Welcome back to our continuing conversation on
Refine for a Purpose. In our last conversation,
we talked about the places and circumstances
God can use in our process. Sometimes the place
that once preserved us is not the place where
God intends us to remain. Sometimes God says,
stay and grow. Sometimes stay and forgive. Sometimes
stay and learn. sometimes wait, and sometimes
move. We discovered that discomfort does not
always mean that something has gone wrong. Sometimes
discomfort can become part of God's process of
preparation and repositioning. And we learned
not to judge a season simply by how uncomfortable
it feels, but to ask, God, what are you saying
through this season? Because temporary, does
not mean meaningless. And sometimes, before God
changes the place around us, there is something
He wants to change within us. But today, I want
us to go one step further. Because there are
moments in life when you look at what happened
to you and there is simply no way to call it
good. It hurt. It disappointed you. Someone betrayed
you. Someone lied about you. Someone walked away
from you. Someone deliberately tried to hurt
you. You lost something you thought you needed.
A door closed that you desperately wanted to
remain open. You made decisions you wish you
could change. You experienced seasons that left
you asking God, why did you allow this? And sometimes,
as Christians we rush too quickly to say, everything
happens for a reason. But when you are the person
going through it, that sentence can feel very
different. because some things really were meant
for evil. Joseph never denied that. When he finally
stood before the brothers who had betrayed him,
he did not rewrite history. He did not call their
betrayal love. He did not pretend that selling
him into slavery was necessary behavior. He did
not excuse what they had done. He looked directly
at them and said, you meant evil against me.
but God meant it for good. Genesis 50 -20. There
are two intentions in that sentence. You meant
it. God meant it. The same event. Two different
intentions. And that distinction changes everything.
And that is where I want us to continue today.
Because perhaps there are things in your life
that you have been interpreting only according
to what people intended. You know what they wanted.
You know what they tried to do. You know what
happened. You know how much it hurt. But maybe
you still don't know what God intends to do with
it. So today, our continuing conversation on
refining for a purpose is, you meant for evil,
but God meant it for good. And now, listen to
me carefully. They had a plan, but God had a
purpose. Joseph's brothers had a plan. Originally,
Some wanted to kill him. Eventually, they sold
him. They wanted to remove him. They wanted to
silence the dream. They wanted Joseph out of
their lives. From their perspective, getting
rid of Joseph would solve the problem. But they
did not understand something. They could touch
Joseph. But they could not cancel what God had
spoken concerning Joseph. They could remove his
coat. They could throw him into the pit. They
could sell him to strangers. They could separate
him from his father. They could change his immediate
circumstances. But they could not separate him
from the purpose of God. And perhaps that is
where somebody listening to me today needs to
begin. People can make decisions that affect
your life. People can hurt you. People can reject
you. People can lie about you. People can misunderstand
you. People can close doors People can even temporarily
change your circumstances, but nobody possesses
enough authority to rewrite what God has purposed
concerning your life and understand me carefully.
That does not mean everything people do to you
comes from God. Joseph did not call their betrayal
good. Their intention was evil. God's intention
was good. That distinction matters. Christianity
does not require us to call evil good. in order
to believe in the providence of God. Their intentions
do not have to become God's intentions for God
to remain sovereign over the outcome. And now
consider this. The pit didn't look like purpose.
We know Joseph's ending. That makes his story
easier for us to read. We know Egypt is coming.
We know Pharaoh is coming. We know promotion
is coming. We know the famine is coming. We know
his brothers will eventually stand before him,
but Joseph didn't know any of that while he was
sitting in the pit. And that is important, because
providence usually makes more sense looking backward
than living forward. When you're in the pit,
all you see is the pit. When you're serving in
Potiphar's house, you don't necessarily know
why you're there. When you're falsely accused,
You don't see how the accusation fits anything
God promised. When you're sitting in prison after
doing the right thing, you may even begin wondering
whether doing the right thing was worth it. But
God was working through a story Joseph could
not yet understand. The pit moved Joseph toward
Egypt. Egypt moved Joseph into Potiphar's house.
Potiphar's house developed responsibility. The
false accusation moved Joseph into prison. Prison
connected Joseph with Pharaoh's officials. One
encounter in prison eventually created a connection
to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh positioned Joseph exactly
where he needed to be before the famine arrived.
