Fearlessly Courageous
11/21/2022
Desk of Dennis Piller
The Testing of God's Promises
It seems about every 10 yrs I take a very hard look at where I am in my life. I remember one of those milestones vividly. I was walking with God, I was recently married, I had my own company and I was introspectively looking hard at what I accomplished in 30 years. But I was down and disappointed that I wasn't farther along, but I kept trusting God was in control.
I thought about promises I felt that I had received from God along with those that were spoken over me by other people.
I praised the Lord and thanked him for his faithfulness. But it wasn’t long before all hell broke loose. Everything was going so well and then it wasn’t.
What do you do when God’s promises over your life get tested?
Joseph is probably one of my favorite characters in the Bible. He suffered so much but his faith in God was steadfast and solid.
Do you remember that he dreamed a dream? Gen 37 He told it to his brothers and family. And basically said my family will be bowing down to him. His brothers were furious. And then he had another dream. This time he saw 11 stars and the sun and the moon bowed down to me. He told this to his father as well and his father rebuked him and said, so your mother and I and your brothers actually will come to bow down to the ground before you? The brothers were envious, furious, and jealous, but his father kept the words in his heart. Genesis 37:5–7, 9-11
I know you know the story, Jacob loved his son Joseph more than all his children because he was the son of his old age and he made him a multi-colored tunic Genesis 37:3.
His dad sent them out to make sure his brothers were all right with the flock. But they saw him from a distance and plotted to kill him. "Look here comes the dreamer. But his brother Judah said let’s sell him and take the money and just tell dad that he was killed by a wild animal". They took his beautiful coat smeared it with the blood of an animal and took it back to their dad.
We’ve all been betrayed at different times in our lives but can you imagine the pain of the betrayal from your own blood? I’m sure Joseph must’ve questioned God that this is not lining up with the dreams that you gave him.
Maybe you have been saying that to Father God here lately. Maybe your life is contrary to what God spoke to you about or what you dreamed of and you’re wondering whether it will ever come to pass.
He spent years in prison but got a second chance to be a steward for Potiphar. But his wife made sexual advances to him but he resisted and she slandered him to her husband and he ended back up in prison again. Joseph may have yet been a virgin. How hard was it to contain those types of feelings when she said "lie with me". But he said, my master has put me in charge of everything in the house, I could never betray him. But Joseph is back in prison and the dreams became more distant and seemed impossible to have faith in them.
It doesn’t say whether Joseph questioned God and doubted the promise, but I certainly would have. I am certain I would be angry and frustrated and would’ve asked him why on a daily basis. Right at the time that he got this 2nd chance at Potiphar's house and he had started to pick up the pieces and put his life back together. BAM… a tremendous setback. Another betrayal!
It certainly begs the question of how Joseph did that. How did he learn to make do and trust God with the situation at hand?
One of the things that I recognize throughout scripture and even in my own life is there will be times of testing. Yes, even God’s word to you will be tested. I heard someone say, "there will always be a test before the testimony" and there will always be a process before you get to your promise.
I have often been very excited about a word that God gave me through his word or through a prophecy or through another person, but I often forgot that you were going to have to fight for your promise one way or another.
With Joseph, he needed to have a completely different mindset that embodied humility and complete dependence and reliance on God. He had to believe that God was with him through all of these challenges. And he had to fervently take hold of the knowledge that God‘s ultimate goal is always freedom and redemption.
So what can we learn from these trials of Joseph? Trusting God is Paramount when God‘s promises over your life are tested.
When things get so bad that you feel that you can’t go on, and you can’t understand, you must turn to God. We must "run to him" and trust him that he is sovereign and there will be freedom and redemption but in his timing.
I can't help but think of Pastor Dale Brook and assessing a full life of devotion and dedication to God and ministering to so many sheep over the years. He is sitting in a hospital, perhaps over Thanksgiving, still struggling. I gave him a word a month or two back that God wasn't done with him yet! But now he is in the hospital.
We must continue to pray and believe God knowing the enemy will fight us tooth and nail to ensure we don’t receive God‘s promises. But your trust in God will get you through those challenging times. Pastor's body is under attack and they can't seem to find out why but his faith, like Joseph, is unwavering. His family and those who love him are committed to their prayers for him. Always remember that God will never leave you nor forsake you even in moments when you feel that you were walking through the valley of the shadow of death. The latest report said they lowered his level of warm oxygen, and he has slept better, but he needs to eat food. His appetite needs to increase significantly. Your prayers are making a difference but we have a long way to go!
One of the best signs of whether a word comes from God is the opposition that follows it. The enemy will always try and contradict God’s word. When Jesus went into the wilderness. The enemy tempted him by trying to get Jesus to doubt what God told him. But Jesus counteracted the devil’s words by using the Bible.
Always remember, to decree the word of God into your life and into your situation and remember his promises over your life when God’s promise over your life is tested.
Crowder Let It Rain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIlw7BInVw0&list=PL3oW2tjiIxvTstLS9GlgaT_mqONT0WVDw&index=12
Excerpts and inspiration are taken from Radiantly Resurging.com
