Welcome back to our continuing conversation on
Refine for a Purpose. In our last conversation,
we talked about when failure doesn't cancel purpose.
We discovered that failure does not have to become
the final definition of a surrendered life. Repentance
matters. Consequences matter. Accountability
matters. Transformation matters. But mercy also
matters. Peter failed. but Jesus restored him.
David failed, but God did not abandon his work
in him. John Mark walked away, but later became
useful again. Paul carried a painful past, yet
could say, by the grace of God, I am what I am.
And we ended with an important truth. Sometimes
God does not restore you by returning everything
exactly to the way it was. Sometimes God restores
you first, your character, your humility, your
discipline, your dependence upon Him, your ability
to carry responsibility differently. And that
brings us to another question. What happens when
the door finally opens? What happens when the
prayer is answered? What happens when the opportunity
comes? When the promotion comes? When the relationship
comes? When the resources increase? when the
ministry grows, when influence expands, when
the thing you spent years asking God for finally
arrives. We spend a lot of time talking about
how to survive difficult seasons, but perhaps
we don't talk enough about how to survive successful
ones, because adversity is not the only thing
that tests character. Blessing tests character
too. And sometimes the blessing carries weight.
So today I want us to talk about the weight of
what you prayed for. Because character must become
strong enough to carry the blessing. Sometimes
we pray for things we are still becoming ready
to carry. Think about some of the things we ask
God for. God, increase me. God, promote me. God,
enlarge my territory. God, Give me influence.
God, bless my family. God, grow the ministry.
God, open the door. God, give me financial abundance.
God, give me leadership. God, give me the opportunity.
Those prayers are not necessarily wrong, but
every blessing carries responsibility. If you
ask for leadership, you are also asking for responsibility.
If you ask for influence, you are asking for
accountability. If you ask for resources, you
are asking for stewardship. If you ask for a
family, you are asking for sacrifice. If you
ask for ministry, you are asking to carry people.
If you ask for promotion, you may also be asking
for pressure. If you ask for greater visibility,
you are also asking for greater scrutiny. Sometimes
we ask God for the blessing while imagining only
the enjoyment. God may be looking at the weight,
and perhaps that explains some seasons of preparation.
Maybe God is not simply asking, do you want it?
Maybe the deeper question is, can you carry it?
Joseph didn't just need to survive the pit. He
had to be ready for the palace. We have talked
about Joseph throughout this season, but look
at his story again from another angle. Joseph
received the dream when he was young, but he
did not immediately receive the responsibility
represented by that dream. Between the dream
and the palace, there was a pit. There was slavery.
There was Potiphar's house. There was temptation.
There was false accusation. There was prison.
There was waiting. And eventually, there was
Pharaoh. Genesis 41 tells us Pharaoh placed Joseph
over Egypt. Think about the responsibility. Joseph
was no longer managing Potiphar's household.
He was helping manage the resources of a nation.
A famine was coming. Lives would depend upon
decisions made under his leadership. The dream
was not merely about Joseph being elevated. The
dream was about Joseph becoming capable of carrying
responsibility. And suddenly the years begin
to look different. Potiphar's house taught stewardship.
Temptation tested integrity. Prison developed
endurance. Waiting confronted impatience. Managing
prisoners developed leadership. Interpreting
dreams prepared him to stand before Pharaoh.
The places that looked disconnected were developing
capacities he would eventually need. Maybe God
was not delaying Joseph. Maybe God was developing
Joseph. Because Pharaoh could give Joseph a position
in one day. But position was not the only thing
Joseph needed. He needed the character to survive
what came with it. Sometimes God can open the
door faster than your character can develop.
This is why preparation matters. A door can open
suddenly. A promotion can happen in one conversation.
A business can grow rapidly. A ministry can become
visible quickly. Money can arrive unexpectedly.
Influence can expand through one viral moment.
But character usually develops slowly. Discipline
develops through repetition. Wisdom develops
through experience. Humility develops through
surrender. Self -control develops through practice.
Faithfulness develops over time. And if opportunity
grows faster than character, the blessing can
expose what preparation should have corrected.
