WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.040 Welcome to Pamoja Podcast, the place where stronger 00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:07.879 lives are built, faith is strengthened, hearts 00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:11.060 are encouraged, and Christ -centered homes are 00:00:11.060 --> 00:00:14.640 shaped through ordinary conversations that become 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:18.460 extraordinary encounters with God's truth. One 00:00:18.460 --> 00:00:23.300 conversation, one story, one revelation at a 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:27.920 time. I'm your host, Barry Mwamba. And history 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:31.710 has always fascinated us. Generation after generation, 00:00:32.469 --> 00:00:34.750 we write books about remarkable men and women. 00:00:35.210 --> 00:00:38.929 We build museums in their honor. We produce documentaries 00:00:38.929 --> 00:00:42.270 about their lives. We study their leadership. 00:00:42.869 --> 00:00:46.990 We admire their courage. We celebrate their achievements. 00:00:47.810 --> 00:00:51.869 Names like Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years 00:00:51.869 --> 00:00:55.310 in prison before becoming the first democratically 00:00:55.310 --> 00:00:59.490 elected president of South Africa. Abraham Lincoln. 00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:04.140 who endured repeated failures, personal heartbreak, 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:07.799 and political defeat before leading his nation 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:11.379 through one of its darkest chapters. Winston 00:01:11.379 --> 00:01:15.019 Churchill, whose years in political isolation 00:01:15.019 --> 00:01:18.480 prepared him for the hour Britain needed him 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:23.480 most. Corey Ten Boom, whose imprisonment became 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:26.599 a testimony of forgiveness that continues to 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:30.799 inspire millions around the world. History remembers 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:34.000 their victories. History celebrates their influence. 00:01:34.780 --> 00:01:37.879 History honors their legacy. But history often 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:42.659 forgets the fire. It remembers the throne, but 00:01:42.659 --> 00:01:46.260 rarely the prison. It remembers the crown, but 00:01:46.260 --> 00:01:49.959 rarely the cave. It remembers the applause, but 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:53.519 rarely the tears. It remembers the promotion, 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:57.930 but rarely the preparation. Yet if you carefully 00:01:57.930 --> 00:02:00.950 study the lives of those who left a lasting mark 00:02:00.950 --> 00:02:04.530 on the world, you begin to notice something remarkable. 00:02:05.390 --> 00:02:09.469 Great influence is rarely born in comfort. Character 00:02:09.469 --> 00:02:13.810 is rarely formed in convenience. Enduring leadership 00:02:13.810 --> 00:02:18.370 is almost always forged in adversity. The question 00:02:18.370 --> 00:02:23.539 is, why? Is it merely coincidence? that so many 00:02:23.539 --> 00:02:27.000 lives of significance pass through seasons of 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:30.219 suffering before reaching seasons of influence? 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:34.319 Or is there a deeper principle, one that existed 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:37.800 long before history books were written, long 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:41.539 before leadership seminars were created, long 00:02:41.539 --> 00:02:44.819 before psychologists studied resilience, and 00:02:44.819 --> 00:02:48.300 long before the world gave it a name? Open the 00:02:48.300 --> 00:02:51.900 scriptures. and an extraordinary pattern begins 00:02:51.900 --> 00:02:56.800 to emerge. A young man named Joseph dreamed of 00:02:56.800 --> 00:03:00.340 leadership, but before the palace, there was 00:03:00.340 --> 00:03:03.919 a pit. Before the pit could be forgotten, there 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:07.939 was slavery. Before slavery ended, there was 00:03:07.939 --> 00:03:11.979 false accusation. Before freedom arrived, there 00:03:11.979 --> 00:03:15.900 was prison, and only after the prison came the 00:03:15.900 --> 00:03:19.919 throne. David was anointed king. Long before 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:23.560 he ever wore a crown, between the anointing and 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:27.939 the throne stood giants, jealousy, betrayal, 