The Lord says:
"In the physical realm, you may look like you are going downhill in your life, or it seems like your best days are behind you. But I am saying to you that I am still adding upon you My spiritual substance, My anointing, My wisdom, even My strength. It doesn't matter how earthly men look at you. It doesn't matter what earthly men say about you. But I am in the midst of building you behind the scene, and I am in the midst of preparing you for greater things ahead of you."
Let's look at the life of Joseph now. Interestingly, the name 'Joseph' in Hebrew is 'Yosef', which means 'YHWH has added'. This word 'Yosef' comes from the root word 'yasaf', which means 'to add, to increase'.
Genesis 37:3-4 (NKJV) says, 'Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.'
Genesis 37:5 (NKJV) says, 'Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.'
To cut the story short, the dream was about his brothers bowing down to him. So, all these brothers hated him even more for the dream and the words that he had spoken to them.
Now, if you look at Genesis chapter 37, you would see that even though the Lord had given Joseph a dream about his future, and that his future is good; but in the physical realm, it was actually the beginning of him going downhill in his life, at least in the eyes of the world, of course.
Not only did his brothers hated him, they even wanted to kill him! However, one of his brothers, Reuben, told them not to kill him, but cast him into a pit instead. They then sold Joseph to the Midianite traders who passed by, and these traders took him to Egypt. There in a foreign land, Joseph became a servant to Potiphar. Yet in those days, the Lord was still with Joseph, and Joseph found favor in his master Potiphar's sight. Potiphar therefore made Joseph overseer of his house. But just as things began looking up, Joseph was then accused by Potiphar's wife for something he never did. And that's how Joseph ended up in a prison.
Beloved of God, if you are in a situation where it seems like you are getting from bad to worse, and things are not getting better, take heart. The Lord is not dead. The Lord is still working behind the scene for you. The Lord is still preparing you and building you. Be patient. Persevere. Let the Lord do His part. He will know how to make things happen in His time. In His time, He will make all things beautiful for you. So, hang on there and hang on strong to the Lord.
By Genesis chapter 40, things began turning around for Joseph. It happened that the chief butler and the chief baker of the king of Egypt were thrown into the same prison where Joseph was. They both had a dream, each man's dream in one night. Joseph interpreted their dreams, and these dreams came to pass. The king restored the chief butler to his butlership, but he hanged the chief baker; just as Joseph had interpreted. After the chief butler was freed from the prison, he forgot Joseph. It was only after two full years later, when Pharaoh had a dream himself, and no one knew how to interpret Pharaoh's dream, that this chief butler remembered Joseph, and shared to Pharaoh that he knew of this Hebrew man in prison who could interpret his dream. Pharaoh then called for Joseph, and Joseph helped to interpret Pharaoh's dream. The rest is history. Pharaoh was impressed and he promoted Joseph only to be next to him. And you know the story, that during the seven years of famine, many people from different nations came to Egypt to look for food and to look for grains; and some of those were Joseph's own brothers. The dream that Joseph had earlier came to pass, because the brothers actually had to come and bow down to him.
You see, in the physical realm initially, it looked like Joseph was going downhill, and it seemed like Joseph's best days were behind him. But you know what, God works in ways that we cannot see. The Lord was actually 'adding upon' Joseph, preparing him and building him up for such a time. So it is the same with you. He is still preparing you. He is still building you. Just do not be discouraged. Keep looking to the Lord. Keep walking in His ways, just as Joseph did. Joseph walked in God's ways. He did not look at the left. He did not look at the right. He did not compromise. But he kept his faith before the Lord. And when the time came, the Lord promoted him. Beloved of God, your promotion time is also coming. Continue to allow Him to prepare you. Continue to allow Him to build you up. Continue to allow Him to get you ready for what is to come, the greater glory, the greater things ahead of you. Amen!
Prophetic words for you:
"These next three years, there's still time to prepare, there's still time to let God build you up in your spirit. These next three years, I see a new window is opening up, a new era is opening up. And the Lord wants you to prepare for this new window, this new era, that's coming for your life. Many new things are coming your way. Many new things are unfolding right before your eyes. But fear not, because these are the good things that the Lord has prepared and has in store for you. But this is your time to allow God to build you and prepare you. Surrender your life to Him. Yield your life to Him. Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you. Keep building yourself in the Word and in the Spirit. And you will be like Joseph. In due time, the window of opportunity will come for you. The window of promotion will come for you. A new horizon is opening up for your life."
