Pastor Dan’s Blog

Beyond The Now

The now sucks. I have faced my share of now’s. The struggles of the now can blind you to the promises of the next. Joseph’s ability to press on beyond the now and push toward the next was a daily struggle and daily commitment to the promises of God.

 

How did he do it?

 

Here are a couple thoughts that keep me pressing on:

 

1.      He Believed For The Next, Lived In The Now

Hope is powerful thing. Hope is the fuel that powers us beyond what we see and helps us believe that better days lay ahead. When we lose our hope, we lose our desire for tomorrow.

 

Joseph believed in tomorrow yet understood his responsibility to live in the now. What we do today will affect our tomorrow. We can hope all we want but we cannot ignore the problems of today. We must face them. We must deal with them. We must actively work through them. Faith without works is dead.

 

2.      He Developed His Gift While Forming His Character

Throughout the struggles in Joseph’s life, each trial or place he landed, he utilized the situation to develop his giftings while forming his character. Each problem became a unique opportunity to use practice his gifts and develop his character.

 

In the pit, he learned how to deal with rejection & the jealousy of others. In Potiphar’s home he learned how to manage a home & administrate. Falsely accused he learned how not to become bitter by circumstances beyond his control. In prison, he learned how to deal with difficult and conniving people. Forgotten, he learned how to deal with disappointment. Each set back was actually a set up by God for the next step on his way toward destiny.

 

3.      Lastly, He Realized His Destiny Was Bigger Than His Dream

Joseph dream set his destiny into motion but his dream was actually a small part of his destiny. The dream was about his brothers bowing but his destiny was so much bigger. His dream had brothers bowing. His destiny had a nation bowing while he saved them and surround countries.

 

As big as your dreams may be God’s destiny for your life is so much bigger. The dream is about you, the destiny is about others. The dream might cause jealousy but destiny creates hope. Your dream just helps you step through the doors of destiny.

 

The “now’s” of life will not stand compared to God’s “next” for your life! Hang in there your now will soon give way to your next.

Tags: Character, faith, gift, hope, next, now

From Dream To Destiny

Joseph’s dream led him to his destiny. He moved beyond the problems of the now into the promises of the next. Many of Joseph’s now moments would have caused many to give up on the next. Joseph was able to see beyond the now. Your dream is the hope that fuels your passion through the problems of the now.

 

When I was 17, I left San Jose to a small bible college in Arizona. I never lived in San Jose again. When I left, I did so knowing I would never return. Little did I know that God’s road map for my life included bridges I had burned.

 

I had a dream to make a difference. I wanted to encourage & challenge a generation through the word of God in a non traditional way. I had never dreamed that some day I would plant a church, pastor a church, author a blog that has reached 49 states and 72 countries, speak to NFL executives & players, it just wasn’t my dream but it was my destiny.

 

When I came out of high school, the Air Force was my destination. I took the ASFAB test and scored a 95% in mechanical and 17% in communications. In other words, public speaking was not my gift. In fact the recruiter told me I could pick my field in mechanical but would never be in the communications field. Now today, I am a communicator. Your dream will lead you toward your destiny.

 

The word of God explains it this way. The dream pushes you toward your ultimate destiny (purpose) for being placed on this earth. Joseph’s dream in actuality was a very small part of the big picture. Joseph’s dream was for his brothers to bow before him but to his destiny was to use his influence & power to save the world. The dream of his brothers was an insignificant part of his destiny. Sure the brothers eventually bowed before him but that was not his destiny. The bowing (dream) is the result of his destiny (purpose) being fulfilled.

 

Your dream is not your destiny but it will lead you to it.

 

Your dream is about you but your destiny is about others. Joseph’s dream was about people bow to him but the dream left out the “why” they were bowing. The “why” is our destiny. Like a carrot in front of a stubborn mule that motivates him to move, our dreams are God’s carrot to keep us moving toward our destiny.

 

Next week I will tell you how to push beyond the now in life to reach your next.

Tags: Destiny, dream, next, now, purpose