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:33.080 wilderness, and caves. Moses carried a deliverer's 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:37.139 calling, but 40 years passed in a desert before 00:03:37.139 --> 00:03:40.759 he ever stood before Pharaoh. Esther carried 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:44.659 the destiny of a nation, but first she lived 00:03:44.659 --> 00:03:49.819 as an orphan, an exile. A young woman whose future 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:54.099 seemed hidden from everyone except God. Daniel's 00:03:54.099 --> 00:03:57.500 road to influence passed through Babylon. Paul's 00:03:57.500 --> 00:04:00.800 road to the nations passed through years of hidden 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:05.219 preparation. Peter's leadership was forged through 00:04:05.219 --> 00:04:09.719 failure, brokenness, and restoration. And above 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:13.180 all, Jesus Christ, before receiving the name 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:16.540 above every name, walked the road to Calvary. 00:04:16.649 --> 00:04:20.730 Do you see it? Different people. Different generations. 00:04:21.329 --> 00:04:24.670 Different cultures. Different assignments. Yet 00:04:24.670 --> 00:04:28.750 the same pattern. The throne never came before 00:04:28.750 --> 00:04:32.949 the forge. Because throughout scripture, God 00:04:32.949 --> 00:04:36.410 reveals something that changes the way we understand 00:04:36.410 --> 00:04:40.870 our own lives. He is not merely interested in 00:04:40.870 --> 00:04:44.329 giving people assignments. He is first committed. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:48.439 to preparing the people who will carry them. 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:52.519 Perhaps that is why some of the darkest seasons 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:56.240 in the lives of God's people became the very 00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:59.279 places where he was shaping them for something 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:04.459 they could not yet see. The prison was not separate 00:05:04.459 --> 00:05:08.000 from Joseph's assignment. The wilderness was 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:12.220 not separate from Moses' calling. The cave was 00:05:12.220 --> 00:05:15.649 not separate from David's kingdom. The cross 00:05:15.649 --> 00:05:19.550 was not the end of Christ's mission. It became 00:05:19.550 --> 00:05:22.009 the doorway through which redemption entered 00:05:22.009 --> 00:05:26.250 the world. What if the fire you have been praying 00:05:26.250 --> 00:05:30.269 to escape is the very place where God is preparing 00:05:30.269 --> 00:05:34.750 you for your future assignment? What if your 00:05:34.750 --> 00:05:38.329 greatest season of confusion is not evidence 00:05:38.329 --> 00:05:42.279 that God has abandoned his purpose? but evidence 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:46.000 that He has already begun preparing you for it. 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:49.839 Today, we begin a journey through one of the 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:53.899 most beautiful, encouraging, and life -changing 00:05:53.899 --> 00:05:57.680 patterns found in all of scripture. A journey 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.459 that will forever change the way you look at 00:06:00.459 --> 00:06:05.500 trials, waiting, disappointment, and even your 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:08.959 greatest battles. Because if the Bible teaches 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:13.500 us anything, It is this, God never wastes the 00:06:13.500 --> 00:06:16.720 forge, because he never wastes the assignment. 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:21.579 There is one question that has echoed through 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:24.860 every generation, a question whispered through 00:06:24.860 --> 00:06:29.500 tears, asked in hospital rooms, spoken in lonely 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:33.220 prison cells, cried out in seasons of disappointment, 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:36.740 and repeated by countless believers who sincerely 00:06:36.740 --> 00:06:40.879 love God, Lord. Why am I going through this? 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:45.879 Why the delay? Why the rejection? Why the misunderstanding? 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:50.300 Why the betrayal? Why the waiting? Why the fire? 