Discovering Destiny (Part 50): When God Promotes You, Nobody Can Stop It
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 41:37-40 TPT
"Joseph's proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his advisers. He said to them, 'Where can we find anyone else like this one, for he has the Spirit of God in him!' So Pharaoh turned to Joseph and said, 'Since God has divinely revealed this to you, there is no one as wise and full of insight as you. I hereby place you in charge of all my affairs, and all my people will obey your commands. Only I, the king, will be greater than you!'"
Genesis 41:41-43 NLT
"Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.' Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck. Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, 'Kneel down!' So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt."
Genesis 41:44-45 AMPC
"And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without you shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph made an [inspection] tour of all the land of Egypt."
Genesis 41:46 AMPC
"Joseph [who had been in Egypt thirteen years] was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went [about his duties] through all the land of Egypt."
Supporting scriptures:
Psalm 105:20-22 TPT
"Eventually, the king of Egypt sent for him, setting him free at last. Then Joseph was put in charge of everything under the king; he became the master of the palace over all the royal possessions. Pharaoh gave him authority over all the princes of the land, and Joseph became the teacher of wisdom to the king's advisers."
Ecclesiastes 4:14 AMPC
"Even though [the youth] comes out of prison to reign, while the other, born a king, becomes needy."
Psalm 75:6-7 TPT
"This I know: the favor that brings promotion and power doesn't come from anywhere on earth, for no one exalts a person but God, the true judge of all. He alone determines where favor rests. He anoints one for greatness and brings another down to his knees."
1 Samuel 2:8 AMPC
"He raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with nobles and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set the world upon them."
Genesis 41:51-52 AMPC
"And Joseph called the firstborn Manasseh [making to forget], For God, said he, has made me forget all my toil and hardship and all my father's house. And the second he called Ephraim [to be fruitful], For [he said] God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction."
Ephesians 2:10 TPT
"We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!"
Setting the Stage:
Yesterday, we watched Joseph hand Pharaoh a 14-year plan to save Egypt while he was still, legally, a prisoner. Today, Pharaoh answers. The room goes quiet, and the king does not turn to Joseph first. He turns to his own officials, the same magicians and wise men who had nothing to say that morning, and asks, "Where can we find anyone else like this one, for he has the Spirit of God in him!" Nobody in that room raises a hand. Nobody suggests another candidate. Then Pharaoh looks at the Hebrew slave standing in front of him and says, "Since God has divinely revealed this to you, there is no one as wise and full of insight as you. I hereby place you in charge of all my affairs, and all my people will obey your commands."
Then the king starts moving. "Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph's finger." That ring carried the royal seal, and whatever it stamped became the law of Egypt. "He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck." A few hours earlier, Joseph had shaved and changed out of his prison clothes just to be presentable. Now he is wearing the clothes of the second most powerful man on earth. Pharaoh sets him in "the chariot reserved for his second-in-command," and as it rolls through the city, men run ahead of it shouting, "Kneel down!" Then Pharaoh makes it final: "without you shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." He gives Joseph a new name, Zaphenath-paneah, and a wife, Asenath, the daughter of the priest of On.
Now slow down and picture what Joseph saw from that chariot. Thirteen years earlier, he came into Egypt at the back of a caravan, sold for silver by his own brothers. He walked those same roads as property. He served in Potiphar's house, got falsely accused, and spent years in a dungeon, including two more years after the butler forgot him. There had to be a moment in that chariot when Joseph looked down at the ring on his finger and thought, "This morning, I woke up in a prison." The Bible says, "Joseph [who had been in Egypt thirteen years] was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt." He was 17 when he got the dream. He was 30 when he got the ring. Thirteen years of process. One day of promotion.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Joseph Woke Up In Prison And Went To Sleep In The Palace.
For 13 years, everything in Joseph's life moved slowly. The pit, the caravan, Potiphar's house, the false accusation, the prison, and two extra years after the butler forgot him. If you had asked Joseph on any of those days how fast God works, he would have told you, "Slowly." Then, in one day, God moved faster than Joseph could have imagined. I have said this for years: favor can do more in a minute than labor can do in a lifetime. Joseph could have run that prison for another 50 years and never earned what Pharaoh handed him in one sentence. The process was slow, but the promotion was sudden.
How this applies to you:
-- God can change your whole life in one day!
-- Joseph's process took 13 years, but his promotion took one conversation. Do not measure what God is about to do by how long it has taken to get here.
-- Favor can do more in a minute than labor can do in a lifetime.
-- Some of you have been in the same place so long that you have started to believe nothing will ever change. Joseph could have believed that on his last morning in the dungeon. By sundown, he was wearing the king's ring.
-- The slow season is not a sign that God forgot you; it is the setup for a “suddenly” moment.
-- Joseph did not get promoted because he finally figured out how to work the system. He got promoted because the day God wrote into his destiny before he was born had finally arrived. Paul called it a “due season.” His harvest time had come DUE!
