Grace in Galatians (Part 171): Joseph Never Quit

https://youtu.be/3IX7XzHStmU?si=OZLZ87vD28tp-5RU

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.

As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.

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 we will study today:

Galatians 6:9 NKJV

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Galatians 6:9 TPT

“And don’t allow yourselves to be weary or disheartened in planting good seeds, for the season of reaping the wonderful harvest you’ve planted is coming!”

Supporting scriptures:

Genesis 37:19-20 NIV

“’Here comes that dreamer!’ they said to each other. ‘Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.’”

Genesis 39:2-3 NKJV

“The Lord 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 Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.”

Genesis 39:21-23 NIV

“But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness, and gave him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.”

Genesis 40:6-7 NIV

“When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, ‘Why do you look so sad today?’”

Genesis 40:14-15 NIV

“But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

Genesis 40:23 NIV

“The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.”

Genesis 41:1 NIV

“When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream.”

Genesis 41:39-41 NIV

“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.’ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.’”

Hebrews 6:12 NKJV

“That you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Setting the Stage:

In Parts 169 and 170, we spent two full days unpacking Galatians 6:9. Today, I want to give you a living, breathing example of Galatians 6:9 from Scripture. And the man I want to talk about is Joseph. If you want to see what it looks like to NOT grow weary in doing good, if you want to see what it looks like to endure when the promise feels like it will never come, if you want to see what “due season” looks like after years and years of waiting, look at the life of Joseph. This man had a God-given dream at 17 years old. He was betrayed by his brothers, thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, and locked in a prison. And in every single one of those seasons, Joseph kept doing the right thing. He did not quit. He did not grow bitter. He did not lose heart. And at 30 years old, in a single day, God promoted him from prisoner to Prime Minister. More than seven years after that, the dream finally came to pass, and he stood over his brothers and his father. He had to believe God for over 20 years.

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

1. Joseph Did the Right Thing in Every Wrong Situation.

Paul says, “Let us not grow weary in doing good.” That word “good” is key. Joseph did not just endure. He did GOOD everywhere he went. When Potiphar bought him as a slave, Joseph did not wallow, complain, or give minimal effort. God was with him, and he became a prosperous slave (that sounds crazy!). Joseph served with excellence in a situation he did not choose, in a house he did not want to be in, under a man who owned him as property. And God blessed everything he did. Then Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him, and he ended up in prison. Same story. Before long, he was running the penitentiary. God gave him success in whatever he did. Do you see the pattern? The environment changed, but Joseph’s faithfulness did not. The pit did not change him. Slavery did not change him. False accusation did not change him. Prison did not change him. He kept doing good in every wrong situation. We can learn from Joseph.

How this applies to you:

— Some of you are in a season that you did not choose. You did not ask for this job, this assignment, this challenge, or this setback. But Joseph did not ask to be a slave either. Yet he served with such excellence that God blessed everything he touched. Your attitude in the season you did not choose will determine the harvest you receive in the season God has prepared for you. (Testimony: from time to time, we must ALL check out attitudes. God convicted me this morning when I got to this point.

— Joseph had every reason to give minimum effort. He was a slave. Nobody would have blamed him for just getting by. But he did not just get by. He excelled. And Potiphar noticed. When you do good in a bad situation, God will make sure the right people notice.

— The principle here is powerful: faithfulness in the wrong situation is what qualifies you for the right situation. Joseph was faithful as a slave, and God promoted him to run Potiphar’s entire household. He was faithful in prison, and God promoted him to run the entire nation. Every “wrong” situation was preparation for the right one.

— If you are frustrated because your current situation does not match what God promised, I understand. Joseph’s situation did not match his dream either. Not for 13 years. But he never let the gap between the promise and the performance change how he showed up every day. We can all learn from Joseph.

— Some of you need to hear this: the fact that you are in a difficult season does not mean you are in the wrong place. Joseph was exactly where God needed him to be, even when it looked like everything had gone wrong. In God’s Kingdom, detours are not dead ends. They are training grounds.

