FEBRUARY 16

Joseph’s early environment was not the only difficulty he encountered on the way to his destiny. In Genesis 37, we learn how Joseph’s brothers stripped him of his coat of many colors and threw him in a pit. Then they sat down, cold and uncaring, their ears deaf to his cries.

Can you identify with this? Have you been crying for help, with no response from those around you? Little did Joseph think that he would someday look back on this great tragedy as the most significant event in God’s plan for his life. The same may be true for you. The tragic situation you have experienced may be a doorway to your destiny. In Joseph’s life, the pit led to a palace!

When an Egyptian caravan passed by, Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. Then, in Genesis 39, you can read how Joseph suffered another tragic ordeal when, as a slave in Potiphar’s house, he was falsely accused of immorality and thrown into prison.

Confinement is hard at any age, but Joseph was young and used to roaming the hillsides of Judea. Yet, he refused to give in to despair. In Genesis 39-40, we learn that Joseph was placed in a position of responsibility in the prison and ministered to a butler and baker who were confined with him, both of whom promptly forgot him when their situations changed.

Humanly speaking, Joseph had every right to develop a negative attitude. Family and friends failed him, he was falsely accused, imprisoned and forgotten by those to whom he had ministered. But little did Joseph know that every circumstance was moving him nearer to his God-given destiny. This is what God is doing in your life also. Every event in your difficult journey will be used by God to help you achieve your destiny.

Eventually, the butler to whom Joseph had ministered told Pharaoh about him at a strategic time when there was a need for the interpretation of a puzzling dream. Joseph interpreted the dream, was finally released from prison, became a ruler in Egypt, and saved multitudes from the impending death of a world-wide famine.

In every setback, the Lord was with Joseph (Genesis 39:3). God has been with you also, in that dysfunctional family and in the tragic experiences of your past. He has not abandoned you. He has a future planned for you. It is your divine destiny.

Negative experiences of your past cannot abort God’s purpose for your life unless you allow it by holding on to them in bitterness and unforgiveness. The difficulties you experience and the pain you endure are divine doorways to your destiny.