Proved True
By Shirley Mitchell
“He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food; and he sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true.”
Psalm 105:16-19
Joseph knew that God had given him a promise. In Genesis 37, seventeen-year old Joseph has a dream that his brothers’ sheaves of grain bowed down to his sheaves. He told his ten brothers his dream. They knew that their father loved him more than any of them. He had given Joseph a richly ornamented robe. Joseph had already infuriated the brothers by bringing their father a bad report about them while they were tending the flocks. So they hated him for implying that he, their little brother, would rule over them. Then, Joseph had another dream that the stars, sun, and moon all bowed down to him. Even their father was astonished at this dream. The brothers were filled with unbridled jealousy.
One day when Joseph came to check on his brothers and the flocks for his father, they saw the dreamer coming and devised an evil plot. They sold their brother to the slave traders on their way to Egypt. These slave traders sold him to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s captain of the guard. At first, God gave Joseph favor in the household. Potiphar trusted him because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. However, then Potiphar’s wife tried to entice Joseph into bed with her. He refused and fled. She accused and lied. Joseph was thrown into prison. He was seemingly forgotten again and cut off from every person who had ever known his character.
Later when Pharaoh was troubled by dreams, the Dream Giver orchestrated for the dream to be interpreted by Joseph. Joseph was exalted to second in command with Pharaoh’s ring on his finger. Psalm 105:20-22 tell us about Joseph, “The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.”
When we get a life word, God sometimes makes us wait a-while before it comes into being. He wants to see how long we are going to believe that word. He tests us to prove our character and integrity true. Joseph’s testing season was a very long time. His testing season was hard enough that many would have quit. He had the shackles on his feet and his neck put in irons. He was most likely beaten. Since prisoners were rarely fed well, he knew what it was like to be hungry. He had gone from wearing a grand coat of many colors to slave’s rags. Previously he had been esteemed by his father. In Egypt, he had felt the shame where no one pays attention to the invisible slave. He also had to run from the lust of the disloyal wife who paid too much attention to him. He had been devalued in two different ways.
Joseph waited twenty years before his dreams came true. Thirteen years were in slavery and in prison. Seven years were as second-in-command where God healed some wounds and gave him a wife and two sons. Even through those seven good years, I don’t believe that Joseph stopped believing in the promise God gave him. The dreams were going to be fulfilled.
If Joseph had quit believing, he would have become bitter. If Joseph did not trust, he would have shook his fist at God and said, “How dare you do this to me.” If Joseph did not have great perseverance, he would have quit. He would have given into the wounds from his brothers. He would have harbored anger that would have seethed out at his brothers when he met them.
I hold onto Joseph’s story and how God worked in his life. He may have been bruised, shackled, distressed, and suffered, but he held onto the word that God had given him. In time, the word of the Lord proved true. I hold onto it for my life.
The word of the Lord will prove true for me, too. In the Louisville Beth Moore event several years ago, I felt God draw in the spiritual realm His finger from Beth back to me. I was scared to tell anyone for fear they would laugh at me, but I knew I was supposed to write about all who He is, what He has done in my life, and how He can do it in other people’s lives, too. I don’t understand what it means exactly and how it will be fulfilled in this realm. I just hold onto this life word for me. He also told me to start going deeper and following Beth’s steps by learning the precepts Bible study method. I have learned how to study the Word of God, to discover truth for myself, to hear the voice of God, and to feel Him breathe life into me because His Word is alive and breathes life into us when we study it. I am becoming more alive every day in the Spirit.
I have retained that word. I will not let the enemy steal it from me. I hide that promise in my heart and cover it with my hand. I shield it by accepting it as a truth and not letting my mind think I must have imagined it since it has not come true yet. This is what you and I are called to do when God gives us a promise.
Beloved, I encourage you. I implore you to do the same. Whatever God has you on this planet to do will take perseverance. Hang in there! Do not quit! Do not stop! It takes time, perseverance, and believing the word that God spoke over your life. Add the three together and it equals arriving at your calling. Join me on the journey.
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, I know You have a word for my life. You have told me or You are going to tell me a life word. Help me to press through any discouragement, exhaustion, temptation, and suffering. Through my tears and through my pain, I still believe You and Your plan for my life. For the times when I start to think it is impossible, help me to cling to all that I know about who You are and what You will do in the lives of those who believe You. I am determined to not quit before the harvest comes. Someday, Your word will prove me true! In the mighty Name of Jesus, Yeshua, I pray. Amen.