“The Lord was with Joseph, and he was successful.” Genesis 39:2 NKJV
If you stay where you were, you will never get where you are going.
My thoughts today advise that you “rise above whatever gets you down.”
Joseph’s story is a great one. His rise to the second most powerful governmental position in the most influential nation at the time is a phenomenal success story. It is certainly not about luck or good fortune, nor about his being in the right place at the right time. Actually, he seemed more often to be in the wrong place at the wrong time – except for the fact that wherever Joseph was, God was there with him. That is what makes all the difference in the world.
To get there, he had to rise above significant misfortunes and mistreatment – shattered dreams, dysfunctional family history, violent sibling rivalries and jealousy, cruel mistreatment, false accusations, felony imprisonment, and being a foreigner far from home with a religion at odds with the population around him. Who would ever have guessed that he would end up at the right hand of Pharaoh, ruler of Egypt? To be who you want to be and what God wants you to become, you have to rise above little people and petty things.
Joseph succeeded beyond his wildest imagination – because God was with him, and he was willing to rise above everything that could have prevented his becoming what he could be. Never let “it” or “them” get you down or keep you down – reach higher, touch something greater. Reach until you touch the One who loves and lifts, and cares. That’s how you rise above anything. Paul discovered how to rise above it all, “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit . . we get knocked down, but we get up and keep going.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NLT.
If you stay where you were, you will never get where you are meant to go. Where do you want to go with your life? Who do you want to be? Some stay trapped in their hurts, reliving their mistreatment and excusing their lack of moving forward. Others find people to blame for what they have not done and what they fail to become. There are those who earned a bad reputation that still limits their opportunities, but are not willing to do the hard work of building a new and better reputation for reliability. Sure unwanted, even unfair, things will happen to you, but success comes when you rise above all that to be more than you’ve been. “It is never too late to be who you might have been.” Mark Batterson and Richard Foth, A Trip Around The Sun.
The Bible says, “Keep putting into practice all you learned from Me, and heard from Me, and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you . . may grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God our father and from Jesus Christ His Son, be with us all who live in truth and love.” Philippians 4:9/2 John 3 NLT.
My prayer for you today is that you rise above whatever gets you down.
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