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:53.899 If you have called me, why does the road seem 00:06:53.899 --> 00:06:57.699 so difficult? If you are with me, why does it 00:06:57.699 --> 00:07:01.259 feel like I am walking through darkness? Those 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:05.680 questions are not new. Joseph asked them. David 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:09.509 lived them. Jeremiah cried them. Job wrestled 00:07:09.509 --> 00:07:13.370 with them even John the Baptist sitting in prison 00:07:13.370 --> 00:07:17.269 sent messengers to Jesus asking Are you the one 00:07:17.269 --> 00:07:20.990 who was to come or should we expect someone else? 00:07:21.970 --> 00:07:25.509 Faithful people have always wrestled with difficult 00:07:25.509 --> 00:07:29.129 seasons, but perhaps We have been asking the 00:07:29.129 --> 00:07:33.050 wrong question Perhaps a question is not Lord. 00:07:33.389 --> 00:07:36.790 Why am I going through this? Perhaps a question 00:07:36.790 --> 00:07:40.819 should be Lord, what are you preparing me for? 00:07:41.540 --> 00:07:45.220 That one question changes everything, because 00:07:45.220 --> 00:07:49.040 God does not see our lives the way we do. We 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:52.879 measure our lives by events. God measures our 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:57.500 lives by preparation. We celebrate arrival. God 00:07:57.500 --> 00:08:01.420 values formation. We become excited about platforms. 00:08:01.939 --> 00:08:04.819 God is concerned about character. We pray for 00:08:04.819 --> 00:08:08.029 promotion. God prepares us for responsibility 00:08:08.029 --> 00:08:11.509 because God knows something we often forget. 00:08:12.089 --> 00:08:16.490 An assignment is only as effective as the person 00:08:16.490 --> 00:08:20.370 carrying it. The greatest danger is not receiving 00:08:20.370 --> 00:08:24.069 an assignment too late. The greatest danger is 00:08:24.069 --> 00:08:27.649 receiving it too early. Imagine placing the crown 00:08:27.649 --> 00:08:32.990 of Israel on David's head the day Samuel anointed 00:08:32.990 --> 00:08:36.840 him. He would have worn the crown without learning 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:40.379 humility, without learning dependence upon God, 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:43.500 without learning to forgive, without learning 00:08:43.500 --> 00:08:46.899 to lead, without learning that victory belongs 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:51.019 to the Lord. The throne would have destroyed 00:08:51.019 --> 00:08:55.899 the man. So God did not simply prepare a kingdom 00:08:55.899 --> 00:08:59.820 for David. God prepared David for the kingdom. 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:03.679 The same was true for Joseph. Pharaoh needed 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:07.019 someone who could lead Egypt through the greatest 00:09:07.019 --> 00:09:11.799 famine in history. But dreams alone do not prepare 00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:15.980 a ruler. Knowledge alone does not prepare a ruler. 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:19.679 Even gifting alone does not prepare a ruler. 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:25.139 Character does. Wisdom does. Humility does. Faithfulness 00:09:25.139 --> 00:09:29.700 does. Those qualities cannot be learned in comfort. 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:33.809 They are forged. Forged in places where no one 00:09:33.809 --> 00:09:37.669 applauds. Forged in places where no one notices. 00:09:38.070 --> 00:09:42.429 Forged in places where only God sees what he 00:09:42.429 --> 00:09:47.269 is creating. And isn't that exactly how a blacksmith 00:09:47.269 --> 00:09:51.269 works? He never places steel into the fire because 00:09:51.269 --> 00:09:54.850 he hates the steel. He places it there because 00:09:54.850 --> 00:09:58.929 he sees what the steel can become. The fire does 00:09:58.929 --> 00:10:03.000 not create the vision. The fire reveals it the 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:06.720 hammer does not destroy the metal it shapes it 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:11.919 again and again and again fire pressure cooling 00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:15.940 back into the fire more shaping more strengthening 00:10:15.940 --> 00:10:20.600 until one day what entered the forge as ordinary 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:24.720 metal leaves carrying a purpose it could never 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:28.720 have fulfilled without the fire perhaps that 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:32.080 is why Peter writes Do not be surprised at the 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:35.700 fiery trial that has come upon you to test you 00:10:35.700 --> 00:10:38.679 as though something strange were happening to 00:10:38.679 --> 00:10:43.259 you. Peter knew he had lived it. The man who 00:10:43.259 --> 00:10:47.659 once denied Jesus became the apostle who boldly 00:10:47.659 --> 00:10:50.899 proclaimed Christ before kings and councils. 