be bothered to know that God wants you to prosper? Why
would it bother you to know that a good and loving God wants your marriage to prosper, that He wants your relationship with your children to prosper, that He wants you to be blessed and to be a blessing?