Script and Process - Episode 5: The Epic Ending (Joseph's Pattern)

Joseph’s life script was revealed by God through a dream. Immediately after, Joseph was plunged into a vigorous and heart wrenching process which was an integral component to the ultimate fulfillment of his script.  In the previous episodes, we have looked at how Joseph endured the low points of the process (pit, slavery, false allegation, prison) and the outworking of kingdom invariables which heaven puts much significance on, to sanction and authorise our continuous perpetuation through the various phases of the script. Some of these were gratitude, forgiveness, hope and trust, fear of God, excellent spirit, and unflinching commitment.  But transcending them all is the constant companionship of the Almighty in all that we do and go through. Many may question God's proximity in the lows of their process, but as long as we bear the pressure of the journey and stay faithful, God will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrew 13:5). His presence will always accompany us whether we feel Him or not.  It’s a truth that our faith is now being enhanced by the process which it is now acquainted with.  The process elevates our faith above emotion, circumstances and other natural navigational devices, to become the predominant leading torchlight of our journey.  This makes every earnest seeker of the script life live not by bread (natural) but by the proceeding word of God (spiritual realities). 

"It is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" – Matthew 4:4 NKJV

In this episode, we will look at the thrilling culmination of Joseph’s script and how God is unwaveringly committed to the methodical materialization of our script and our success on earth. If truth be known, God is more committed to our success than we are ourselves! 

They Bowed Down

"Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf." And his brothers said to him, "Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me." So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?" And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind"
-Genesis 37:5-11 NKJV 

The very reality that Joseph saw in his dream came to pass in 17 years. What started with a vision in mind was now a reality before His eyes when his brothers and father literally kneeled and gave him the highest honor and respect. He was now the prince of Egypt and the entire nation itself held Joseph in high honour, third highest to the King. And for his father and brothers to witness this was deeply humbling and I am sure joyful at the same time.

"Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it.  Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!"
- Genesis 45:1-4 NIV

When Joseph revealed himself, his brothers were terrified in his presence. Joseph now had the upper hand and his brothers were literally at his mercy. A picture far removed from that first scene of his script when his brothers were filled with hate and murder and wanted him dead (Genesis 37:18-20). It's funny how unique and colourful the multifaceted scenes of our life script can be and how it can dramatically change from bad to great success if we give it time and endurance! It’s just like watching a movie where the main character starts out weak, defeated acquiescent and hopeless; but nevertheless possesses a dream with a great promise and future. But after his rendezvous with his process in the movie, he becomes the embodiment of power, strength, victory and hope at the end.  

Joseph witnessed firsthand the reversal of fortune and his brothers immediately crashed into the pit of guilt and condemnation for what they had done to him. Joseph could have put a lid on that pit and kept them there as they had done to him in the beginning, but the man of hope and dreams who lived for the total manifestation of God's plan understood that the achievement of his finished script was for the good of many, even his enemies!

"Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time. Israel said to Joseph, "Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive”
- Genesis 46:29-30 NIV

"So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their children"  - Genesis 47:11-12 NIV

Now it’s very clear from the above scriptures that even Joseph’s father had joyfully succumbed to the glory and power of Joseph. The aged man Jacob was ready to resign from this life as he laid eyes upon his son and recognised the tremendous favour and authority God had given. I am sure that Jacob was not surprised at all with what he saw, for he had kept the dream Joseph spoke of in the beginning in his heart (Genesis 37:1). And now that Joseph had reached the pinnacle of his life script, Jacob declared that he himself was ready to die. Joseph achieving the height of what God had planned for him also meant the fulfillment of his father's script. See how life is very much interconnected and how everyone and everything symbiotically depend on one another? This is God's great wisdom from the beginning and it puts the onus on us to ensure the we arrive at the ultimate place of our purpose in life, for it can potentially close the last chapter on someone else's life script. My finish means your completion and your finish means other people's completion of their life's script.  And if we don’t ever finish, many whose assignments and scripts overlap with ours will not have the completion and the sense of fulfillment they deserve. Let's not ever forget this principle and please don’t let your fellow pilgrims in life walk without you and you without them. We need one another to have an epic and grand ending to life!