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:55.740 He too had been forged. Throughout scripture, 00:10:56.110 --> 00:10:59.470 God never calls people because they are already 00:10:59.470 --> 00:11:03.529 finished. He calls them and then he forms them. 00:11:03.610 --> 00:11:07.370 He anoints them and then he prepares them. He 00:11:07.370 --> 00:11:11.269 gives them a promise and then he builds the person 00:11:11.269 --> 00:11:15.490 who can faithfully carry that promise. That is 00:11:15.490 --> 00:11:20.289 why the distance between the promise and its 00:11:20.289 --> 00:11:25.429 fulfillment is often called preparation and maybe 00:11:25.580 --> 00:11:28.899 That is where some of you are today. You are 00:11:28.899 --> 00:11:32.399 not being forgotten. You are not being abandoned. 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:35.580 You are not living through meaningless delays. 00:11:36.120 --> 00:11:40.179 You are standing inside the forge. Not because 00:11:40.179 --> 00:11:43.779 God is punishing you, but because God refuses 00:11:43.779 --> 00:11:48.620 to send you into your future without first preparing 00:11:48.620 --> 00:11:52.379 you for it. Because the God who prepares the 00:11:52.379 --> 00:11:56.279 assignment always prepares the servant before 00:11:56.279 --> 00:11:59.480 revealing the full weight of the assignment. 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:03.580 Now that we understand why God prepares His people, 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:07.679 another question naturally arises. How does He 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:11.779 do it? Why did Joseph need a prison, David a 00:12:11.779 --> 00:12:15.740 cave, Moses a wilderness, and Esther an exile? 00:12:16.419 --> 00:12:19.279 Were those painful seasons merely unfortunate 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:23.190 events? or were they carefully woven into God's 00:12:23.190 --> 00:12:27.909 preparation? Let's open the scriptures and begin 00:12:27.909 --> 00:12:31.289 with a young dreamer who thought his journey 00:12:31.289 --> 00:12:35.789 to the throne would begin in a palace, but instead, 00:12:36.169 --> 00:12:41.289 God led him to a pit. There is something fascinating 00:12:41.289 --> 00:12:44.529 about the life of Joseph. Most people remember 00:12:44.529 --> 00:12:49.029 the dreams, the colorful robe, the pit, the prison. 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:52.779 the palace, but I believe many people miss the 00:12:52.779 --> 00:12:56.799 greatest lesson hidden within his story. Joseph's 00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:59.879 life was never simply moving from one location 00:12:59.879 --> 00:13:04.179 to another. God was moving Joseph from one version 00:13:04.179 --> 00:13:08.299 of himself to another. When Joseph received the 00:13:08.299 --> 00:13:12.799 dreams, he was only 17 years old. He was sincere. 00:13:13.460 --> 00:13:16.940 He loved God. He possessed extraordinary favor. 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:20.419 He carried a divine calling, but although he 00:13:20.419 --> 00:13:24.019 possessed the dream, the dream had not yet produced 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:28.019 the man. The assignment already existed. The 00:13:28.019 --> 00:13:31.799 person was still being prepared. That changes 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:36.220 the entire story, because suddenly, the pit was 00:13:36.220 --> 00:13:39.320 no longer simply a tragedy. It became the first 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:43.620 classroom. Slavery was no longer merely injustice. 00:13:44.419 --> 00:13:48.120 It became another classroom. Potiphar's house 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:52.340 became another classroom. False accusation, another 00:13:52.340 --> 00:13:56.799 classroom. Prison, another classroom. Every place 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:01.240 was teaching Joseph something Egypt never could. 00:14:01.539 --> 00:14:04.980 Imagine if Joseph had become prime minister the 00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:08.100 week after receiving the dreams. Would he have 00:14:08.100 --> 00:14:11.240 understood broken people? Would he have learned 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:13.940 humility? Would he have resisted bitterness? 00:14:14.429 --> 00:14:17.629 Would he have managed power wisely? Would he 00:14:17.629 --> 00:14:20.529 have recognized that authority belongs to God? 00:14:21.409 --> 00:14:26.190 Probably not. Because character cannot be downloaded. 