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REFINED FOR A PURPOSE — Conversation IX YOU MEANT IT FOR EVIL, BUT GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD · PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

• 0:00
  Welcome back to our continuing conversation on
• 0:02
  Refine for a Purpose. In our last conversation,
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  we talked about the places and circumstances
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  God can use in our process. Sometimes the place
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  that once preserved us is not the place where
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  God intends us to remain. Sometimes God says,
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  stay and grow. Sometimes stay and forgive. Sometimes
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  stay and learn. sometimes wait, and sometimes
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  move. We discovered that discomfort does not
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  always mean that something has gone wrong. Sometimes
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  discomfort can become part of God's process of
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  preparation and repositioning. And we learned
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  not to judge a season simply by how uncomfortable
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  it feels, but to ask, God, what are you saying
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  through this season? Because temporary, does
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  not mean meaningless. And sometimes, before God
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  changes the place around us, there is something
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  He wants to change within us. But today, I want
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  us to go one step further. Because there are
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  moments in life when you look at what happened
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  to you and there is simply no way to call it
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  good. It hurt. It disappointed you. Someone betrayed
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  you. Someone lied about you. Someone walked away
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  from you. Someone deliberately tried to hurt
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  you. You lost something you thought you needed.
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  A door closed that you desperately wanted to
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  remain open. You made decisions you wish you
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  could change. You experienced seasons that left
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  you asking God, why did you allow this? And sometimes,
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  as Christians we rush too quickly to say, everything
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  happens for a reason. But when you are the person
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  going through it, that sentence can feel very
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  different. because some things really were meant
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  for evil. Joseph never denied that. When he finally
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  stood before the brothers who had betrayed him,
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  he did not rewrite history. He did not call their
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  betrayal love. He did not pretend that selling
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  him into slavery was necessary behavior. He did
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  not excuse what they had done. He looked directly
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  at them and said, you meant evil against me.
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  but God meant it for good. Genesis 50 -20. There
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  are two intentions in that sentence. You meant
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  it. God meant it. The same event. Two different
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  intentions. And that distinction changes everything.
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  And that is where I want us to continue today.
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  Because perhaps there are things in your life
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  that you have been interpreting only according
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  to what people intended. You know what they wanted.
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  You know what they tried to do. You know what
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  happened. You know how much it hurt. But maybe
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  you still don't know what God intends to do with
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  it. So today, our continuing conversation on
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  refining for a purpose is, you meant for evil,
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  but God meant it for good. And now, listen to
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  me carefully. They had a plan, but God had a
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  purpose. Joseph's brothers had a plan. Originally,
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  Some wanted to kill him. Eventually, they sold
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  him. They wanted to remove him. They wanted to
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  silence the dream. They wanted Joseph out of
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  their lives. From their perspective, getting
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  rid of Joseph would solve the problem. But they
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  did not understand something. They could touch
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  Joseph. But they could not cancel what God had
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  spoken concerning Joseph. They could remove his
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  coat. They could throw him into the pit. They
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  could sell him to strangers. They could separate
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  him from his father. They could change his immediate
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  circumstances. But they could not separate him
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  from the purpose of God. And perhaps that is
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  where somebody listening to me today needs to
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  begin. People can make decisions that affect
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  your life. People can hurt you. People can reject
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  you. People can lie about you. People can misunderstand
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  you. People can close doors People can even temporarily
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  change your circumstances, but nobody possesses
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  enough authority to rewrite what God has purposed
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  concerning your life and understand me carefully.
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  That does not mean everything people do to you
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  comes from God. Joseph did not call their betrayal
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  good. Their intention was evil. God's intention
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  was good. That distinction matters. Christianity
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  does not require us to call evil good. in order
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  to believe in the providence of God. Their intentions
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  do not have to become God's intentions for God
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  to remain sovereign over the outcome. And now
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  consider this. The pit didn't look like purpose.
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  We know Joseph's ending. That makes his story
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  easier for us to read. We know Egypt is coming.
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  We know Pharaoh is coming. We know promotion
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  is coming. We know the famine is coming. We know
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  his brothers will eventually stand before him,
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  but Joseph didn't know any of that while he was
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  sitting in the pit. And that is important, because
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  providence usually makes more sense looking backward
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  than living forward. When you're in the pit,
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  all you see is the pit. When you're serving in
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  Potiphar's house, you don't necessarily know
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  why you're there. When you're falsely accused,
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  You don't see how the accusation fits anything
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  God promised. When you're sitting in prison after
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  doing the right thing, you may even begin wondering
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  whether doing the right thing was worth it. But
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  God was working through a story Joseph could
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  not yet understand. The pit moved Joseph toward
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  Egypt. Egypt moved Joseph into Potiphar's house.
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  Potiphar's house developed responsibility. The
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  false accusation moved Joseph into prison. Prison
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  connected Joseph with Pharaoh's officials. One
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  encounter in prison eventually created a connection
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  to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh positioned Joseph exactly
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  where he needed to be before the famine arrived.
