God of Turnaround By Babatunde Olugboji
Happy New Year!
We thank the Lord of hosts, the Almighty God, for bringing us into another year. I declare that this new year shall be a year of great accomplishments for you and all members of your household.
This week, we will anchor our discussion on the story of Joseph and his brothers, as we open with a powerful piece of scripture in the book of Genesis.
So, Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also. Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people.” So, when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked .“From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.” Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.” (Genesis 42: 5-8)
This passage presents the point where the dream of Joseph became manifest. His brothers actually bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. They were fully aware that in this time of famine, their lives literally depended on this official they thought was an Egyptian, therefore, they paid him great respect by bowing. It must have been oddly satisfying for Joseph to have remembered the dream he had some 20 years before, that his brothers would bow down to him. What a turnaround.
Our God is a God of turnaround!
When Joseph’s brothers plotted against him and sold him into slavery, they did it with the specific intention of squashing his dreams. (Genesis 37:19-20) Instead, by sending Joseph to Egypt, they propelled him into his destiny. They inadvertently provided the means by which his dreams would be fulfilled.
Some of you may be in a situation where you think your dream has died. I want you to declare this week: Because God is on the throne, my dream will not die, those who swore that I would always eat from their hands will see me being immensely blessed.
The great and glorious truth of God’s providence is that God can and does use the evil actions of man towards us to further His good plan. This never excuses man’s evil, but it means God’s wisdom and goodness are greater than man’s evil.
Surely the wrath of man shall praise God. (Psalm 76:10) This year, wherever your haters may emanate from, whether from your family or among enemies masquerading as friends, whatever evil plans they may have, God will surely use those evil plans to further His great plans for you.
Did you notice that Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him? True, his brothers had aged, but so had he. So, the fact that they did not recognize him wasn’t all down to changed physical attributes. I believe God had given him a makeover that went beyond what the eyes could see. There was something remarkably different about him, not just physically. God had repackaged him.
This year, God will touch you in a different way and haters who saw you last year would not even recognize you. But you will recognize them and give praise to God.
Have a great week one of year 2022.
Kingdom Dynamics, a weekly column written by Dr. Babatunde Olugboji, the President, Kingdom House, a non-profit organization in New Jersey, USA.