00:14:26.730 --> 00:14:30.409 It must be developed. And development takes time. 00:14:30.789 --> 00:14:34.289 Sometimes more time than we would ever choose. 00:14:35.169 --> 00:14:38.629 That is why Genesis never says, God abandoned 00:14:38.629 --> 00:14:43.169 Joseph. In fact, the Bible repeatedly says something 00:14:43.169 --> 00:14:46.330 remarkable. The Lord was with Joseph. Notice 00:14:46.330 --> 00:14:49.330 where scripture says that, not only in the palace, 00:14:49.529 --> 00:14:52.429 not only during promotion, not only after the 00:14:52.429 --> 00:14:56.769 dreams came true. It says it in slavery. It says 00:14:56.769 --> 00:15:01.429 it in prison. God's presence did not wait for 00:15:01.429 --> 00:15:05.070 Joseph's promotion. His presence accompanied 00:15:05.070 --> 00:15:09.490 Joseph through the preparation. That alone should 00:15:09.490 --> 00:15:13.159 encourage someone listening today. Perhaps You 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:17.600 have mistaken the absence of promotion for the 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:21.860 absence of God. Joseph would tell you those are 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:25.639 not the same thing. Sometimes God is closest 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:29.679 in the very season where nothing around you appears 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:34.440 to be changing. Then there is another detail 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:38.639 that has always amazed me. Joseph never stopped 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:42.080 being Joseph. He served in Potiphar's house. 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:46.700 with excellence. He served in prison with excellence. 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:50.960 He interpreted dreams without demanding recognition. 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:54.919 He remained faithful when no one was watching. 00:15:55.340 --> 00:15:58.120 That is one of the greatest marks of someone 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:02.360 being forged. Because faithfulness, that depends 00:16:02.360 --> 00:16:07.220 upon recognition, is not yet mature. True faithfulness 00:16:07.220 --> 00:16:12.470 continues, whether anyone applauds or not. Joseph 00:16:12.470 --> 00:16:15.889 did not prepare himself for Pharaoh. He simply 00:16:15.889 --> 00:16:19.889 remained faithful where God had placed him. And 00:16:19.889 --> 00:16:23.750 one morning, everything changed. Not because 00:16:23.750 --> 00:16:27.309 Joseph chased the throne, but because the throne 00:16:27.309 --> 00:16:31.929 was finally ready for the Joseph. God had finished 00:16:31.929 --> 00:16:36.230 preparing. Think about that. The palace was never 00:16:36.230 --> 00:16:40.669 Joseph's miracle. Joseph had become the miracle. 00:16:41.230 --> 00:16:44.750 The prison had already accomplished its purpose. 00:16:45.169 --> 00:16:48.850 The forge had completed its work. And when the 00:16:48.850 --> 00:16:52.950 moment came, God did not need years to elevate 00:16:52.950 --> 00:16:57.610 Joseph. He did it in a single day. One moment, 00:16:57.970 --> 00:17:00.950 Joseph was wearing prison clothes. A few hours 00:17:00.950 --> 00:17:05.410 later, he wore Pharaoh's signet ring. One conversation, 00:17:05.890 --> 00:17:09.829 one interpretation, one divine appointment. and 00:17:09.829 --> 00:17:13.789 decades of preparation suddenly became visible. 00:17:14.230 --> 00:17:17.950 Never confuse the speed of your promotion with 00:17:17.950 --> 00:17:21.789 the length of God's preparation. He may prepare 00:17:21.789 --> 00:17:26.630 you for years and then accomplish in one day 00:17:26.630 --> 00:17:30.490 what no human effort could achieve in a lifetime. 00:17:31.150 --> 00:17:34.990 That is how God works. He prepares quietly before 00:17:34.990 --> 00:17:38.670 He reveals publicly. He builds deeply. Before 00:17:38.670 --> 00:17:42.410 he elevates visibly he forges secretly before 00:17:42.410 --> 00:17:47.049 he entrusts openly and perhaps that is why The 00:17:47.049 --> 00:17:51.369 prison was never Joseph's greatest obstacle it 00:17:51.369 --> 00:17:57.049 became the doorway to his future assignment Joseph 00:17:57.049 --> 00:18:00.670 was not the exception. He was the pattern because 00:18:00.670 --> 00:18:04.890 after Joseph God did exactly the same thing again 00:18:04.890 --> 00:18:08.869 this time not with the prisoner but with a shepherd, 00:18:09.230 --> 00:18:12.809 not in a prison, but in a wilderness, not before 00:18:12.809 --> 00:18:17.569 Pharaoh, but before a giant. His name was David. 