Joseph was refined in tribulation, like silver in the crucible, to become the one who preserved the lineage of Messiah. God knows the plans he has to refine you through your difficulties that you may be the one to fulfil his great purposes.
Proverbs 17:3
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.
Joseph sat in a pool of gloom on the grimy floor of the king’s dungeon. It had been months since he’d interpreted the dreams of the king’s baker and cupbearer, who had been imprisoned sometime after he had. His dreams had come true. The baker had been executed while the cupbearer was set free and reinstated in his position. This man had promised to put in a good word in for Joseph, but he had obviously forgotten.
Joseph’s mind wondered back to his own dreams, which he’d had many years previously. He believed the dreams had implied that God would promote him and cause him to become a man of influence. However, his brothers were jealous of him and had sold him into slavery. Finally ending up in an important servant in the household of an important man in Egypt, Joseph thought he might be on the road to success, but now this. “Adonai why am I still here?” he moaned. “The cup-bearer promised he would get me out of here but here I am, still in prison.” Just then he heard the guard approach and keys clanging against the metal of dungeon gate. “Get up,” said the man. “The king has had a disturbing dream and was told you have the power to interpret dreams. He wants to see you. You’re free.”
We all know the story of how Joseph went on to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, warning against a the coming of a 7-year drought. Pharaoh promotes him and he becomes the second most important person of all of Egypt.
God had a reason for Joseph to be sold into slavery. God had a reason for Joseph to be wrongly accused of rape and thrown into prison. God had a reason for every seeming setback that Joseph endured. If Joseph was not sold into slavery and thrown into prison, as he was, then he would not have interpreted the king’s dreams. If Joseph had not interpreted these dreams, he would not have prevented people from dying from the drought, including his own family. If Joseph did not save his family, his brother Judah would have died. If Judah had died his descendant, Jesus would never have been crucified for the sins of the world. If Jesus was never crucified for sin, you and I would be lost today!
God had a plan for Joseph, even through his trials, and God has a plan for you through yours. Joseph was refined in tribulation, like silver in the crucible, to become the one who preserved the lineage of Messiah. God knows the plans he has to refine you through your difficulties that you may be the one to fulfil his great purposes.
God-tracking is trusting God’s plans through thick and thin
READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Genesis 37-47:12
SO, DON’T GIVE UP, LOOK UP & PRAY
Help me have patience to wait for your plans to come to fruition, while I am refined through this tribulation
“Oh Lord, sometimes I feel like Joseph in the pit of the king’s dungeon. I know you have spoken to me and given me promises for the future but it seems as though I’m never going to realise these promises. I feel like I’m in a furnace being refined by fire. But I know that even pure silver and gold are contaminated with impurities that only float to the surface when they are placed under intense heat. I ask you, therefore, to refine me through this crucible of difficulty so that you may scoop off the dross in me that comes to the surface. Thank you for the great plans you have for me. Help me have patience to wait for your plans to come to fruition, while I am refined through this tribulation. Amen.”
If you want prayer, please email me at dudley@surereality.net
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What is GodTracker?
GodTracker is a weekly e-mail devotional, written by Dudley Anderson, based on the premise that God has a plan for our lives. His Word calls us to seek his plan by acknowledging him in all our ways and by tracking his purposes, in faith.
Listen to GodTracker podcasts by Dudley Anderson at,
https://www.surereality.net/podcasts/
HELP keep GodTracker free
Dudley Anderson
Originally from South Africa, Dudley Andersen now lives in the UK where he heads up Sure Reality Media and pastors Cornerstone Family Church in Worcestershire. He is married to Karen-Leigh and has two children, Kerryn and Ryan. Dudley has a background in radio and has worked for Radio Pulpit, Impact Radio and Christian Vision. Since 2005 he has produced diverse content for various Christian stations. He is the author of God-Tracking Through the Year and Overflowing Hope and writes a weekly e-mail devotional called, GodTracker. Dudley is also a worship leader.