2. The Butler Forgot Joseph, But God Did Not.

This is the part of Joseph’s story that breaks my heart and fires up my faith at the same time. Joseph was in prison, and he interpreted the dreams of the butler and the baker. He told the butler, “When all goes well with you, remember me. Mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.” The butler said he would. Then the butler was restored to his position, just as Joseph said. And Genesis 40:23 says, “The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.” He forgot him. Joseph did the right thing. He used his gift. He served someone else in the middle of his own suffering. And the person he helped forgot about him. If there was ever a moment where weariness could have won, this was it. Can you imagine? You are sitting in a prison cell, waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for your name to be called, believing that today might be the day. And days turn into weeks. Weeks turn into months. Genesis 41:1 says, “When two full years had passed.” Two full years of silence after Joseph thought the breakthrough was right around the corner. That is the most dangerous kind of waiting. It is not the waiting at the beginning that breaks you. It is the waiting after you thought it was about to happen. The butler forgot, but God did not forget. Those two years were not wasted. They were part of the “due season” that God had already scheduled. Joseph was ready, but Pharaoh was not ready until two years later! Sometimes, you are ready, but the people are not ready to receive you!

How this applies to you:

— Some of you have had a “butler” in your life. Someone who said they would help you, someone who said they would remember you, someone who said they would open the door. And they forgot. They moved on. They got their blessing and kept it moving. That is painful. But hear me: people may forget you, but God never will. Your due season is not dependent on human memory. It is dependent on God’s calendar.

— The two years after the butler forgot were not empty years. God was using that time to position Pharaoh for a dream that only Joseph could interpret. The timing had to be perfect. If the butler had remembered Joseph immediately, Joseph would have been released from prison, but he would not have been promoted to second in command of Egypt. The delay was the setup for the elevation.

— This is the part of Galatians 6:9 that requires the most endurance: the gap between “I thought it was about to happen” and “it still has not happened.” That gap is where most people lose heart. They can handle the early waiting. It is the unexpected extension that breaks them. Joseph survived that extension because his hope was not in the butler. His hope was in God.

— If you have been waiting and the person who was supposed to help you has moved on without you, do not let bitterness take root. Joseph did not curse the butler. He did not get angry at God. He kept his heart clean. He kept doing good. And two years later, when the due date came, his heart was ready to receive what God had prepared.

— I want to be real with you. Waiting after you thought it was about to happen is the hardest kind of waiting. It tests you at a level that the initial waiting never could. But Galatians 6:9 does not say “you shall reap if your timeline works out.” It says, “you shall reap if you do not lose heart.” The timeline is God’s. The endurance is yours.

— Genesis 41:1 says, “when two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream.” That means God was already orchestrating the next chapter of Joseph’s story during the silence. While Joseph was sitting in a cell, wondering if the butler would ever call, God was preparing a dream for Pharaoh that would require Joseph’s gift. God is always working in the silence. Remember that as you walk into this day and this season.

3. Joseph Protected His Heart in the Gap Between the Promise and the Performance.

Here is what amazes me about Joseph, and this is the part of the story I really want you to see. The butler and the baker had been thrown into the same prison where Joseph was being held. One morning, Joseph came in and noticed they looked dejected. Genesis 40:6-7 says, “When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him, ‘Why do you look so sad today?‘” Another translation reads, “Why the long faces?” In the south they we would say, “What’s wrong with y’all?” I want you to sit with that for a moment. Joseph is in PRISON. He has been there for years. He was betrayed by his own brothers, sold as a slave, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, and thrown into a dungeon. He has a dream from God that has not come to pass. He has every reason in the world to be the saddest person in that building. And yet HE is the one who walks in and notices that someone ELSE is sad. HE is the one checking on THEM. That is not a small detail. That one question reveals the entire condition of Joseph’s heart. HE KEPT DOING GOOD! Instead of becoming BITTER, he kept become BETTER, and his attitude was the BRIDGE to his BLESSING!

How this applies to you:

— Galatians 6:9 says “let us not grow weary in doing good.” But there is a version of “doing good” that is purely mechanical. You go through the motions. You show up. You serve. But your heart has checked out. I have been there (even recently). The amazing part is that Joseph’s heart had NOT checked out. After 13 years of waiting, he still cared about other people’s problems. That is the mark of a heart that has been protected by grace.

