Obedience Over Hustle: Surrendering the Striving Heart Sýnishorn

Choosing God’s Pace Over My Own 

No doubt, many of us who read the account of Joseph in Genesis feel understood when we hear that at seventeen, he had a dream about his future. We love that God brought the visions to fruition and set Joseph up as a powerful leader. Yet we sometimes skim over the fact that it took many years for that to materialize.

Sold by his brothers and sent away to be forgotten forever, Joseph found favor in the eyes of his master, Potiphar. He rose to become the head of Potiphar’s home and was successful in all that he put his hand to. Unfortunately, the story continues with a sexual assault accusation that lands him in prison.

Joseph wins the favor of the warden and rather than succumbing to self-pity and assuming that God had forgotten him, rises to a place of leadership. The Bible says that Joseph was thirty years old when he was plucked out of jail and established as the second-in-command underneath Pharaoh (Genesis 41:41-46).

Our culture loves the story of an underdog rising to the top. Still, we are enamored even more by a quickly rising-star who becomes rich, famous, and influential overnight, because that’s what most people want—instant success.

Often what we see as a delay is really God’s protection. Protection from ourselves and from what would happen if we immediately had the influence, affluence, or power that we dream of. Can you imagine what would have happened if God had taken the cocky seventeen-year-old Joseph and given him the “second-in-command” title? He probably would have made a big mess. Sound familiar?

Other times, the delay isn’t about what God is protecting us from, but what He needs us to do first. Joseph had to learn how to lead, and to do that he had to become a servant. Humility, hard-work, dream interpretation, managing people and money, designing and implementing systems, these were all courses that he was enrolled in. Joseph’s life is a perfect example of what perseverance looks like, as well as what happens when we trust God to move us where He knows we will grow, bless others, and flourish.

It is rare that the dream, or plan, unfolds in the way or the time frame that we envision. Often there are other people who God wants to involve in our story, lessons that we have to learn, and character that must be built (through struggles and overcoming obstacles).

We wrongfully assume that just because we’ve seen a glimpse of the future (in a dream, vision, or through a “word” given to us by a well-meaning leader), that we need to act on it right away. The right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing.

Rarely does God give us the whole picture, this is because He knows we aren’t ready for it. We would take off running on our own, trying to make things happen how we best see fit, instead of trusting that His timing is not just better but the best.

Have you ever experienced the mess of trying to make something happen in your time frame? Is there something you are pursuing, but you know it’s not the right time? Take a moment to give that to God and ask Him to reveal to you when the best time, His time, is to take it back.