00:18:18.089 --> 00:18:22.529 And once again, God would prove that before he 00:18:22.529 --> 00:18:26.890 entrusts a throne, he first forges the heart 00:18:26.890 --> 00:18:32.049 that will sit upon it. If Joseph had been the 00:18:32.049 --> 00:18:35.849 only person who walked through the forge, perhaps 00:18:35.849 --> 00:18:39.650 we could call his story an exception. But the 00:18:39.650 --> 00:18:43.089 moment we continue reading the Bible, we discover 00:18:43.089 --> 00:18:47.950 Joseph was never the exception. He was the pattern. 00:18:48.569 --> 00:18:52.670 David was the same. Samuel poured oil upon his 00:18:52.670 --> 00:18:56.049 head. God declared him the future king of Israel. 00:18:56.470 --> 00:18:59.809 The assignment was announced, but the throne 00:18:59.809 --> 00:19:03.710 did not immediately follow. Instead, God led 00:19:03.710 --> 00:19:07.779 him back to the sheep. Think about that. Imagine 00:19:07.779 --> 00:19:12.039 being anointed king, only to return to the same 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:16.640 field, the same sheep, the same ordinary responsibilities. 00:19:17.380 --> 00:19:21.299 Nothing appeared to change, except David. Because 00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:25.460 while everyone else was waiting for a king, God 00:19:25.460 --> 00:19:29.359 was preparing one. The wilderness became David's 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:32.900 classroom. The lion was not simply an attack, 00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:37.190 it was preparation. The bear, was not simply 00:19:37.190 --> 00:19:41.329 another danger, it was preparation. Goliath was 00:19:41.329 --> 00:19:44.950 not merely a battle, it was preparation. Even 00:19:44.950 --> 00:19:48.970 Saul's jealousy became preparation. The caves 00:19:48.970 --> 00:19:53.150 became preparation. The years of running became 00:19:53.150 --> 00:19:56.890 preparation. David was learning how to trust 00:19:56.890 --> 00:20:01.349 God when nothing around him made sense. He was 00:20:01.349 --> 00:20:04.930 learning how to lead before anyone called him 00:20:04.930 --> 00:20:08.970 king. He was learning how to worship while living 00:20:08.970 --> 00:20:12.349 in uncertainty. He was learning how to spare 00:20:12.349 --> 00:20:16.009 the very man who wanted to kill him. Because 00:20:16.009 --> 00:20:20.809 one day, David himself would hold power and God 00:20:20.809 --> 00:20:24.069 wanted to know what kind of king he would become. 00:20:24.730 --> 00:20:29.109 The cave prepared the throne. Then comes Moses 00:20:29.109 --> 00:20:32.470 raised in Pharaoh's palace, educated in Egypt, 00:20:32.849 --> 00:20:36.200 strong, passionate. ready to deliver Israel, 00:20:36.500 --> 00:20:39.599 at least according to his own understanding. 00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:43.359 But God saw something Moses could not yet see. 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:46.859 He possessed passion. He lacked preparation. 00:20:47.359 --> 00:20:51.579 One day, Moses tried to accomplish God's assignment 00:20:51.579 --> 00:20:55.640 through human strength. The result was failure. 00:20:56.119 --> 00:21:00.700 He fled into the wilderness. 40 years. 40 silent 00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:04.970 years. 40 years. That must have looked like wasted 00:21:04.970 --> 00:21:09.089 time, forty years, that probably appeared to 00:21:09.089 --> 00:21:13.069 have buried his calling forever. Yet those forty 00:21:13.069 --> 00:21:17.150 years were never wasted. The prince became a 00:21:17.150 --> 00:21:20.930 shepherd. The confident man became the humble 00:21:20.930 --> 00:21:25.109 servant who would later say, I am not able. The 00:21:25.109 --> 00:21:28.990 man who once believed he was ready became the 00:21:28.990 --> 00:21:33.789 man. God could finally send because God's assignments 00:21:33.980 --> 00:21:37.240 are never carried by human confidence alone. 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:41.440 They are carried by people who have learned to 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:45.460 depend completely upon him. Then comes Esther, 00:21:45.779 --> 00:21:49.460 an orphan living in exile, far from the promised 00:21:49.460 --> 00:21:53.359 land. Nothing about her life suggested she would 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:57.220 influence an empire. Yet every hidden chapter 00:21:57.220 --> 00:22:01.180 was moving her toward one unforgettable moment. 00:22:01.779 --> 00:22:05.839 For such a time as this, Notice something. God 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:08.960 did not prepare Esther the day Haman issued his 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:12.519 decree. He had been preparing her long before. 00:22:13.420 --> 00:22:16.619 The crisis arrived because that is how God works. 