Joseph couldn't see the chain while he was living
inside it. But God could. And maybe that is where
you are right now. Maybe you are looking at one
piece of your life and trying to understand the
entire picture. But hear me, you don't know what
God is working behind the scenes. This is where
faith becomes difficult. We want God to explain
himself while he is working. We want to know
why this, why now, why them? Why did you allow
it? Why didn't you stop it? Why did that door
close? Why did I have to experience that disappointment?
Why did I have to go through this particular
fire? But sometimes God does not give us the
explanation while the story is unfolding. Sometimes
he asks us to trust the author while he is still
writing. Joseph spent years living inside circumstances
that seemed completely disconnected from his
dream. Yet heaven had not forgotten Joseph. God
was working behind scenes Joseph could not see.
And while Joseph was being prepared, God was
also preparing circumstances around him. A famine
Joseph knew nothing about was coming. A nation
would need administration. His family would need
preservation. Entire populations would need food.
And suddenly we discover that the dream God had
given Joseph years earlier was connected to something
much larger than Joseph's personal success. Joseph
may initially have understood the dream in terms
of what would happen to him. Eventually he discovered
that his position was about what God intended
to accomplish through him. Listen again to Genesis
50 -20. There it is, purpose. God wasn't merely
trying to make Joseph successful. God was positioning
Joseph to preserve lives, and this is important
because sometimes your purpose is bigger than
your pain. Think about Joseph arriving at the
palace. Imagine if Joseph had arrived there bitter.
Imagine a wounded man with enormous authority.
Imagine a betrayed man controlling the food supply.
Imagine a man carrying unresolved hatred suddenly
possessing governmental power. Joseph could have
become dangerous. He eventually possessed enough
authority to retaliate against the very people
who had hurt him. But perhaps this is another
reason the refining process mattered. God wasn't
simply bringing Joseph to power. God was developing
the man who would know what to do with power
when he received it. The pit was doing something.
Potiphar's house was doing something. The false
accusation was doing something. The prison was
doing something. The waiting was doing something.
God was developing character while positioning
purpose. And eventually, Joseph could stand before
the very people who had hurt him while possessing
enough authority to destroy them. and choose
preservation instead. That is refinement. The
greatest evidence that Joseph had been transformed
wasn't merely that he reached the palace, it
was what kind of man stood in the palace once
he got there. And this is why I keep telling
you throughout this season, God doesn't waste
the fire. Some fires come through opposition,
some through disappointment, some through consequences,
some through our own mistakes. Some through circumstances
completely beyond our control. And we must be
careful here. Romans 8 28 does not tell us that
everything that happens to us is good. It tells
us that all things work together for good to
those who love God and are called according to
His purpose. There is a difference. The betrayal
wasn't good. The slavery wasn't good. The false
accusation wasn't good. The imprisonment wasn't
good. But God was able to take what was not good
and weave it into something that Ultimately served
his purpose that is Providence God does not need
evil to become good in order to bring good out
of it And that means you don't have to rename
what hurt you you don't have to pretend betrayal
wasn't betrayal You don't have to call injustice
justice. You don't have to pretend your mistake
wasn't a mistake You don't have to deny your
disappointment. You can acknowledge what happened
and still declare, this will not have the final
word over my life. But now I want to take this
somewhere even more personal. Because sometimes
the fire wasn't started by somebody else. Sometimes
we participated in creating it. And somebody
needs to hear this. Even your failure doesn't
automatically exempt you from purpose. Sometimes
we made the wrong decision. Sometimes we spoke
when we should have remained quiet. Sometimes
we trusted the wrong person. Sometimes pride
influenced us. Sometimes anger controlled us.
Sometimes we ignored wisdom. Sometimes we compromised.
Sometimes we simply messed up. And afterward
we wonder, have I destroyed God's purpose for
my life? But scripture repeatedly shows us something
remarkable. God knew the weaknesses of the people
he called before he called them. God knew Abraham
would struggle. God knew Jacob's character. God
knew Moses would become angry. God knew David
would fail. God knew Peter would deny Jesus.
Jesus even told Peter beforehand that before
the rooster crowed, Peter would deny him three
times. And yet Jesus could still speak about
Peter's future. Why? Because Peter's failure
surprised Peter. It did not surprise Jesus. Now
hear me carefully. This is not permission to
sin. This is not an excuse for irresponsibility.
