From The Pit To The Palace

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. - King David(1)

Do you ever feel like you’re in a deep, dark pit with no way out? Maybe God spoke to you about doing a particular task or ministry and you’ve been faithful to Him; however, you now feel trapped in some bad situation or life circumstance, and you’re eagerly awaiting the day of your deliverance.

You might be asking God why He’s allowed such bad things to happen, and you might even doubt that He hears you. I want you to know that there’s hope and encouragement found in the Word! I also want you to realize that you’re not the only faithful follower of the Lord who’s fallen into a pit!

David hid from King Saul in the deep, dark cave of Adullam (1 Sm 22:1-2); Elijah fled and hid in a cave in order to escape Queen Jezebel’s wrath (1 Kgs 19:1-18); the prophet Jeremiah was thrown into a well that was full of thick, sloppy mud (Jer 38:6); Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace when they refused to bow down to an idol (Dn 3:8-25); and Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for praying to God (6:10-23).

Each of these men had a vision given to them to bring glory to the name of the Lord through their faithful service, and none of them were able to do so without entering a pit. However, I said that there’s hope, and the hope we find in the examples of these faithful servants of the Lord is that each of them climbed out of their pit to go on and fulfill the calling that God placed on their hearts.

Joseph is an Old Testament character who had a vision granted to him by the Lord, and who experienced numerous difficulties in seeing his vision realized. His calling was delayed when he was thrown into a pit on two separate occasions. However, as a result of his faithfulness during those circumstances, Joseph was delivered from the pain and drudgery of his pit experiences to go on and live in a palace!

In the account of Joseph are found some important lessons on faithfulness that will help us behave in the cave, endure our pit experiences, and climb out to fulfill the calling that God’s placed on our life. In tonight’s message we will see how the Lord intends to move us from the pit to the palace.

God Gave Joseph a Vision (37:5-8)

Joseph had a vision given to him by the Lord. In the Bible, the word “vision” has “the meaning of gazing wide and open-eyed at something remarkable; awed by the beauty and filled with joy. It varies in meaning from being a very real, tangible experience to simply a mental perception.”(2) Joseph’s vision was revealed to him in the form of a dream. Let’s look at Geneses 37:5-8:

Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words (Genesis 37:5-8).

I’m going to equate the word “dream” with the word “vision.” When we receive a vision from the Lord it’s a glimpse of what God is able to do in the lives of other people if we’re obedient to follow that vision. It’s a picture of God’s will for our life. If the Lord lays a strong desire or burden on our heart to serve Him in a particular way then that could be our vision and calling, and we need to do all we can to strive towards the fulfillment of that vision.

Now, our vision might not be as clear as we would hope. Joseph’s vision was pretty strange with all this talk about bundles of wheat bowing down. However, it appears that Joseph sought from his brothers some guidance on the interpretation of his vision. Maybe his choice of counsel was unwise, but he still gained some good insight. His brothers very quickly and unhappily concluded that his dream meant that they would one day be bowing down before Joseph in the future.

Just as Joseph sought counsel, we too can learn a lot from seeking the guidance of other believers, especially those who know our heart. Henry Blackaby says that one way of discovering God’s will is through the Church, or through other believers.