Biblical Laws of Partnership with GodSample

William Douglas and Rubens Teixeira: The 25 Biblical Laws of Partnership with God Devotional Day 4

“The Law of Training”

Scripture reading: Hebrews 12:4-13

When God doesn’t change the circumstances, it’s because he wants to change you. So instead of sitting there worrying or whining about your situation, try to see what opportunities are concealed behind your current situation. Take advantage of the moment and the place in which you find yourself and begin to serve and to learn.

The book of Genesis recounts the story of Joseph, the son of Jacob, who suffered a harsh journey in his life but in the end became Egypt’s second-in-command under Pharaoh. 

In Joseph’s youth, he was his father’s favorite child and the target of his brothers’ envy. His brothers conspired against him and sold him to slave traders. Joseph was taken as a slave into the house of a rich Egyptian named Potiphar, where he worked hard and grew older. The Lord was with him and he was made overseer of Potiphar’s house.

After the turn of events from favorite son to favored general manager, Joseph faced a new problem: Potiphar’s wife wished to have an affair with him. Joseph rejected her proposal out of loyalty to God and to his boss. And what was his reward for his honesty? Joseph was thrown into prison unjustly. 

But Joseph didn’t just sit there in prison, complaining about being in a tough spot despite having adhered to the highest values. While in jail, Joseph worked hard and helped the other prisoners by interpreting their dreams without receiving any recognition or gratitude. 

Everything had seemed to go wrong until he was called to Pharaoh’s court and received a surprise ending to his story. Joseph was summoned to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, and he correctly predicted that Egypt should prepare for a period of seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine and shortages. Joseph was freed and became Pharaoh’s right-hand man.

Joseph knew how to take advantage of all the learning opportunities he had in his life. When he was a slave in the house of a rich man, he learned how to manage large amounts of money. And note that being a slave did not keep him from working hard or gaining knowledge. Later, in jail, Joseph learned how to make do with very little. These experiences prepared him to manage the food supply of Egypt during the seven years of plenty as well as the seven lean years.

God put his servant through a very tough version of an MBA, which yielded excellent results. We like the military slogan “Train hard, fight easy.” Do you want to succeed in tough battles? First, you need to submit to training.

The bitter past, more welcome is the sweet.

—Shakespeare