-- You are not waiting on people; you are waiting on a date God already set.
-- When God moves suddenly, you will not need years to catch up. God is a God of restoration (God will get you back what you lost), restitution (God will make the enemy pay you interest), and favor (God will then bless you beyond everything you have ever been through).
2. Promotion Does Not Come From People.
Pharaoh signed the order, but God wrote it. Think about everyone who tried to decide Joseph's future. His brothers tried to get rid of him. Potiphar's wife tried to ruin him. The butler forgot him. None of them could stop what God had planned, and none of them could have made it happen either. Pharaoh was a king, not an elected official, so he did not need a vote, a committee, or a background check to promote a Hebrew slave. One word from the king changed everything. I have taught this for years: our God is a King, not a President. The psalmist said, "the favor that brings promotion and power doesn't come from anywhere on earth, for no one exalts a person but God" (Psalm 75:6-7 TPT).
How this applies to you:
-- Promotion does not come from the people who overlooked you.
-- The brothers who sold Joseph could not stop his promotion, and the butler who forgot him could not delay it past God's timing. What God has scheduled, people cannot cancel.
-- God does not need others to vote on what He has decided to do in your life.
-- Hannah said God "raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with nobles" (1 Samuel 2:8 AMPC). That is exactly what happened to Joseph. He went from the ash heap of a dungeon to the second chariot of Egypt.
-- Stop chasing the approval of the people around you, because they are not the source of your promotion. Get close to the God who is.
-- One word from God can undo 13 years of setbacks.
-- Joseph's promotion was not an accident, a lucky break, or a change in Pharaoh's mood. It was a scheduled step in a destiny God planned before Joseph was born, and nobody in Egypt had the authority to vote it down. The same God who planned your destiny is the only One who can promote you into it.
3. God Gave Joseph Back What People Took From Him.
Look at what Pharaoh put on Joseph: his signet ring, fine linen clothing, and a gold chain. Now remember what people had taken from him. His brothers stripped off the coat his father made him and threw him in a pit. Potiphar's wife grabbed his garment and used it to send him to prison. Twice, people took the clothes off Joseph's back, and both times it cost him his freedom. In one day, God dressed him in the finest linen in Egypt. God does not just end the hard season; He restores what it cost you.
How this applies to you:
-- What God has for you will overshadow what they took from you.
-- The brothers took a coat. Potiphar's wife took a garment. God gave him the royal robes.
-- God does not just bring you out of the hard place; He clothes you for the next one.
-- Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name and an Egyptian wife, but he could not give Joseph a new God. During the good years, when his sons were born, Joseph gave God the credit in both of their names. New name, new country, same God.
-- A promotion should never change your heart. Even though he was dressed like an Egyptian, Joseph kept his heart towards the only true God.
-- Please do not ever allow a blessing to cause you to forget the God who gave it to you. It is unfortunate, but over the years I have most certainly seen people get blessed and then forget all about God. Joseph did not make that mistake.
-- God knew Joseph and planned this day before Joseph was ever born. Your identity and your destiny were settled the same way, so no title can add to them, and no prison can take them away.
-- The robe was not the reward; the robe was the assignment. In the same way, as you walk with God and into your purpose, you will experience many material blessings along the way, but the blessing is not really in the things. It's in the assignment. Never lose focus on the assignment.
4. Enjoy The Blessing, But Never Settle For Anything Less Than God's Best.
Here is where I need you to pay attention. The ring, the robe, and the chariot were real, and Joseph had every reason to celebrate. After 13 years, relief had finally come. But the promotion was not the dream. God had shown a 17-year-old boy his brothers bowing before him, and on the day Joseph became Prime Minister, his brothers were still in Canaan with no idea he was alive. Joseph could have looked around the palace and said, "This is it. I made it." He did not. He thanked God for the turn and kept the dream alive in his heart. For years, you have heard me say: appreciate where you are, but never settle for any less than ALL of what God said.
How this applies to you:
-- Thank God for every victory along the way.
-- Joseph's promotion was a real victory, and he received it with gratitude. But he did not mistake the palace for the fulfillment of the dream.
-- Relief is a gift, so enjoy it without apology, but just keep your heart focused on the full promise.
-- The promotion was the turn in the story, not the end of the story.
-- Some of you are enjoying a real win right now, and you are tempted to camp there. Let the victory feed your faith for the finish, not replace it. What God did for you today is proof that He will finish what He started (see Phil 1:6).
-- Your destiny is bigger than your latest promotion. God planned every level of your life before you were born, and He is not done with you yet.
That's enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, You can change my whole life in one day!
Your favor does more in a minute than my labor can do in a lifetime!
My promotion comes from You, not from the people around me!
What You have scheduled for me, no person can cancel!
What people took from me cannot cancel what You have for me!
You bring me out of the hard place and clothe me for the next one!
My title may change, but my God stays the same!
I thank You for every victory along the way!
I appreciate where I am, and I will never settle for less than all You said!
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!
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