Salvation and Preservation of a Legacy

Joseph’s epic ending not only saved his entire family from the worse famine of their time, but it preserved a legacy and God's divine purpose for the inauguration of the nation of Israel and the birthing of the Saviour of the world – JESUS! Our total finishing in God is so far reaching even beyond our time and generation, but that's how the economy of heaven works. God had a nation called Israel in Jacob's loins and God orchestrated the future to ensure that no natural disasters would hinder the formation of this divine intention.  Hence Joseph came forth in the right time for the right mission. God always sees the end from the beginning and the big picture of life from eternity to eternity is always before Him. We mere men, are mostly preoccupied with what's before us naturally and only on what the natural eyes can fathom. But if we lift up the eyes of our spirit, we can see what God sees. That Jacob’s script overlapped and was in continuum with Joseph’s and both men represented different generations serving an unchanging divine mandate of heaven.

On this note, I'd like for us to appreciate the generations that have gone before us, whether they arrived at the zenith of their purpose in life or not. The fact is, their lives (success and failures) have played into who and where we are today. We must learn and appreciate the past in order to build the future that God had divinely invested in our scripts. Without a genuine gratitude for the past which includes our parents, family, friends, spiritual leaders, life models and anything else that has formed, shaped and inspired who we are today, then our future could be far worse than our past. What you don't appreciate you will tend to repeat!

We must remember that our total completion in God not only completes the script of the former generation but it helps set up and initiate the next generation and their purposes in God. The baton of God's unchanging purpose is being passed from generation to generation, and we like Joseph will be saving many from the detrimental circumstances of life and preserving the legacy of heaven for the Joseph's of the future!

Salvation of a Nation

It is amazing how a Jew (Joseph) could be so powerful and influential in Egypt a heathen nation, and how his divine script brought salvation to that nation from the devastating famine that struck the world at that time! God's script affects and blesses even unbelievers and heathen nations. Because of Josephs’ faithfulness, God blessed Egypt’s political, economic, social systems and beyond. The impact of God’s script in our lives affects all things around us. I believe that one of the most effective ways to bring sinners and goat nations to God today is to live out our script openly and publicly before the eyes of the world. And as they witness our faithfulness, our 10 times better success and our uncompromising character and integrity, they will turn to God and be blessed by the Almighty. The King of Egypt recognised this in Joseph and even paid homage to the God of Joseph because of this!

Let the church of Jesus today pursue our divine script like Joseph so that our success in God's purpose saves nations also. We are supposed to be a blessing to the world by bringing God to their doorsteps through the quality of our lives, conduct and our unbeatable standard of our work ethics and success. Who we are and what we do is the best form of propagating the gospel to unbelievers today. The world does not want to hear more about Jesus but see Him through us. We are the word of God personified. Joseph, who is also a type of Jesus, exemplified this truth in his lifetime and that is why the King of Egypt acknowledged God and His blessing enveloped all of Egypt.

Global Impact

Josephs’ life had a global resonance and impact. The famine that affected his family was a global crisis and the bible said that many from the nations of the world came to Egypt seeking food.

"So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all the lands"  - Genesis 41:57 NKJV

And as the nations gathered for their provision, it was Joseph that they had to deal with because the King had given Joseph authority literally over the entire nation.

Global impact has always been God's intention for those who are serious with His plan and purpose. We don’t necessarily have to travel the entire globe to do this, but our faithfulness and obedience to God's script releases global power and anointing from wherever we may be. The power to change the world is in our faithfulness, obedience and commitment to finish our script on earth regardless of the unpleasant nature of the process. We, like Joseph, can be sought by the world according to the unique aspect of God's inheritance we are destined to manifest on the earth. It may not be natural food they are seeking from us but divine food like; wisdom, revelation, creative and innovative ideas, business and financial models, political ideology, family and church solutions and so much more.

This is our time to rise up and continue our pursuit of God and the fulfillment of His script for us until we reach the apex of our success and impact that consequently affects families, communities, cities, nations and the whole entire world.

Let the OG Revolution continue....