00:22:17.180 --> 00:22:20.759 He prepares his servants before their assignment 00:22:20.759 --> 00:22:24.059 arrives. Now step back and look at them together. 00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:29.700 Joseph, David, Moses, Esther. Different stories, 00:22:30.339 --> 00:22:32.700 different generations, different circumstances. 00:22:33.069 --> 00:22:37.130 The same God, the same forge, the same preparation, 00:22:37.950 --> 00:22:41.930 the same principle. God never prepared the assignment 00:22:41.930 --> 00:22:46.329 first. He prepared the servant. And suddenly, 00:22:46.950 --> 00:22:49.869 perhaps your own story begins to make a little 00:22:49.869 --> 00:22:53.569 more sense. Maybe the waiting has not been punishment. 00:22:54.309 --> 00:22:57.970 Maybe the delay has not been rejection. Maybe 00:22:57.970 --> 00:23:02.490 the fire has not been abandonment. Perhaps. God 00:23:02.490 --> 00:23:06.569 has been doing what he has always done, forging 00:23:06.569 --> 00:23:10.049 his servant before revealing the full weight 00:23:10.049 --> 00:23:15.130 of the assignment. As we close this first conversation, 00:23:16.130 --> 00:23:19.890 I want to leave you with one thought. Stop asking, 00:23:20.769 --> 00:23:24.710 Lord, when will my assignment begin? Perhaps 00:23:24.710 --> 00:23:29.390 it already has. Perhaps the forge is the first 00:23:29.390 --> 00:23:32.720 chapter of your assignment. Because every prison, 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:37.299 every cave, every wilderness, every season of 00:23:37.299 --> 00:23:40.880 waiting, every misunderstood moment, every faithful 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:44.920 act that no one applauded may be part of God's 00:23:44.920 --> 00:23:49.259 preparation for something you cannot yet see. 00:23:49.819 --> 00:23:53.400 Never measure God's faithfulness by your current 00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:56.940 location. Joseph measured it from the throne. 00:23:57.440 --> 00:24:01.049 David measured it from the kingdom. Moses measured 00:24:01.049 --> 00:24:05.150 it at the Red Sea. Esther measured it after a 00:24:05.150 --> 00:24:09.130 nation was saved. And we measure it at an empty 00:24:09.130 --> 00:24:13.650 tomb. Because the greatest forge in history was 00:24:13.650 --> 00:24:17.049 never the prison. It was never the cave. It was 00:24:17.049 --> 00:24:21.170 never the wilderness. It was a rugged cross outside 00:24:21.170 --> 00:24:24.970 Jerusalem. When the world believed Jesus had 00:24:24.970 --> 00:24:28.809 lost, God was accomplishing the greatest victory. 00:24:29.019 --> 00:24:33.359 History would ever know, never judge, God's work 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:37.960 by Friday. He has already prepared Sunday, and 00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:42.059 perhaps one day you will look back at the very 00:24:42.059 --> 00:24:46.859 season you begged God to remove, only to discover 00:24:46.859 --> 00:24:51.000 it was the place where He forged you for your 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:57.099 future assignment. As we close this first conversation, 00:24:57.740 --> 00:25:02.029 one truth has become impossible to ignore. Joseph 00:25:02.029 --> 00:25:06.049 was not the exception. David was not the exception. 00:25:06.450 --> 00:25:10.470 They were part of a divine pattern, a pattern 00:25:10.470 --> 00:25:13.769 that has echoed throughout the pages of scripture, 00:25:14.269 --> 00:25:18.549 from Genesis to Revelation. Because before God 00:25:18.549 --> 00:25:22.150 entrusts great assignments, he first forges his 00:25:22.150 --> 00:25:26.049 servants. But Joseph's prison and David's caves 00:25:26.049 --> 00:25:29.839 are only the beginning. There are still wildernesses 00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:34.019 to explore, burning bushes, exiles, lion's dens, 00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:39.019 fiery furnaces, prisons, storms, crosses, and 00:25:39.019 --> 00:25:42.779 in every one of them, the same God is doing the 00:25:42.779 --> 00:25:46.720 same work. Join me in our next conversation as 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:49.819 we continue uncovering this extraordinary biblical 00:25:49.819 --> 00:25:53.299 pattern through the life of Moses, because what 00:25:53.299 --> 00:25:57.609 looked like 40 years of silence was actually 00:25:57.609 --> 00:26:02.990 40 years of preparation. The wilderness was never 00:26:02.990 --> 00:26:07.230 the interruption of Moses' calling. It became 00:26:07.230 --> 00:26:12.750 the forge of his future assignment. Until then, 00:26:13.769 --> 00:26:20.309 remember this, God never wastes the forge, because 00:26:20.309 --> 00:26:23.430 he never wastes the assignment.