We sometimes say, God opened the door. But perhaps
another prayer should be, God, prepare me before
you open it, because an open door without preparation
can become another kind of fire. The blessing
can expose what the battle never could. There
are things you discover about yourself when you
suffer, but there are other things you discover
about yourself when you succeed. Poverty can
test your faith. Money can test your heart. Rejection
can test your identity. Popularity can test your
humility. Weakness can test your dependence upon
God. Power can test whether you still believe
you need Him. Waiting can test your patience.
Arrival can test your memory. And perhaps one
of the most dangerous moments in life is when
you finally have enough power to do what was
once only a temptation. When you had no money,
some choices were impossible. When you had no
influence, certain doors were closed. When nobody
knew your name, pride had fewer opportunities.
When you had no authority, nobody had to fear
your decisions. But what happens when you have
options? What happens when people begin listening?
What happens when people begin agreeing with
you because of your position? What happens when
money removes limitations? What happens when
nobody around you wants to tell you no, that
is another test. Adversity reveals whether you
can endure without quitting. Abundance reveals
whether you can receive without forgetting. Moses
warned Israel about this. Deuteronomy 8 contains
one of scripture's strongest warnings about prosperity.
Moses tells Israel to remember God when they
enter the land. He warns them that they will
eat and become satisfied. Their houses will become
good. Their herds will multiply. Their silver
and gold will increase. Everything will increase.
Then Moses warns, your heart will become proud
and you will forget the Lord your God. Notice
the danger. The wilderness made them cry to God.
But prosperity could make them forget Him. Sometimes
trouble keeps us praying. Need keeps us humble.
Uncertainty keeps us dependent. Then God answers
the prayer. The pressure changes. The income
increases. The door opens. And suddenly the disciplines
that carried us through the wilderness begin
disappearing. Prayer becomes shorter. Scripture
becomes occasional. becomes convenient, dependence
becomes confidence in ourselves, and eventually
we begin enjoying the blessing while drifting
from the one who gave us the ability to carry
it. Moses says later, you may say to yourself,
my power and the strength of my hands have produced
this wealth for me. Then he says, remember the
Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the
ability to produce wealth. The warning is simple.
Don't let the blessing make you forget the God
you needed before you had it. Maybe the real
test is whether you will still pray after the
prayer is answered. Think about that. You prayed
while waiting. Will you pray after receiving?
You fasted when the door was closed. Will you
still seek God when it opens? You cried when
nobody recognized you. Will you remain humble
When everybody knows you, you depended upon God
when resources were limited. Will you still depend
upon Him when the account is full? You asked
everybody to pray for you when you were struggling.
Will anybody still be allowed to correct you
when you become successful? Sometimes we become
very spiritual while we need something from God.
The deeper test may come after we receive it.
Can the blessing enter your hands without replacing
God in your heart? David survived Saul, but then
he had to survive being king. David knew how
to depend upon God while running from Saul. He
knew caves. He knew danger. He knew rejection.
He knew waiting. He knew what it meant to refuse
to seize the throne through violence when opportunities
appeared to kill Saul. That season revealed remarkable
restraint, but eventually David became king.
Now David had authority, servants, soldiers,
a palace, influence, power. And in 2 Samuel 11,
the man who once had to run from another king's
power now possessed power himself. And he misused
it. Bathsheba, Uriah, the cover up, the tragedy.
David survived the wilderness. But the palace
introduced another test. Listen carefully. Sometimes
the place you prayed to reach contains temptations
that did not exist where you started. That is
why character must continue developing after
promotion. You don't graduate from discipline
because God blessed you. You need discipline
more. You don't need less accountability because
you have authority. You may need more. You don't
need fewer boundaries because you have matured.
Greater access may require stronger boundaries.
The higher the responsibility, the more seriously
integrity must be guarded. Solomon shows us that
having wisdom does not remove the need for obedience.
Solomon began remarkably. When God offered him
what he wanted, Solomon asked for wisdom. God
gave him wisdom. And scripture describes extraordinary
prosperity, influence, and reputation. People
came from distant places to hear him. But later,
1 Kings 11 tells us Solomon's heart turned away.
The issue wasn't that Solomon lacked information.
