The Path

Psalm 105:^18-21 “They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar. Until the time came to fulfil his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character. Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free… Joseph was put in charge… he became ruler over all the king’s possessions.”

2 Corinthians 4:^16-17 “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever!” (KJV & LB & NLT). God described all the trouble Paul went through as ‘quite small’ – no biggie. You may be going through troubles, and it seems as if your whole world is going to crash. God is saying to you, it is quite small, and it will not even last long. It is going to expire. But the question is when your trouble expires will you have expired?

Every trouble has an expiration date. When it expires, will you still be standing? I am praying for you in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, that when your trouble crumbles, you will still be standing. Some people, by the time the trouble is done, they are standing but with high blood pressure, with all sorts of health challenges. But not you, you will be standing stronger in the Mighty Name of Jesus. “Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever!” So shall it be in Jesus Name. Now we see why God says the trouble you are going through is small. He is not insensitive, trying to talk you down, or trying to talk you out.

But when you compare it to the glory that is being revealed, you will see that it is actually small.

When you compare the distress to how anointed you will become by the time the trouble is over, you see that the trouble is actually small. Someone said to me, ‘I covet your anointing’. I laughed and said, ‘Be careful what you covet so you do not covet trouble’. He said, ‘No, it is the anointing I want, I do not want the trouble.’ ‘But they go together’, I responded. Paul says, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7, KJV). Earthen here means decaying, troubled, and weak.

A.W. Tozer says, “It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.” In other words, God cannot trust the person He has not wounded. Ask Joseph, God must necessarily wound you or allow the enemy to do it so that He can trust you. So that when you get that anointing, you will not think it is because you are cool or smart. You will know that it is the Lord! The question is, what are you sacrificing that most will not so that you can live the life that only few will live? Are you always going with the Jones’s or standing with your convictions?

Prayer (song): Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried, and true. And with thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for You. Amen!