November 27,2020
The Law of Process
My beloved child, the spirit of pride, will delay your process. Everything in life is a test. If you fail life’s tests, I can see – God stamp it, ‘Retake!’ You get to retake the test until you get the lesson! Every decision you make will create opportunities for you to take tests. I don’t know about you, but I decided when I was fifty-three years old, I know longer have to learn everything the hard way; I can learn from others’ mistakes – that’s the part of the value of having a mentor.
A spirit of pride or arrogance is an ugly thing. Joseph was too arrogant and prideful for his good. He was the youngest child, his father favored him, and he received special treatment. (Genesis 37:3) Joseph liked to rub it in with his brother’s. That created envy and jealousy among them, and they hated him. When he was seventeen, God gave Joseph a dream revealing to him that he would one day lead his family – his eleven brothers and his parents, and thoughtlessly told everyone. (Genesis 37:4) Jacob, his father, reprimanded him twice. His brothers wanted to take revenge on him, and they did. (Genesis 37:10-11)
Joseph lacked experience, wisdom, and humility, which are three-character traits you gain over time. Success will come when your character has been established without compromise. Joseph lacked character at his young age. The first test Joseph got to pass was the pride test! Read Genesis 37-39, and you will watch as time and experience shape his life, the character is established, and his leadership skills are developed.
You don’t know what you don’t know. Everyone begins in a state of ignorance, and Joseph was no exception. He was clueless about understanding the underlying forces of his family. He didn’t think about how his brothers might react when he told them about his dream. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him. (Genesis 37:4) Then he had another dream where the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to him, and he told his brothers. (Genesis 37:9) Joseph spoke without regard to his brothers, and it cost him more than two decades of isolation and dissension with his family.
It took a life-changing incident to get Joseph’s attention and start him on the road to change. Thrown into slavery in Egypt, he began to learn what he didn’t know. He came to understand that leadership is difficult and carries a huge weight of responsibility. Over the years, Joseph suffered betrayal and learned hard lessons in life, relationships, and leadership. The process molded his character, and he became humble and patient, recognizing God as his source of blessing and power. Leaders who show great skill when opportunities arise shine only because they paid the price of preparation. When Pharaoh finally called Joseph, the young man performed with excellence and great wisdom. He succeeded because he paid the price for 13 years in prison. Joseph worked hard, gained wisdom and discernment, and got promoted to second in command of the most powerful nation on the earth at the time. It’s essential to pass the tests; it speeds up our process!
Declare this with me:
Father God I repent for even a trace of pride and arrogance in me and I ask you to forgive me. I know you hate pride. Pride goes before a destruction, and a haughty spirit before the fall. (Proverbs 16:18) I humble myself in your presence. I declare I want to pass the pride test with flying colors. I declare and decree I will never forget where I came from. Create in me a clean
Heart and renew a right spirit within me in Jesus all-powerful name.
