Discovering Destiny (Part 42): You Are Not Where You Want To Be, But God Is With You

God Is With You

https://youtu.be/xgF9AkhPC0M

Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.

Key scriptures for this year:

2 Peter 3:18 GNT"But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever."

Luke 10:20 Mirror"It's time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven's perspective."

1 John 3:10 Mirror"There is a very visible and vast difference between living one's life from your God identity or from a fallen man's mindset."

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter."

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Scripture(s) we will study today:

Genesis 39:1-6 AMPC"And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain and chief executioner of the [royal] guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. But the Lord was with Joseph, and he [though a slave] was a successful and prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did to flourish and succeed in his hand. So Joseph pleased [Potiphar] and found favor in his sight, and he served him. And [his master] made him supervisor over his house and he put all that he had in his charge. From the time that he made him supervisor in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the Lord's blessing was on all that he had in the house and in the field. And [Potiphar] left all that he had in Joseph's charge and paid no attention to anything he had except the food he ate. Now Joseph was an attractive person and fine-looking."

Supporting scriptures:

Acts 7:9-10 NLT"These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. And God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom, so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of the palace."

Genesis 28:15 TPT"Never forget, I am always with you and will protect you wherever you go. And one day I will bring you back to this land, for I will neither leave you nor fail to fulfill every word I have promised you."

Hebrews 13:5 AMPC"...for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]"

Genesis 39:21-23 NLT"But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed."

Psalm 1:3 ERV"So they grow strong, like a tree planted by a stream, a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall. Everything they do is successful."

Colossians 3:23-24 ERV"In all the work you are given, do the best you can. Work as though you are working for the Lord, not any earthly master. Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, who will give you what he promised his people. Yes, you are serving Christ. He is your real Master."

Setting the Stage:

Yesterday, we left Joseph being sold off to a caravan for 20 pieces of silver. Today, he arrives in Egypt. Moses does not slow down to describe the trip or the auction block. Verse 1 says Potiphar bought him, and that is it. In the series of just a few verses, Joseph loses his robe, his family, his freedom, and his name. He is no longer Jacob's favorite son. He is an Egyptian's property. Then comes verse 2: "But the Lord was with Joseph." The very next thing Moses writes is that God went with him.

Before we get to the presence, sit in the pain for a minute. Imagine your own brothers selling you as property. Then they take your robe, dip it in goat's blood, and tell your father you are dead. Jacob tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, and refuses to be comforted (Genesis 37:34-35). They watch him mourn for years and never say a word. Meanwhile, Joseph is in a foreign country, hundreds of miles from everyone he ever loved, speaking a language he did not grow up with, owned by a man he never met. Nobody is coming for him. Nobody back home even knows he is alive. Is that the road to destiny? Yes. The path to your destiny runs through painful moments, painful times, and sometimes painful seasons. Joseph's season lasted 13 years.

Here is what I want you to see today. The people who sold Joseph could not sell the presence of God. Joseph was not where he wanted to be, but he was not there alone. The address changed. The presence did not.

You can question a lot of things on the way to your destiny. You can question the timing. You can question the people. You can question how any of this is going to turn around. There is one thing you must never question: God’s presence. God promised never to leave you, never to forsake you, never to turn His back on you (Hebrews 13:5). So whatever you are walking through today, say it out loud before you read another word: "God is with me."

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. They Could Sell Joseph, But They Could Not Sell God's Presence.

Look at the order of the words. Joseph was bought, and then the text says, "But the Lord was with Joseph." I call that a divine "but." Stephen preached the same thing centuries later: "They sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him" (Acts 7:9-10 NLT). The brothers had a plan. The traders had a price. Potiphar had a receipt. None of it touched what mattered most. God promised Joseph's father at Bethel that He would protect him "wherever you go" (Genesis 28:15 TPT), and that promise did not stop at the border of Canaan. Joseph crossed into Egypt as a slave, and the covenant crossed with him. God is with you everywhere you go. 

How this applies to you:

-- Nothing anyone does to you can ever kick you out of God's presence.

-- People who hurt you can change your circumstances, but they cannot change your covenant.

-- Joseph did not have a robe anymore; he did not have a father nearby, and he did not have a single friend in the country. What he had was God, and God was enough!

-- God's promises travel with you. The same sentence shows up again later in the prison: "But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison" (Genesis 39:21-23 NLT). What God said over you in the good season is still true in the season you did not ask for.

-- Some of you are going through it right now in your body, in your relationships, in your soul, in your career, your business, or your finances. Things have not turned out the way you wanted. You know you are destined, and you are frustrated, and you are asking how this ever turns around. You may question God's timing. But question this: God is with me.

-- The presence of God is the one thing in your life that no one can impact.

-- Egypt was not the end of Joseph's destiny; it was the road to it, and where you are right now is on the way to what God showed you.

2. You Can Be A Slave And A Success At The Same Time.

The Amplified Bible puts three words in brackets, and I do not want you to miss them: "he [though a slave] was a successful and prosperous man." Slave and successful in the same sentence. Joseph did not own his time, his labor, or his future. Somebody else did. And God still called him prosperous. Success was never about where Joseph was standing; it was about who was standing with him. He did not wait for the palace to start prospering. He prospered in a house he did not own, doing work he did not choose, for a man who bought him. Psalm 1:3 ERV says of the person planted in God, "Everything they do is successful." It does not say everything they do in a good location.

