God planned an incredible work in and through Joseph, and communicated that plan to him at an early age. Lacking the maturity to handle the vision of such a glorious dream, Joseph shared it with anyone and everyone who would listen…and even a few who didn’t want to listen?

His brothers didn’t take too kindly to hearing Joseph boast of God’s plan to exalt him over his brothers and to make Joseph a ruler over even his own family. They took matters into their own hands, at first plotting to kill him, but eventually satisfied to sell him off as a common slave to a caravan headed for Egypt. They thought distance would derail Joseph’s dream, and it almost did.

Joseph began at his father’s house, the favored child of his father, and a future brimming with promise. He eventually ascended to second in command to the most powerful ruler of his time – the Egyptian Pharaoh. The road from daddy’s house to Pharaoh’s palace took some disappointing and odd twists and turns, but he eventually wound up in exactly the same position God had promised him.

Joseph probably never would have chosen to leave his father’s house. He would have been pleased to inherit Jacob’s extensive holdings and to take over for his father – one of the wealthiest men of his time. God’s plan for Joseph however was not to preside over a family business but to administer the most powerful empire of his time.

Consider this, however. Joseph could not have made it to Pharaoh’s palace without a pit, Potiphar’s house, and prison. God led Joseph through some really dark times before fulfilling His promise.

Things did not end at my previous church the way I would have chosen, but God necessarily allowed it to happen to prepare me for what is next. Without my present circumstances, I may not be as open to whatever God may choose to do with me next.

As for you, do not be quick to despise unexpected and unwelcome circumstances in your life. God may have you in your pit or your prison to prepare you for His version of your Pharaoh’s palace. Let God reveal Himself to you in your present circumstances. Let God prepare you for what He has in store next. Know that the “various trials” James writes about make us complete and ready for what God already has planned for us.