Discovering Destiny (Part 61): Thriving In A Time of Crisis
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 47:13-26 AMPC
"[In the course of time] there was no food in all the land, for the famine was distressingly severe, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan hung in doubt and wavered by reason of the hunger (destitution, starvation) of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan [in payment] for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. And when the money was exhausted in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes? For we have no money left. Joseph said, Give up your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for [them] if your money is gone. So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and [he] gave them food in exchange for the horses, flocks, cattle of the herds, and the donkeys; and he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. When that year was ended, they came to [Joseph] the second year and said to him, We will not hide from my lord [the fact] that our money is spent; my lord also has our herds of livestock; there is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. Why should we perish before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed [to plant], that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate. And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field because of the overwhelming severity of the famine upon them. The land became Pharaoh's, And as for the people, he removed them to cities and practically made slaves of them [at their own request], from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other. Only the priests' land he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed pension from Pharaoh and lived on the amount Pharaoh gave them. So they did not sell their land. Then Joseph said to the people, Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. At [harvest time when you reap] the increase, you shall give one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own to use for seed for the field and as food for you and those of your households and for your little ones. And they said, You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord; and we will be Pharaoh's servants. And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt, to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part [of the crops]; it was the priests' land only which did not become Pharaoh's."
Supporting scriptures:
Genesis 41:34-36 TPT
"Let Pharaoh appoint other officials throughout the land to collect one-fifth of all the crops each year during the seven plentiful years. Have them gather all the food of these abundant years that are coming, and under Pharaoh's authority, have the grain stored in the cities for food. Store it all as food reserve for the people during the seven years of famine coming upon Egypt, so that the land will survive the famine."
Luke 16:10 TPT
"The one who faithfully manages the little he has been given will be promoted and trusted with greater responsibilities.
1 Corinthians 4:2 AMPC
"Moreover, it is [essentially] required of stewards that a man should be found faithful [proving himself worthy of trust]."
Psalm 78:72 AMPC
"So [David] was their shepherd with an upright heart; he guided them by the discernment and skillfulness [which controlled] his hands."
Genesis 8:22 AMPC
"While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."
2 Corinthians 9:10 TPT
"This generous God who supplies abundant seed for the farmer, which becomes bread for our meals, is even more extravagant toward you. First he supplies every need, plus more. Then he multiplies the seed as you sow it, so that the harvest of your generosity will grow."
Genesis 47:27 AMPC
"And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they gained possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly."
Setting the Stage:
Yesterday, we watched a 130-year-old shepherd bless the king of Egypt and settle his family in Goshen. But outside of Goshen, the famine was getting worse. The Bible says, "There was no food in all the land, for the famine was distressingly severe." Egypt was starving. Canaan was starving. And there was only one place on earth that still had grain: Joseph's storehouses.
So the people came with money, and Joseph sold them grain until there was no money left in Egypt or Canaan. Then they came back and said, "Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes? For we have no money left." And Joseph said, "Give up your livestock, and I will give you food." Horses, flocks, cattle, donkeys. That carried them through one more year.
Then the next year, they came back with nothing left but themselves. They said, "Buy us and our land in exchange for food," and then they asked for something more: "give us seed [to plant], that we may live and not die." So Joseph bought the land for Pharaoh, all of it except the priests' land. The Amplified says the people became servants to Pharaoh "[at their own request]." Then Joseph handed them seed and gave them a system: plant the land, give one-fifth to Pharaoh, and keep four-fifths for yourselves. And the same people who came begging for bread said, "You have saved our lives!"
Here is what I want you to see today. Joseph did not just help Egypt get through the famine. He ran the economy of the known world for seven hard years, and Egypt came out richer than it went in. God did not plan your destiny so you could barely make it through your season. God can give you the wisdom to thrive in a time of crisis.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. God Will Give You Wisdom For Every Stage Of The Crisis.
Look at how Joseph ran Egypt when the money ran out. The famine did not stay the same, so the plan could not stay the same. When the people had money, Joseph sold them grain, and "Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house." When the money was gone, he took livestock, and "he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year." When the livestock was gone, he bought the land for Pharaoh, and "he removed them to cities." Three years, three problems, three different strategies. This is the same man who told Pharaoh, before the famine ever started, to "collect one-fifth of all the crops each year during the seven plentiful years" (Genesis 41:34-36 TPT). I have taught you that grace gives you not just the big vision, but the practical wisdom to execute it down to the details.
How this applies to you:
-- God does not hand you the whole plan in one day, but He gives you wisdom for each stage as you get there.
-- The wisdom Joseph needed in that famine was planned into his destiny long before the famine came, and it was released to him during every season of the famine.
-- In year one, Joseph took money. In year two, he took livestock, and when the people came back with nothing left, he had a plan for that too.
-- A vision without the ability to execute it is just a dream, and grace gives you both.
-- I have taught you that Joseph operated in prophetic strategy. God did not just show him what was coming. He showed him what to do about it and different situations arose.
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and He planned the wisdom you would need at every stage of it.
