Tested By the Word of the Lord

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"He sent a man before them — Joseph— who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters; he was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him." (Psalm 105:17-19)

Joseph waited years before his dreams came true. The waiting was not in vain. God used the time to refine Joseph as gold in a furnace. Joseph’s dreams were from God, but his childish pride was not. The harsh years were not for the sake of proving the dreams true, but for proving Joseph to be true.

The Lord’s refining process does the same in our lives today. Many receive dreams and visions from God, but conduct themselves with immaturity. Like Joseph, they must go through seasons of refinement.

Joseph held to the vision God gave him for his life. It kept him through everything he experienced. He was restrained from sin, redeemed from sorrow and restored to honor by holding on to the dreams from God.

It may be, my fellow traveler, that you are undergoing a test from the Lord, which is applied in love to insure that when your dream comes true -- you will be true as well.
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