When You Aren't Sure of God's DirectionSample

 REFINE YOURSELF

You and I live in a time where we can get almost anything we want quickly. But we have to understand that God isn’t moved by our time schedule. If you don’t believe that, just look how long He’s been saying that Jesus will return “soon.” Apparently, God’s idea of soon, and ours, are vastly different. He’s just not in a hurry! He’s got perfect timing. He can see the big picture when you and I can’t.

Besides that, very often we’re simply not ready for the next step, and He knows it. Your Heavenly Father loves you and wants you to succeed. 

You might feel like you’re ready. Ready for ministry, or ready for marriage; ready to move away, or ready for that new job. But the real truth is, you might not be ready! You might still need some work—some experience, some refining, some character development, some wisdom, some education. And God knows exactly how to bring you along—how to take out of you what needs to be taken out and how to put into you what needs to be put in—in order for you to be successful. 

I fully believe that’s what He did with Joseph (Genesis 37-50), who had to spend time in a pit, as a slave, and in prison, before being exalted to his position as second-in-command over all of Egypt. God was teaching him so many things. Joseph was a bit cocky as a youth; he needed a few lessons in humility. He also needed to learn important things that were necessary to know when helping to run a country, like how an Egyptian household runs, and how criminals and con men think. He got all that during his time of preparation. 

It wasn’t an easy time for Joseph, being a slave and being imprisoned, but it was necessary in order to be in the right place to rescue his people from starvation. In Genesis 50:20 Joseph told his brothers, “...you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” 

Ask God to help you refine yourself and be better prepared for your next assignment. Be determined to follow His leading, and/or to just sit tight and bloom where you’re planted until you know it’s time to step out.