He had wisdom. But wisdom known is not always
wisdom obeyed. And this is important. You can
know what is right and still need discipline
to do it. You can preach boundaries and still
need boundaries. You can teach integrity and
still need accountability. You can understand
scripture and still need to obey scripture. Knowledge
cannot replace obedience. Anointing cannot replace
discipline. Success cannot replace sanctification.
And yesterday's wisdom does not guarantee tomorrow's
faithfulness. You must keep choosing God. The
thing you prayed for can become the thing that
pulls you away from God. That sounds strange,
but it happens. You pray for a business. Then
the business becomes so demanding you no longer
have time for God. You pray for a relationship.
Then the relationship becomes more important
than obedience. You pray for children. Then family
becomes so busy that spiritual life disappears.
You pray for ministry growth. Then numbers become
more important than people. You pray for influence.
Then approval becomes addictive. You pray for
financial abundance. Then possessions begin possessing
you. You pray for promotion. Then position becomes
identity. The blessing was not necessarily the
problem. Disordered affection was. The gift quietly
occupied the place of the giver. So perhaps we
need to add another prayer to our lives. God
bless me, but never allow your blessing to become
my idol. And this is why stewardship matters.
Jesus says in Luke 16 10, whoever can be trusted
with very little can also be trusted with much.
Notice the language. Trust it. Sometimes we think
increase is primarily about desire. Jesus speaks
about faithfulness. What are you doing with what
is already in your hands? You are praying for
more money. How are you managing what you have?
You are praying for a larger ministry. How are
you serving the people already there? You are
praying for promotion. How are you handling your
current responsibility? You are praying for greater
influence. How are you treating people who cannot
do anything for you? You are praying for a platform.
How are you behaving when nobody is watching?
Maybe the small place isn't irrelevant. Maybe
it is training. Maybe God is watching what you
do with 10 before entrusting you with 100. Not
because every promotion is a direct reward for
spiritual performance. Life is more complicated
than that. Faithful people sometimes wait. Unfaithful
people sometimes prosper. But the spiritual principle
remains. Whatever God places in our hands should
be handled faithfully. Faithfulness. In little
things builds capacity for weight. There is something
about small responsibilities. They reveal habits.
How do you handle time? How do you handle money?
How do you keep your word? How do you respond
when nobody praises you? How do you treat small
assignments? How do you behave toward people
beneath your authority? How do you work when
the supervisor is not present? How do you handle
somebody else's property? How do you handle confidential
information? How do you respond when you could
take a shortcut and nobody would know? These
things may appear small, but character is often
developed in places that look insignificant.
David learned faithfulness with sheep before
leading Israel. Joseph managed a household and
a prison before managing Egypt. Moses spent years
in the wilderness before leading a nation. Sometimes
the small assignment is teaching your shoulders
how to carry weight. Don't despise the place
where God is building your capacity. Some blessings
require a stronger version of you. This is where
refined for a purpose becomes deeply practical.
Maybe the version of you who prayed the prayer
is not yet the version of you who can responsibly
carry the answer. Maybe the blessing requires
greater patience, greater wisdom, greater discipline,
greater emotional maturity, greater financial
stewardship, greater self -control, greater humility,
greater ability to forgive, greater ability to
handle criticism, greater ability to manage people.
greater ability to say no greater ability to
walk away from temptation greater ability to
remain quiet when provoked greater ability to
stay grounded when praised so perhaps while you
are praying God Change my circumstances. God
is working on the person who will eventually
live inside those changed circumstances. That
does not mean every delay is God withholding
something until you become perfect. We should
be careful with that theology. Some things simply
take time. Some doors depend upon other people.
Some prayers are answered differently than we
expect. Some waiting remains mysterious. But
scripture repeatedly shows God forming people
before entrusting them with significant responsibility.
And perhaps that is happening in some areas of
your life. Stop measuring preparation only by
what you can see. Joseph could have looked at
prison and said, this has nothing to do with
my dream. David could have looked at sheep and
said, This has nothing to do with becoming king.
Moses could have looked at 40 years in Midian
and said, this has nothing to do with Egypt.
But later, the connections become clearer. Maybe
the difficult supervisor is teaching you how
to lead without becoming what hurt you. Maybe
limited resources are teaching you stewardship.