— The gap between the promise and the performance is where your heart is most vulnerable. It is in that space that bitterness wants to grow. Resentment wants to take root. Joseph did not allow any of it. He kept his heart clean. And because his heart was clean, he was in a position to hear from God and use his gift when the opportunity came.

— If Joseph had been bitter in that prison, he would not have noticed the butler and the baker’s sad faces. Bitterness makes you blind to other people’s pain because you are consumed with your own. Joseph’s clean heart gave him the capacity to serve, and that service became the bridge to his blessing. Your ability to serve others during your waiting season is connected to the health of your heart.

— Some of you are doing the right thing externally, but internally your heart is hardening. You are showing up to church, but your worship has become routine. You are giving, but there is no joy in it anymore. You are serving, but you resent it. That is the early warning sign that weariness is attacking your heart, not just your actions. Check your heart before it is too late.

— I said this in yesterday’s message and I will say it again: weariness does not come from doing the wrong thing. It comes from doing the right thing for what feels like too long. 

— As I have taught before, you can say you have matured, but you will not truly know until you are placed in a situation where that maturity has an opportunity to manifest. Joseph’s moment came when his brothers bowed before him, over 20 years after they threw him in a pit. He had the power to have them all killed. However, his heart was so healthy that he did not destroy them. He restored them. He blessed them. That is what a protected heart produces.

— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that protecting your heart during the waiting season is not optional. It is essential. The harvest requires a healthy heart to receive it. If your heart is contaminated by bitterness, you will not be in a position to steward the blessing when it arrives.

4. Joseph’s Due Season Came, and So Will Yours.

Genesis 41:39-41. Pharaoh looked at Joseph and said, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders.” In one day. In one conversation. In one moment. Joseph went from a prisoner to Prime MInister. After the seven years of plenty, and during the seven years of famine, his famly needed help. They showed up and the DREAM CAME TO PASS. The dream that was given to a 17-year-old boy was fulfilled in the life of a man who refused to quit. That is Galatians 6:9. In due season, you shall reap, IF you do not lose heart. Joseph did not lose heart. And he reaped.

How this applies to you:

— Your due season is on God’s calendar. It is scheduled. It is appointed. It is coming. The question is not whether the harvest will show up. The question has always been whether you will still be standing when it arrives. Joseph was standing. Be like Joseph.

— Joseph was 17 when he received the dream. He was 30 when he was promoted. And it took more then seven years for the FULL DREAM to come to pass. He waited for over 20 years, but when you get to heaven and you ask him, I am sure he will tell you that the harvest was worth the wait! Say that: “THE HARVEST IS WORTH THE WAIT!”

— Joseph’s story proves that the due season is real. It is not a theory. It is not a motivational quote. It is a Biblical reality. God appointed a specific time for Joseph’s promotion, and when that time came, nothing on earth could stop it. Pharaoh did not know he was fulfilling prophecy. He just knew he needed someone who could interpret his dream. God will use people who do not even know your name to fulfill the promise He made to you.

That’s enough for today.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You for the example of Joseph. He endured 13 years between the dream and the fulfillment, and he never quit. I choose to follow his example!

I will do the right thing in every wrong situation. My faithfulness is not dependent on my circumstances. I will sow excellence wherever You plant me!

I refuse to let the people who forgot about me determine the outcome of my future. People may forget, but God never forgets. My due season is on God’s calendar, not on anyone else’s!

I protect my heart in the gap between the promise and the performance. I will not allow bitterness, resentment, or self-pity to contaminate the heart that God is preparing for harvest!

Just like Joseph asked “Why the long faces?” in the middle of his own pain, I choose to serve others even while I am waiting. A healthy heart is a serving heart!

My due season is scheduled. It is appointed. It is coming. And when it comes, I will be standing right there in faith, with the sickle in my hand, ready to receive!

I will not lose heart. The “if” in Galatians 6:9 will not disqualify me. I have faith AND patience, and through both, I will obtain every promise God has spoken over my life!

I have seed in the ground, and the seed is always working. What God started in my life, He is faithful to complete!

I remember the dream. I have not forgotten what God showed me. And I will carry it with faith and patience until the day it manifests!

I am living in THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, and I have discovered that Joseph never quit, and neither will I. GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

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

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