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  Joseph couldn't see the chain while he was living
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  inside it. But God could. And maybe that is where
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  you are right now. Maybe you are looking at one
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  piece of your life and trying to understand the
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  entire picture. But hear me, you don't know what
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  God is working behind the scenes. This is where
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  faith becomes difficult. We want God to explain
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  himself while he is working. We want to know
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  why this, why now, why them? Why did you allow
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  it? Why didn't you stop it? Why did that door
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  close? Why did I have to experience that disappointment?
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  Why did I have to go through this particular
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  fire? But sometimes God does not give us the
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  explanation while the story is unfolding. Sometimes
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  he asks us to trust the author while he is still
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  writing. Joseph spent years living inside circumstances
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  that seemed completely disconnected from his
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  dream. Yet heaven had not forgotten Joseph. God
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  was working behind scenes Joseph could not see.
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  And while Joseph was being prepared, God was
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  also preparing circumstances around him. A famine
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  Joseph knew nothing about was coming. A nation
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  would need administration. His family would need
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  preservation. Entire populations would need food.
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  And suddenly we discover that the dream God had
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  given Joseph years earlier was connected to something
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  much larger than Joseph's personal success. Joseph
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  may initially have understood the dream in terms
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  of what would happen to him. Eventually he discovered
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  that his position was about what God intended
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  to accomplish through him. Listen again to Genesis
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  50 -20. There it is, purpose. God wasn't merely
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  trying to make Joseph successful. God was positioning
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  Joseph to preserve lives, and this is important
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  because sometimes your purpose is bigger than
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  your pain. Think about Joseph arriving at the
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  palace. Imagine if Joseph had arrived there bitter.
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  Imagine a wounded man with enormous authority.
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  Imagine a betrayed man controlling the food supply.
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  Imagine a man carrying unresolved hatred suddenly
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  possessing governmental power. Joseph could have
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  become dangerous. He eventually possessed enough
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  authority to retaliate against the very people
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  who had hurt him. But perhaps this is another
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  reason the refining process mattered. God wasn't
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  simply bringing Joseph to power. God was developing
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  the man who would know what to do with power
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  when he received it. The pit was doing something.
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  Potiphar's house was doing something. The false
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  accusation was doing something. The prison was
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  doing something. The waiting was doing something.
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  God was developing character while positioning
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  purpose. And eventually, Joseph could stand before
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  the very people who had hurt him while possessing
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  enough authority to destroy them. and choose
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  preservation instead. That is refinement. The
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  greatest evidence that Joseph had been transformed
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  wasn't merely that he reached the palace, it
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  was what kind of man stood in the palace once
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  he got there. And this is why I keep telling
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  you throughout this season, God doesn't waste
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  the fire. Some fires come through opposition,
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  some through disappointment, some through consequences,
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  some through our own mistakes. Some through circumstances
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  completely beyond our control. And we must be
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  careful here. Romans 8 28 does not tell us that
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  everything that happens to us is good. It tells
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  us that all things work together for good to
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  those who love God and are called according to
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  His purpose. There is a difference. The betrayal
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  wasn't good. The slavery wasn't good. The false
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  accusation wasn't good. The imprisonment wasn't
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  good. But God was able to take what was not good
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  and weave it into something that Ultimately served
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  his purpose that is Providence God does not need
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  evil to become good in order to bring good out
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  of it And that means you don't have to rename
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  what hurt you you don't have to pretend betrayal
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  wasn't betrayal You don't have to call injustice
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  justice. You don't have to pretend your mistake
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  wasn't a mistake You don't have to deny your
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  disappointment. You can acknowledge what happened
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  and still declare, this will not have the final
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  word over my life. But now I want to take this
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  somewhere even more personal. Because sometimes
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  the fire wasn't started by somebody else. Sometimes
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  we participated in creating it. And somebody
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  needs to hear this. Even your failure doesn't
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  automatically exempt you from purpose. Sometimes
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  we made the wrong decision. Sometimes we spoke
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  when we should have remained quiet. Sometimes
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  we trusted the wrong person. Sometimes pride
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  influenced us. Sometimes anger controlled us.
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  Sometimes we ignored wisdom. Sometimes we compromised.
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  Sometimes we simply messed up. And afterward
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  we wonder, have I destroyed God's purpose for
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  my life? But scripture repeatedly shows us something
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  remarkable. God knew the weaknesses of the people
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  he called before he called them. God knew Abraham
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  would struggle. God knew Jacob's character. God
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  knew Moses would become angry. God knew David
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  would fail. God knew Peter would deny Jesus.
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  Jesus even told Peter beforehand that before
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  the rooster crowed, Peter would deny him three
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  times. And yet Jesus could still speak about
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  Peter's future. Why? Because Peter's failure
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  surprised Peter. It did not surprise Jesus. Now
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  hear me carefully. This is not permission to
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  sin. This is not an excuse for irresponsibility.