Maybe raising children is teaching you patience.
Maybe marriage is exposing selfishness that success
would magnify. Maybe serving without recognition
is confronting your need for applause. Maybe
waiting is developing endurance. Maybe correction
is teaching humility. Maybe failure taught you
boundaries. Maybe disappointment is teaching
you where your identity truly rests. You may
not understand everything God is producing right
now. But don't assume nothing is happening simply
because the blessing hasn't arrived. Preparation
is also progress. The blessing should expand
your purpose, not shrink your soul. When God
gives more, our capacity to serve should grow.
More resources should create greater generosity.
More influence should create greater responsibility.
More wisdom should create greater humility. More
authority should create greater concern for justice.
More opportunity should create greater stewardship.
More visibility should create greater awareness
that people are watching how we live. Jesus says,
from everyone who has been given much, much will
be demanded. The blessing is not simply, look
what I have. The blessing asks, what will I do
with what has been entrusted to me? Joseph's
elevation wasn't only for Joseph. His position
helped preserve lives. Esther's position wasn't
only about becoming queen. It placed her where
courage would eventually be required. Abraham's
blessing carried the promise that others would
be blessed through him. Biblical blessing repeatedly
moves outward, so maybe what you are asking God
for is bigger than your comfort. Maybe somebody
else is connected to your faithfulness. Be careful
when people begin celebrating you. There is another
weight that comes with blessing, praise. People
begin recognizing you, complimenting you, calling
your name, seeking your advice. inviting you
into rooms, and praise can become intoxicating.
You begin believing your own publicity. You stop
listening. You become offended when someone disagrees.
You interpret correction as disrespect. You begin
needing applause to feel significant. That is
dangerous. Remember, the people celebrating you
today are still people, and you are still human.
Stay grounded. Stay accountable. Stay teachable.
Stay prayerful. Stay close to people who knew
you before the title. And most importantly, stay
close to God. Don't let public elevation create
private distance from God. Maybe God is preparing
you for the wait, not just the gift. There are
prayers we ask repeatedly. God, when? When will
the door open? When will things change? When
will I finally receive what you promised? And
sometimes we need faith to keep asking, but perhaps
another prayer belongs beside it. God, who must
I become to carry what I am asking for? If I
am asking for more develop greater stewardship.
If I am asking for leadership develop greater
humility. If I am asking for influence develop
greater integrity. If I am asking for resources,
develop greater generosity. If I am asking for
marriage, teach me covenant. If I am asking for
family, teach me sacrifice. If I am asking for
ministry, teach me to love people more than platforms.
If I am asking for success, teach me how to remain
faithful when success arrives, because I don't
simply want to receive the blessing. I want to
survive it. I don't simply want to enter the
room. I want to remain who God called me to be
while I am there. I don't simply want God to
put something in my hands. I want my character
to be strong enough to carry its weight. And
perhaps that is why the fire had to touch some
things. Maybe the fire exposed your pride because
pride could not survive where God has taken you.
Maybe the fire exposed your anger because greater
authority would magnify it. Maybe the fire exposed
your need for approval because greater visibility
would feed it. Maybe the fire exposed weak boundaries
because greater access would test them. Maybe
the fire exposed poor discipline. because greater
responsibility would overwhelm you. Maybe the
fire exposed financial irresponsibility because
increase without stewardship could destroy you.
Maybe the fire exposed your inability to receive
correction because leadership without accountability
can become dangerous. What felt like God was
taking something from you. May have been God
removing something that could not safely travel
with you. God doesn't waste the fire. Sometimes
the fire is preparing your shoulders for weight.
But remember, the blessing is not proof that
God loves you more. We need this guardrail. Prosperity
is not proof that somebody has more faith. Money
is not proof of spiritual maturity. Promotion
is not proof that God prefers you. A large ministry
is not proof of greater holiness. And difficulty
is not proof that somebody has failed. Jesus
loved people who suffered. The apostles experienced
hardship. Paul knew abundance and need. So this
conversation is not about creating a formula.
Become good enough and God will make you rich
or successful. No, the gospel is not a transaction.
