If you read Purposed worKING regularly, you have seen me quote and reference David Wilkerson. Well, he recently wrote something that is so good and so applicable that it warrants being the topic of today's post. Enjoy, "The Joseph Company" by David Wilkerson:
THE JOSEPH COMPANY
Joseph had a vision that his life would be used mightily by God. But that
vision seemed like a pipe dream after his jealous brothers sold him into
slavery. The following years of Joseph’s life were filled with hardship and
injustice. Then, when Joseph seemed to get back on his feet, he was falsely
accused of attempted rape and sent to prison.
Yet, all this time, God was watching over Joseph’s life. And finally, after
years of turmoil, Joseph ended up serving in Pharaoh’s house. Pharaoh
eventually appointed Joseph ruler over all of Egypt.
Beloved, that’s how God works; he was preparing a man to save a remnant.
Indeed, in every generation, the Lord raises up a Joseph Company. He takes
these devoted servants through years of trouble and trials, to prove and
strengthen their faith.
What does this mean? Scripture says it’s what Joseph endured: “He sent a
man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: whose feet they hurt
with fetters: he was laid in iron: until the time that his word came: the word
of the Lord tried him” (Psalm 105:17–19).
The Lord also has a Joseph Company today. These are godly men and women he has
touched and called. They don’t seek fame or fortune. All they want is to live
and die fulfilling the calling God has placed on them. And the Lord promised
their lives would count for his kingdom.
Joseph told his brothers, “God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity
in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not
you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and
lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt” (Genesis
45:7–8).
Joseph could look back over his years of suffering and testify, “God sent me
on this journey. He had a purpose in taking me through all these hardships. I
see now that everything I’ve endured has led up to this moment. Brothers, the
Lord has been preparing me to minister to you. He orchestrated all of these
things, to bring you under his preserving grace as he did with me.”
What an incredible revelation for Joseph. Yet, what is the lesson here for
God’s people today? It is this: Our Lord has preserved us in the past and he
will preserve us in the days ahead. And, most important of all, he has an
eternal purpose behind it all. He preserved you because he has a purpose for
you. He has laid out a divine work ahead of you. And only a tried, tested,
proven believer can accomplish it.
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