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  Choices have consequences. Sin requires repentance.
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  Character requires correction. And sometimes
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  restoration requires a painful process. But God's
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  foreknowledge means He does not suddenly discover
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  our weaknesses after calling us. He already knew.
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  And somehow, through mercy, correction, repentance,
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  discipline, grace, and refinement, God continues
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  His work. Look at Jacob. Because sometimes, your
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  name doesn't have to become your destiny. Jacob's
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  life carried struggle, manipulation, deception,
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  and running. He deceived. He was deceived. He
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  manipulated. He struggled. But eventually, Jacob
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  had an encounter with God. And God changed his
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  name. Israel. The man who entered that encounter
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  was not supposed to leave exactly as he entered.
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  That is refinement. Sometimes God doesn't merely
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  want to change your circumstances. He wants to
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  change the person walking through those circumstances.
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  Because one of the greatest dangers would be
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  arriving at your purpose. carrying the same character
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  that could destroy it. And this is why I need
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  somebody listening to me today to stop making
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  permanent conclusions about temporary chapters.
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  Stop writing the final chapter in the middle
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  of the story. The pit feels permanent. The prison
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  feels permanent. The rejection feels permanent.
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  The failure feels permanent. The disappointment
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  feels permanent. And we begin saying, my life
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  is over. I missed God. I will never recover.
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  This destroyed everything. But Joseph teaches
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  us something different. Joseph could have called
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  the pit the ending. It wasn't. He could have
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  called slavery the ending. It wasn't. He could
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  have called the false accusation the ending.
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  It wasn't. He could have called prison the ending.
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  It wasn't. Even being forgotten by the cup bearer
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  wasn't the ending. There was still another chapter,
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  and somebody needs to hear me. There is still
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  another chapter. You cannot judge the entire
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  book from the chapter you're currently living.
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  Because sometimes, purpose finally explains what
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  pain could not. Years later, Joseph could connect
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  the pieces. He could look backward and understand.
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  If I had never reached Egypt, I would not have
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  been positioned here. If I had never encountered
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  Pharaoh's officials, the connection might never
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  have happened. If I had not learned stewardship
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  along the way, I might not have been prepared
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  to manage what Pharaoh eventually placed under
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  my authority. What looked disconnected was connected.
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  What looked wasted was being used. What looked
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  like delay contained preparation. What looked
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  like rejection contained redirection. and what
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  somebody intended as destruction became part
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  of the road toward preservation. That is why
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  Joseph could finally say, you meant it for evil,
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  but God meant it for good. Not because evil became
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  good, but because evil could not defeat God's
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  purpose. Still, I want to be careful, because
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  maybe you are listening to me and saying, Barry,
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  I still don't understand what God is doing. And
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  maybe you don't. Maybe you don't have enough
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  information yet. There are chapters of your life
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  you may still not understand. Don't force an
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  explanation. Don't manufacture a testimony before
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  the testimony is complete. Maybe you're still
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  somewhere between the pit and the palace. Maybe
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  you are doing the right thing and still experiencing
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  consequences you don't understand. Maybe you're
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  asking God what any of this has to do with your
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  calling. Joseph's life gives us permission to
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  say, I don't understand yet. Faith doesn't require
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  you to know everything God is doing. Faith requires
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  trusting Him while you don't. Because what you
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  can see today is only one piece of a story God
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  sees completely. And this brings us back to where
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  we started. You are being refined for a purpose.
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  Maybe the question isn't only God. When are you
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  getting me out? Maybe there is another question.
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  God, what are you producing in me while I'm here?
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  What are you correcting? What are you strengthening?
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  What are you teaching me? What must I leave behind?
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  What kind of person must I become for what you
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  are preparing me to carry? Because Joseph didn't
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  simply come out of the prison. Joseph came out
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  prepared for Pharaoh. And that realization prepares
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  us for our next conversation. Because if God
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  can turn what was meant for evil toward his purpose,
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  then we must eventually ask, what kind of person
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  does that purpose require me to become? Joseph
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  reached tremendous responsibility. Daniel reached
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  extraordinary influence. Job was trusted through
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  extraordinary testing. Samuel could invite an
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  entire nation to examine his leadership. And
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  beneath these lives, we begin discovering another
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  word. Integrity. So in our next conversation,
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  we are going to confront what may be one of the
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  most personal questions of this entire season.
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  Can God trust your integrity? Can God trust you
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  with authority? Can he trust you with influence?
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  Can he trust you when nobody is watching? Can
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  he trust you when temptation comes? Can he trust
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  you when you're angry? Can he trust you after
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  you've been hurt? Can he trust you with the very
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  thing you've been asking him to give you? Because
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  perhaps the fire isn't only preparing the place.
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  Perhaps the fire is preparing the person. They
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  meant it for evil. God meant it for good. And
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  somewhere between what they intended and what
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  God intends, I am being refined for a purpose.