Choices have consequences. Sin requires repentance.
Character requires correction. And sometimes
restoration requires a painful process. But God's
foreknowledge means He does not suddenly discover
our weaknesses after calling us. He already knew.
And somehow, through mercy, correction, repentance,
discipline, grace, and refinement, God continues
His work. Look at Jacob. Because sometimes, your
name doesn't have to become your destiny. Jacob's
life carried struggle, manipulation, deception,
and running. He deceived. He was deceived. He
manipulated. He struggled. But eventually, Jacob
had an encounter with God. And God changed his
name. Israel. The man who entered that encounter
was not supposed to leave exactly as he entered.
That is refinement. Sometimes God doesn't merely
want to change your circumstances. He wants to
change the person walking through those circumstances.
Because one of the greatest dangers would be
arriving at your purpose. carrying the same character
that could destroy it. And this is why I need
somebody listening to me today to stop making
permanent conclusions about temporary chapters.
Stop writing the final chapter in the middle
of the story. The pit feels permanent. The prison
feels permanent. The rejection feels permanent.
The failure feels permanent. The disappointment
feels permanent. And we begin saying, my life
is over. I missed God. I will never recover.
This destroyed everything. But Joseph teaches
us something different. Joseph could have called
the pit the ending. It wasn't. He could have
called slavery the ending. It wasn't. He could
have called the false accusation the ending.
It wasn't. He could have called prison the ending.
It wasn't. Even being forgotten by the cup bearer
wasn't the ending. There was still another chapter,
and somebody needs to hear me. There is still
another chapter. You cannot judge the entire
book from the chapter you're currently living.
Because sometimes, purpose finally explains what
pain could not. Years later, Joseph could connect
the pieces. He could look backward and understand.
If I had never reached Egypt, I would not have
been positioned here. If I had never encountered
Pharaoh's officials, the connection might never
have happened. If I had not learned stewardship
along the way, I might not have been prepared
to manage what Pharaoh eventually placed under
my authority. What looked disconnected was connected.
What looked wasted was being used. What looked
like delay contained preparation. What looked
like rejection contained redirection. and what
somebody intended as destruction became part
of the road toward preservation. That is why
Joseph could finally say, you meant it for evil,
but God meant it for good. Not because evil became
good, but because evil could not defeat God's
purpose. Still, I want to be careful, because
maybe you are listening to me and saying, Barry,
I still don't understand what God is doing. And
maybe you don't. Maybe you don't have enough
information yet. There are chapters of your life
you may still not understand. Don't force an
explanation. Don't manufacture a testimony before
the testimony is complete. Maybe you're still
somewhere between the pit and the palace. Maybe
you are doing the right thing and still experiencing
consequences you don't understand. Maybe you're
asking God what any of this has to do with your
calling. Joseph's life gives us permission to
say, I don't understand yet. Faith doesn't require
you to know everything God is doing. Faith requires
trusting Him while you don't. Because what you
can see today is only one piece of a story God
sees completely. And this brings us back to where
we started. You are being refined for a purpose.
Maybe the question isn't only God. When are you
getting me out? Maybe there is another question.
God, what are you producing in me while I'm here?
What are you correcting? What are you strengthening?
What are you teaching me? What must I leave behind?
What kind of person must I become for what you
are preparing me to carry? Because Joseph didn't
simply come out of the prison. Joseph came out
prepared for Pharaoh. And that realization prepares
us for our next conversation. Because if God
can turn what was meant for evil toward his purpose,
then we must eventually ask, what kind of person
does that purpose require me to become? Joseph
reached tremendous responsibility. Daniel reached
extraordinary influence. Job was trusted through
extraordinary testing. Samuel could invite an
entire nation to examine his leadership. And
beneath these lives, we begin discovering another
word. Integrity. So in our next conversation,
we are going to confront what may be one of the
most personal questions of this entire season.
Can God trust your integrity? Can God trust you
with authority? Can he trust you with influence?
Can he trust you when nobody is watching? Can
he trust you when temptation comes? Can he trust
you when you're angry? Can he trust you after
you've been hurt? Can he trust you with the very
thing you've been asking him to give you? Because
perhaps the fire isn't only preparing the place.
Perhaps the fire is preparing the person. They
meant it for evil. God meant it for good. And
somewhere between what they intended and what
God intends, I am being refined for a purpose.