The Real You

I’ve never really been a huge music person. I might like a song here or there, but I wouldn’t say there were many artists who could capture my attention. It says a lot when I can listen to someone’s whole album. A while back, I was introduced to Travis Greene’s music and journey.  When it came to Travis’ music, something was different…I felt something “different”. So, last week when I got to meet him, I was super excited. We begin a question and answer session and every time he answered, wisdom flowed. I immediately discerned his humble spirit.

He told one story about the struggles of his musical journey. He told of how he was putting his all into his music, but every time he turned around, others were being elevated faster than he was. Others, who had just begun. Then he said something that I had to write down because it hit me like a ton of bricks. He said, sometimes we want to be in a place so bad, but God won’t take you where your character can’t keep you. It then dawned on me that it was Travis’ character and authenticity that drew me to his musical journey.

To me, that was so profound! God’s word tells us that he makes everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in our hearts and we often sense the greatness that God has called us to. There are promises over each of our lives and when we figure that out, we want to manifest those promises immediately. I want to let you know or remind you of one of the reasons why God doesn’t just give us these things immediately.

Do you remember the story of Joseph, Jacob’s son? Well, in case you don’t, here are the parts I want to focus on. One day, God gave Joseph a dream. Joseph would one day be elevated to a position of authority over the whole clan of Israel. Joseph shared his dream with his brothers and because of their jealousy, they sold him into Egyptian slavery.

****PAUSE*** At this point, if I were Joseph, I would have had a huge question mark over my head. God had just shown him all these wonderful things and now his life was totally changed. Sometimes God uproots us from where we are to plant us somewhere else, where we’ll have more room to grow.

So, when Joseph got to Egypt, He was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. You see, Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Although Joseph couldn’t see it, he was being positioned. Joseph was faithful and succeeded in everything that he did. Potiphar noticed this and soon made Joseph charge of his entire household! So, Joseph was being faithful all along, and was even growing in position, but it still wasn’t exactly where God had shown him. This is where many of us get stuck. We start on the journey and we get far along, but we still aren’t where God has shown us. So, lets continue looking at Joseph…

One day, Potiphar’s wife came to tempt Joseph to sleep with her. Joseph had two choices. He could have easily slept with her. It even says in one verse that no one else was around. **Pay attention to Joseph’s response** Joseph proceeds to tell her that because his master trusts him with everything he owns, he could not/would not do such a wicked thing. This was a huge test of Joseph’s character. Joseph would one day oversee many people. Do you think God could trust Joseph overseeing all of his chosen people if he couldn’t even be trustworthy over one household??? I think not!

This is where many of us are on the journey to destiny and purpose. God is allowing us to grow, but in the process, he is testing our character…and the truth is, we have to make wiser decisions. We may think we have pure intentions, but the word says that the heart is deceitful above all things. God places us in certain situations to expose us for who we really are.  Say you trust God and watch him put you in a humanly impossible position. Say you can lead his people and watch him test your patience every day. Say you want to be elevated and watch him humble you all the way to the ground. Say you want to be husband/wife/parent and hear him ask you to sacrifice. Many times, we say we believe the word and that we trust God to lead us, but as soon as the situation starts to look scary, we try and take things into our own hands and do them our own way.  You see, the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

So, today, I encourage you not to get stuck where you are. Let the word of God refine you. This way, you will be able to stand firm where he plants you. In the process, you get to new levels of glory that you can’t even fathom. Remember, God is always working and always moving. We cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. In the meantime, focus on who God is and allow him to build you in character!