Character.

This is me every day in church.

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     Today I heard a great sermon about Joseph and the many tests he went through to reach his destiny. (He would become the 2nd highest in command in Egypt and prepare the area to survive a severe famine.)

     An interesting thing I learned was that God has a dream for each of our lives.  But in order to move from the dream stage of our lives to our destiny, we must have character.

A few definitions for character: 

•          “moral or ethical quality”
•       “qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity”
•       “reputation”
•          “good repute”

      God knows us better than we know ourselves. We can’t fool God into thinking we have good character and hope to be elevated to higher positions.  I was told today, it is God’s grace that doesn't put us in our destiny early because we would fall for lack of character.  Joseph was in jail 13 years before he rose to 2nd in command.  How do we get character? Perseverance.  Perseverance is a long trial that involves a battle. When we have this character that gives us hope, and hope produces appointment. 

     I personally believe we each have many appointments in life. I think about my current job where I am the youngest person in the building; I consider that a blessing and an appointment.  But I know there are greater appointments that God has for me.  And until then I have to practice one of my least favorite things: patience. Patience is “keeping your heart right while you wait.”  So I will practice patience as I make the most out of my current appointment and see what other blessings God has in store for me.