From Pit to Promise: Embracing the Process of God’s Faithfulness
Genesis 40
14 Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. 15 For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.
In today’s preaching, where we often focus solely on promises and prosperity, it is no wonder that there has been a falling away. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, and hope promised without process ensures a bitter root.
Joseph carried God’s dream. And he was hated for it. He was despised because of the favor on his life. His brothers looked to kill him, hating the mark of God on his life. They settled for selling him into slavery.
Even as a slave, he rose to the top, entrusted with all that was in Potiphar’s house. Until… Until he did the right thing, refusing to have an affair with Potiphar’s wife, running from scandal. For his honor, he was defamed and punished.
Wrongfully imprisoned, he endured for many years. Even there, in the pit, God’s favor rested on Joseph. His gift made a way, but Joseph lived in the darkness. Joseph was in process.
When God gives a word or a dream, when he speaks to us about who we are to Him, that word will be tested. It’s tested by time and enemies. It’s tested with misunderstanding and the temptation to draw back. This is the process. The process of learning obedience through suffering.
Ultimately, all of God’s promises are “yes, and amen.” Ultimately, there is not one word from the Lord that will return to Him void. But there is a process.
Maybe today you are enduring. Maybe today you are in the pit. Don’t despair. God knows exactly where you are. You are not lost to Him. Do not lose heart, and do not fall into despair. Recount the promise. Remember the word. Relive the dream. You are in process.
Trust the Lord. Allow the process to do its good work: Christ in you, the hope of glory. Christ in you, the hope of glory!
