Has anyone else felt like 2025 has pulled no punches whatsoever? Back on New Years, I greeted this year with the belief that this was The Year. Things were going to go right. I was poised in a rising position of church leadership, the collaborative book I’ve been a part of since 2023 was going to get published, things were going to happen. I was excited! My life was coming into alignment!
Then it started crashing. And burning. What I was so sure was going right exploded in my face. I experienced strong conflict from someone who I believed was a trusted mentor. I stepped down from my leadership position and exited the church where I had been serving completely. Suddenly I found myself untethered. Tossed about in unfamiliar waters.
Straight up lost.
And yet… when I inquired of the Lord what I should be looking for next, He give me a single word: expectation.
He pointed me yet again to the story of Joseph, found in Genesis 37 and 39-50. About month back He had given me a word about leaving Potiphar’s House and clearly there was more for me to learn from Joseph’s story.
Joseph’s story is full of fallings and risings. He fell into a cistern because of his brothers’ jealousy over his dreams and father’s favoritism. He rose to be in charge of Potiphar’s house. He fell back into jail after being falsely accused by Mrs. Potiphar. And he rose yet again to become second in command of Egypt.
I’m not currently writing from a season of rising though. And you may not be reading this from that sort of season either. Maybe you’re sitting in the cistern, having just been betrayed by your brothers. Maybe you’re sitting in an Egyptian prison after being falsely accused. We can turn the next page in our bibles and see how Joseph’s story ended, but we can’t do that with our own lives.
My study showed me a realization about a common theme of Joseph’s “down and out” seasons: God was with him everywhere.
God saw Joseph in the cistern and spared his life. God saw Joseph in the prison, and gave him favor so that at the right time, he would be elevated.
Why does this matter? Because God is with you too, in your cistern and in your prison. He’s using these hard seasons to refine you and me, to strip away anything that will actually harm us when the time of elevation comes. And every time something gets stripped away from us is actually an opportunity to expect in a new direction.
So while you’re sitting in your pit, here are a few things you can do to prepare for what will happen next–because something new WILL be coming, when the time is right!
- Let go of your old expectations.
This makes room for God to do a new thing in your life! Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV) is one of my favorite life verses, which says: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
- Lean into His presence.
He is with you in every season you walk through! Matthew 28:20b (NIV) reminds us that Jesus said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We don’t walk alone; His presence is with us, even in the pit!
- Remember God’s promises.
This keeps you encouraged so that you don’t give up. Galatians 6:9 (NIV) says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” What He says He will do, we just have to not give up before the time becomes the “right time.”
- Take one step at a time.
Which is okay, by the way. You don’t always have to see miles ahead of you. Sometimes all that you can see is the next step. Take it anyway. Psalm 119:105 (NIV) reminds us, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
- Live with open hands.
This allows you to be a conduit for receiving new dreams. I wrote about this back in August, and you can read the post “Let Me Dream For You” here.
- Trust God to make a way.
He did for Joseph. And He will for you!
Friends, I can’t put a pretty bow on your situation and tell you when you’ll leave the pit, but I can tell you this: in Christ, we have a hope that never fades, never gives up, and never abandons us. Just because it doesn’t make sense now doesn’t mean it will never make sense. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8), which means He’s the same in the desert, in the prison, and when the time of elevation comes.
Even in the pit, don’t be afraid to set aside your old dreams and make room to expect in a new direction. God has never left you, and He never will.
Blessings,
~Lynne
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