Step 6 of the 7 Steps to Discovering and Achieving God’s Purpose for Your Life

Step 1 is REVELATION. Only God knows what He put you on this earth to do and only He can tell you what it is.

Step 2 is PREPARATION. The Lord will place you in positions where He will develop and refine the spiritual gift(s) He has given you. These gifts will be used to help you accomplish your purpose.

Step 3 is OBEDIENCE. You must make up your mind in advance that no matter what temptation you face, you will obey the Lord.

Step 4 is REDEFINE SUCCESS. Success from God’s perspective often looks completely different from the world’s version of success. You are successful in God’s eyes, no matter what you look like from the world’s perspective, when you are in the center of His will doing exactly what He wants you to do.

Step 5 is KEEP TRUSTING GOD IN SPITE OF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES. Once the Lord reveals His purpose for your life, don’t be surprised if He has you spend what may seem like a very long time in very difficult and puzzling circumstances. He is merely developing deep roots of faith within you and teaching you to trust Him even when He is silent and doesn’t seem to be moving on your behalf.

Step 6 is PROMOTION. At the end of Genesis chapter 40 Joseph was still in prison with no idea how or when he would be released. The only thing that kept him encouraged was the dream the Lord had given him several years ago. It confirmed to him that one day he would be in a position of authority and his family would bow down to him. So Joseph made a decision to trust God in spite of his dire circumstances.

Then, after two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a troubling dream that woke him up (Genesis chapter 41). He fell back to sleep and was awakened a second time by a different but equally as disturbing dream. He knew the dreams meant that something significant was going to happen within his kingdom, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men in Egypt. But none of them were able to interpret the dreams. Suddenly the chief cup bearer, who was there with Pharaoh, remembered how Joseph was able to accurately interpret his dream and the chief baker’s dream when they were in prison. He told Pharaoh and he immediately had Joseph brought before him.

The Lord gave Joseph the interpretation of the dreams and Joseph told Pharaoh that the two dreams had the same meaning. They both meant that Egypt would soon have 7 years of abundant crops followed by 7 years of devastating famine. Joseph then advised Pharaoh to find a discerning and wise administrator to collect the surplus food during the years of abundance and distribute it during the years of famine.

Pharaoh was greatly impressed that Joseph had not only accurately interpreted the dreams which identified the upcoming problem, but provided a wise solution as well. So he gave Joseph the honor and privilege of implementing the solution. He also put him in charge of his palace and the whole land of Egypt where everyone was required to obey Joseph’s orders. Pharaoh dressed him in fine linen and gold jewelry, put his signet ring on his finger which bestowed his kingly authority and power upon him, and had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command. Joseph was 30 years old when God promoted him to Governor of Egypt, thirteen years after the Lord told him that he would one day be in a position of authority. And exactly as his dream had foretold, sometime later Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt and bowed down to him (Genesis 42:1-6).

God has issues that need to be addressed and problems that need to be solved on this earth, and He will place you in a position to fulfill your purpose by helping Him accomplish His kingdom objectives. He will give you favor with whomever you need favor in order to move you into your purpose (i.e. Joseph had favor with the chief cupbearer and with Pharaoh – see Genesis 41:8-14 and 41:37-43 ). He will also provide you with a clear understanding of the problem or issue (i.e. a famine that could have destroyed lives – see Genesis 41:29-30 and 45:4-7), and He will give you the solution (i.e. collect and store the surplus and distribute it when needed – see Genesis 41:33-36).

Just as he did with Joseph, if you will continue to trust and obey the Lord, He will promote you in due time so you can join Him in His work.

See you next week for Step 7 of Discovering and Achieving God’s Purpose for Your Life!