-- Some of you are in year two of your crisis, and what worked last year is gone. Ask God for the next stage of the plan, because He already has it.
-- I have told you many times that you live out your life in times and seasons, levels and stages. God can give you the wisdom for the portion of your destiny you're facing at the moment.
2. God Trusts Faithful Stewards With More.
Now catch a line most people read right past: "Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house." Every coin in Egypt and Canaan passed through Joseph's hands. He was the second most powerful man in the nation, and nobody was standing over his shoulder counting. Not his house. Pharaoh's house. This is the same man who told Potiphar's wife that his master had put everything in his hands except her, and he would not take what was not his. The test changed rooms, but his integrity did not. Jesus said, "The one who faithfully manages the little he has been given will be promoted and trusted with greater responsibilities" (Luke 16:10-11 TPT). Paul said, "it is [essentially] required of stewards that a man should be found faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:2 AMPC).
How this applies to you:
-- Joseph held the keys to the richest treasury on earth, and every coin went where it belonged.
-- Faithfulness is what carried Joseph from the dream God gave him at 17 into the fullness of the destiny God planned for him.
-- A steward manages what belongs to someone else. Joseph never forgot whose money it was.
-- Integrity gets tested when you are handling somebody else's money, and nobody is watching. Please make sure you pass that test
-- David led Israel "with an upright heart; he guided them by the discernment and skillfulness [which controlled] his hands" (Psalm 78:72 AMPC). Joseph had both. Skill got him the job, and integrity kept him in it.
-- God is looking for people He can trust with more.
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and faithfulness is how you walk into the bigger parts of it.
-- Some of you are asking God for more while you are careless with what He already gave you. Be faithful with the little, because the little is the training ground for the much.
3. God Will Give You Seed In The Middle Of Your Famine.
Watch what the people asked for in that last year. They did not only ask for food. They said, "give us seed [to plant], that we may live and not die." And Joseph answered, "Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land." Bread gets you through today. Seed builds tomorrow. Joseph did not just keep a nation alive. He set them up to plant again, and he gave them a system to live on: one-fifth to Pharaoh, and "four-fifths shall be your own to use for seed for the field and as food for you." God told Noah, "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest" will not stop (Genesis 8:22 AMPC). And Paul said God "multiplies the seed as you sow it" (2 Corinthians 9:10 TPT).
How this applies to you:
-- God does not just give you bread to survive. He gives you seed to sow into the future He planned for you.
-- The world functions on a system of buying and selling. The kingdom of God functions on a system of sowing and reaping.
-- Isabella and I are sowers. Whenever I am facing a difficult moment, I am comforted by the fact that we have seed in the ground. Our God is the Lord of the harvest, who will see to it that we reap a harvest on every seed sown.
-- There is a seed for every need. God set the whole world on a system of seedtime and harvest, sowing and reaping, and He gave every one of us a free will to operate within it. You get to decide what kind of harvest you receive by the kind of seed you choose to sow.
-- God gives us seed for sowing and bread for eating. Do not eat all of your seed. Joseph's system set seed aside first, because the next harvest depends on what you plant today.
-- I have taught you that grace positions you to prosper even in difficult seasons. Egypt did not just survive the famine. It made them rich!
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and He put seed in your hand for every season of it.
-- Some of you are in a famine right now, and all you are asking God for is bread. He will give you bread for today, but he will also give you seed for tomorrow. When something comes into your hand, you must ask God, “How much of this is bread for eating, and how much of this is seed for sowing?” If you take it all without sowing, you will be cutting yourself off from the harvest God planned.
-- The good news is that Paul told us that the same God who gives us seed for sowing and bread for eating actually multiplies the seed as we sow it (2 Cor 9:10).
4. Your Destiny Is Bigger Than Your Lifetime.
Look at how the passage ends. The people said, "You have saved our lives!" Joseph built a system that fed a nation, and it was still the law of the land when Moses wrote about it.
Even after Joseph died, "they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land" (Exodus 1:7 NLT). And before he died, Joseph left them a promise to hold on to: "When God comes to help you and lead you back, you must take my bones with you" (Genesis 50:25 NLT). About 400 years later, Moses carried those bones out of Egypt. Joseph's destiny was still moving four centuries after his funeral.
How this applies to you:
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and part of your destiny is for it to outlive you.
-- The most important thing Joseph built was not in Pharaoh's treasury. It was in his family.
-- Joseph spent his last words pointing his family to God's promise, not to his own accomplishments.
-- Your children and grandchildren may never see your title or your office. They will carry your faith forward if you put it in their hands.
-- Instead of asking God to just get you through the famine, ask Him to help you build something that lasts. That kind of destiny keeps moving long after you are gone.
That's enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, You did not call me just to survive!
You give me wisdom for every stage of every season!
I am a faithful steward, and You trust me with more!
I handle what belongs to others with integrity!
Even in a famine, You put seed in my hand!
I will not eat my seed, because my harvest is coming!
Seedtime and harvest have not stopped for me!
I build with grace, and what I build will last!
My destiny will save lives and outlive me!
I will thrive where others are only trying to survive!
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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