We are talking about stewardship. Whatever God
allows into your hands, little or much, carry
it faithfully. Whatever season you are in, remain
faithful. And if increase comes, don't let increase
decrease your dependence upon God. Paul learned
how to carry both. Philippians 4 is often quoted
because Paul says, I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me. But look at the context.
Paul says he learned how to live with little
and he learned how to live with plenty. He knew
hunger and he knew abundance. He says I have
learned the secret of being content in any and
every situation. Then I can do all this through
him who gives me strength. Paul needed Christ.
when he had little. Paul needed Christ when he
had much. Maybe maturity is not simply learning
how to survive lack. Maybe maturity is learning
how to remain faithful in either condition. If
I have little, Christ is enough. If I have much,
Christ is still Lord. If the door is closed,
I worship. If the door opens, I worship. If nobody
knows my name, I serve. If people recognize me,
I serve. If I am waiting, I belong to God. If
I receive what I prayed for, I still belong to
God. So maybe the prayer needs to change. Instead
of only praying, God, give me more. Maybe pray.
God, make me trustworthy with more. Instead of
only, God, open the door. Pray. Prepare my character
for what is behind the door. Instead of only,
God increase my influence, pray. Increase my
integrity before you increase my influence. Instead
of only, God bless me, pray. Never let the blessing
become more important than the one who blessed
me. And instead of asking only, when will it
happen? Ask God, what are you developing in me
while I wait? Because maybe the waiting room
is also a training room. Maybe the small assignment
is strengthening your shoulders. Maybe correction
is protecting your future. Maybe discipline is
increasing your capacity. Maybe the fire is removing
what cannot carry the weight. And this brings
us to our next conversation. Because if the fire
is preparing us for what comes next, There is
one more question we must ask. What are we still
carrying that cannot come with us? What habits?
What attitudes? What relationships? What compromises?
What ways of thinking? What bitterness? What
pride? What fear? What version of ourselves belongs
to an old season? Because there are things God
may forgive, but still tell you. Don't take that
with you. There are things that helped you survive
one season, but cannot lead you into another.
There are patterns that must end here. And perhaps
the greatest tragedy would be to survive the
fire, and then carry the impurities the fire
was meant to remove into the next season. So
our next continuing conversation will be, don't
waste the fire. what must not follow you into
the next season. Because eventually the question
becomes, what was the fire supposed to remove?
And once God reveals it, are you willing to leave
it behind? Before we close, I want to speak to
the person who has been asking God for something
for a long time. Keep praying, keep believing,
keep trusting. But while you wait, Keep becoming.
Don't become so focused on receiving the answer
that you miss what God may be developing in you.
Let him strengthen your character. Let him deepen
your discipline. Let him teach you stewardship.
Let him confront your pride. Let him strengthen
your boundaries. Let him develop your self -control.
Let him teach you how to handle little faithfully.
Let Him teach you how to receive correction.
Let Him teach you how to remain humble. Because
maybe you are not simply waiting for the blessing.
Maybe you are being prepared for its weight.
And when it comes, remember the wilderness. Remember
the prayers. Remember the tears. Remember the
lessons. Remember the people who stood with you.
Remember who you were. When nobody knew your
name, remember the God who carried you when you
had nothing else to hold on to. And when you
finally stand in the place you prayed for, don't
stop praying. When you receive more, don't become
less dependent. When God expands your influence,
expand your humility. When God increases your
resources, increase your generosity. When God
gives you responsibility, increase your integrity.
When God opens the door, take your character
with you. Because the greatest testimony is not
simply, God brought me there. The greater testimony
may become, God prepared me to remain faithful
when I arrived. Don't just pray for the blessing,
pray for the character to carry it. Don't just
pray for the door. Pray for the wisdom to walk
through it. Don't just pray for increase. Pray
for the discipline to steward it. And don't just
ask God, when will you give it to me? Sometimes
ask, God, who must I become to carry what I am
asking you for? Maybe that is part of what the
fire has been doing all along, preparing your
shoulders. strengthening your character, deepening
your roots, teaching you stewardship. Because
God is not only concerned with getting you somewhere,
he is concerned with who you become when you
arrive. And even while you wait, you are being
refined for a purpose.