Written Ben Dankaka
Meditation – Psalm 105:17
Joseph was a young man whom God had preordained to be a great leader. But he was a small Jewish boy who didn’t have the right qualifications. He only knew how to take care of sheep and run errands for his father. Joseph didn’t even have the toughness of a leader because his father pampered him. To prepare him for the opportunity ahead, God had to let him go through some challenges. At first, Joseph didn’t understand what was happening in his life. His brothers sold him into slavery, then his master’s wife framed him and he was sent to jail. But while he was in prison, a situation arose which led to him, fulfilling what God had originally planned for him. When he reunited with his brothers, he didn’t curse them. Instead, he said “God sent me before you…” At that time, Joseph had realized he had been a student in God’s training camp, all along.
To be qualified for any work, you need to be trained. You can’t go to war without knowing how to fight. If you are intending to be a soldier, you must go to a military school. In fact, there’s no profession that doesn’t require training. Training is important because it is the only way we can be prepared for our future. This is the reason why we are all encouraged to go to school. School is a training camp. Just as we go to school in order to prepare ourselves for the opportunity ahead of us, God also enrolls us in His training program. But unlike our school’s training program, God’s training usually take place without our permission and most times, without our knowledge.
When God enrolls us in his own training camp, we don’t have to pay any money as we often do in our school’s training program. The price we pay for God’s training program is patience and faith. Unlike your school’s training, in God’s training camp, you may not understand what He is teaching you until He finishes the training. While your school’s training program may focus on building your professional skills, God’s program is often about building your character.
Just as you will often be tested in your school’s training, God will allow life to test you with trials and tribulations. Just as your school’s test is designed to improve your skills, in God’s training camp, the test is aimed at improving your character. It is after you have proven to your school that you can pass every test that you would be deem fit for graduation. In a similar way, God will make sure you are strong enough to pass and withstand every test before He will promote you and give you all that He wants you to have.
Prayer: Lord, give me the grace to pass the test. Amen.
REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 105:17; Genesis 45:7
Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.