Joseph The Dreamchaser
Part 4: How To Prepare For Your Moment
Genesis 41:33
They olympian prepares all her life (all 14 years of it) for that one moment on the balance beam. All the work, all the preparation, all the sacrifice, all that money invested to get her there. Will she fall? Will she blow it? Will she blame the French and Russian judges of a conspiracy? How can you be prepared when your "moment" comes? Adam Vinatieri (?) kicks the field goal to win the Super Bowl. Bobby Thompson hits the home run and the Giants win the pennant. The emergency personnel arrive in time. Your presentation at work. Harry Truman dropped the atomic bomb.
The moment is when this dream starts to come true.
What will you do in that moment when the spotlight turns to you?
Joseph has been on a long road, including over 13 years in prison. Now he is close to the throne. Putting him in this spot is what his dream was all about. And yet, now comes the biggest challenge of all--will you come through at that moment? How can I be ready? This isn’t something you do the night before the test. You start now.
1. Prepare By Adapting Now To God’s Sovereignty, Gen. 41:38. Pharoah’s question, "Where am I going to find someone?" is answered by the man in front of him. Joseph’s journey has built integrity, trustworthiness, and other characteristics. Now he just emanates God’s presence. This came because he had been allowing God to be sovereign in his life to this point.
Sovereignty means: I’m in charge
I’m in control
Adapt to this by becoming sensitive to:
God’s priorities
God’s expectations
God’s pathways
2. Prepare By Applying Understanding, Gen. 41:39
Waiting on God is a skill only learned by experience. Try to foresee what your choices will result in.
Visualize the consequences of choices
Lay out a plan to achieve goals(this little chart is adapted from a John Maxwell book, I think it’s Developing the Leader Within You).
Discern not just what, but also when
wrong action + wrong time = disaster
right action + wrong time = resistance
wrong action + right time = mistake
right action + right time = success
3. Prepare By Learning To Sacrifice, Gen. 41:40, 35-36
Joseph’s journey--so frustrating yet he never quit.
What values did he express?
Temporary losses in favor of eternal gains
(Give up now, and go up later)
“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else; and for everything you gain, you lose something.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
“He that loses his life for My sake shall find it.”–Jesus Christ (Matt. 10:39)
Conclusion: A happy ending? Gen. 41:51-52
Manasseh means: make forgetful
Ephraim means: fruitful
So forget about the struggle, God has got you here. And He will make us fruitful.
After 9/11, many airlines went down in value, some even went under and shut down. My beloved Southwest airlines–because of good planning in the crisis since 9/11 --resulted in adding 4000 employees the next year. A crisis came, and because of character in place they were ready. We can’t start preparing the night before for the crisis. Start now, allowing God to be sovereign; evaluate how your decision making process; and give up the short-term for the long-term.