How this applies to you:

-- Success is not tied to a location; it is tied to a Person. Just as long as you have Jesus, you can be successful anywhere, doing anything.

-- Some of you are waiting for your circumstances to change before you give God your best. Joseph gave his best as a slave. 

-- Colossians 3:23-24 ERV says, "Work as though you are working for the Lord, not any earthly master." Potiphar signed the papers, but Joseph worked for God. When you work for God, your boss may get the benefits, but God is keeping the record, and he will ensure that it turns out for your good. 

-- You do not have to be free to be fruitful.

-- Joseph's slave years were not a pause in his destiny; they were part of the plan, and God does not waste one year on the way to what He showed you.

-- I have said this before, and I will say it again here: faithfulness in the wrong situation is what qualifies you for the right one. Joseph ran a house before he ran a nation. Potiphar's house was his training ground.

-- Stop waiting for the right place to start doing the right things. God wants you to walk in the blessing in every situation. 

-- The blessing is on you, and it goes wherever you go. Believe God to prosper in the house you are in right now.

3. An Idol Worshipper Could See That God Was With Him.

Verse 3 says, "His master saw that the Lord was with him." So who is doing the seeing? Potiphar was an Egyptian officer who served Pharaoh and worshiped Egyptian gods. He did not know the God of Abraham. And he looked at a Hebrew slave and saw that the God of that slave made everything he touched work. Joseph did not preach to him. His work preached. Laban said the same thing about Jacob a generation earlier: "I have become prosperous because of you and the blessing of Yahweh that's on your life" (Genesis 30:27 TPT). Two pagan bosses, two generations, one conclusion. 

How this applies to you:

-- What is on you is visible to people who do not know God.

-- The blessing on your life does not need your explanation, but it does need your commitment to excellence.

-- Potiphar did not see Joseph's dream, his robe, or his family history. What he saw was results. Results are the language unbelievers understand.

-- One of my mentors, Les Cornwall, A warrant officer who taught me how to be a warrant officer, is still engaged in mentoring many warrant officers on active duty today. He jokingly says, "The senior leaders that Rick and I have access to and who call upon us regularly don't call upon us because of our good looks." The point he is making is that the reason he and I have favor with many decision makers is that we have a long track record of producing results.  

-- Your boss may not know God, but your boss can recognize God's hand on your work if you produce results. For me, the secret to producing results is yielding to God and embracing His grace so He can live through me. When God is the one giving me the words and performing the work, the results will draw uncommon attention because I'm walking in uncommon favor. This is what happened for Joseph, and I can testify that it continually happens for me. 

-- Notice the order. Verse 4 says Joseph "found favor in his sight" only after Potiphar saw that the Lord was with him. Favor with people follows the evidence of God on your work.

-- Destiny needs witnesses. Potiphar watched how Joseph worked long before Pharaoh ever heard his name. The people watching you work today are the ones God will use to open tomorrow's doors.

-- Do not hide what God put on you to keep an ungodly room comfortable. Joseph did not tone it down for Egypt. He let it show, and the man who owned him promoted him because of it.

-- When you are a man/woman of destiny, you know that what God put on you is bigger than the person who signs your check.

4. God Blessed The Egyptian's House For Joseph's Sake.

Verse 5 is one of my favorite verses in the whole story: "The Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the Lord's blessing was on all that he had in the house and in the field." Potiphar did not earn that. He did not pray for it. He did not even know the God who sent it. His finances, his crops, and his livestock increased because a blessed man was living under his roof. That is what THE BLESSING does. You are a carrier of the blessing.

How this applies to you:

-- Wherever you go, the blessing goes, and the people around you get the benefit.

-- Potiphar's field prospered because Joseph was in the house, and your workplace should prosper because you are there.

-- Joseph's dream was that he would rule. God started fulfilling it by giving him another man's house to rule. Destiny often shows up first as responsibility for something that is not yours. 

-- You are destined, but that doesn't mean that you're ready. God often trains you by requiring you to be faithful over what belongs to another man, and then what you make happen for them, God will make happen for you. The cool part is that while you're being faithful over what belongs to another man, God will bless them because of you. So your training and their blessing are all part of the process. 

-- Joseph learned to manage a household, a staff, and a harvest as a slave. Years later, he managed the food supply of the known world. God trained him on Potiphar's payroll.

-- Do not despise what you are managing for somebody else. The way you handle what is not yours is how God prepares you for what is. Potiphar's house was on the way to Pharaoh's palace.

That's enough for today.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, thank You that nobody can sell, move, or trade me out of Your presence!

I am not where I want to be, but I will never question that You are with me!

In my body, my relationships, my soul, my career, my business, and my finances, God is with me!

The address changed, and Your presence did not!

I can be in a hard place and still prosper!

I work for You, no matter whose name is on the building!

People who do not know You can see Your hand on my work!

The blessing on my life makes the people around me prosper!

I carry Your blessing into every house I walk into!

The house I manage today is preparing me for the palace tomorrow!

In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus' name. Amen!

This is Today's Word. Apply it and prosper!