If You’re Facing These Trials, Your Blessing is Within Reach

The journey toward fulfilling a divine dream or receiving a promised blessing is often preceded by intense trials and spiritual warfare. These difficult circumstances are not proof of failure, but proof that the blessing is just within your reach and that you are closer than you know. Before God delivers a significant breakthrough, promotion, or miracle, He must test your character to ensure you are strong enough to handle the responsibility and weight that comes with the blessing.

The life of Joseph, who transitioned from a dreamer to the second-highest authority in Egypt, serves as the definitive blueprint for the seven essential tests believers must pass right before their destiny is fulfilled. Failing any of these tests may cause the believer to repeat the test again.

The Blueprint of Breakthrough: Joseph’s 7 Tests

The sources detail seven distinct tests that measure integrity, humility, attitude, and faithfulness as a believer approaches their moment of divine fulfillment.

Test 1: The Test of Service (Humility)

When Joseph received the revelation of his future greatness (that his brothers would bow to him), he did not allow pride to enter his heart. He readily responded, “I’m ready to go” when his father asked him to check on his brothers tending the flocks.

• The Trap of Pride: Many believers, upon receiving a great promise, allow the seed of corruption (pride) to be planted early, causing them to believe they are above service or mundane acts.
• The Kingdom Model: Avoiding service refuses the necessary process that would enable them to carry more. The world values dominance, but Jesus taught the reverse: whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. You must remain humble and available to serve, even after a great divine deposit has been made.

Test 2: The Test of Hiddenness (Patience and Processing)

Joseph’s brothers ripped off his beloved coat and threw him into an empty cistern—a dark place where no one could see him.

• Divine Protection, Not Punishment: This season of hiddenness is often not punishment, but divine protection. God ensures you do not prematurely enter a season you are not ready for, which could cause the blessing to destroy you.
• Overlooked and Underused: This stage involves being overlooked, underused, or facing people who are trying to suppress your voice and prevent your promotion.
• Purifying Motives: Hiddenness is where God processes your character and purifies your motives, ensuring you are doing the work only for the glory of God.

Test 3: The Test of Discouragement (Attitude and Exposure)

After being pulled from the pit, Joseph was sold into slavery for 20 pieces of silver. This period brings heartache, betrayal, rejection, and a sense of hopelessness that makes the believer feel disconnected from God.

• The Crushing Process: This test is likened to extracting oil from an olive through crushing. The trials do not produce the anointing; they reveal the anointing that is already inside you.
• Exposing Negativity: When crushed, negative traits like doubt, cynicism, bitterness, and entitlement are exposed.
• Remaining in Truth: You pass this test by remaining in faith and refusing the temptation to become cynical. Negativity is a self-defense mechanism against disappointment, but believers are called to live in truth and faith, knowing a better tomorrow is coming.

Test 4: The Test of Faithfulness (Consistency and Excellence)

Joseph was purchased by Potiphar, where he served with such excellence that the Lord gave him success in everything he did.

• Excellence Over Time: Faithfulness is not just doing something for a long period of time; it is doing something over a long period of time with excellence and the right attitude.
• Rejecting Entitlement: It is dangerous to adopt an attitude of entitlement—believing God owes you a blessing because of years of service, tithing, or consistent behavior. God is never obligated to bless us.
• Integrity in Circumstance: Your response to trials and betrayal says more about you than about those who betray you. You must stay the course and give your best even when you aren’t in the best of circumstances.

Test 5: The Test of Blessings (Integrity in Comfort)

Joseph gained complete administrative responsibility over Potiphar’s house, a season of ease and comfort that seemed like the fulfillment of the dream. This period, however, brings the challenge of maintaining integrity.

• The Trap of Comfort: Blessings are confusing because they can trick the believer into believing they have reached their final destination, causing them to forget their need for God and rely less on the Holy Spirit.
• Keeping Integrity: Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph, but he refused to sleep with her, stating it would be a “great sin against God”. Joseph kept his integrity in this season of comfort.
• The Setback: When Joseph made the right choice, it resulted in what appeared to be punishment—he was thrown into prison. This challenges the believer to ask, “Why is this happening when I did everything right?”.

Test 6: The Test of Jealousy (Comparison and Timeline)

While in prison, Joseph interpreted the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker. Though the cupbearer was restored to Pharaoh’s court, he forgot about Joseph, leaving him imprisoned for a long time.

• The Comparison Trap: This test is about overcoming jealousy, competition, ego, and comparison. It is easy to be frustrated when others (especially new converts or newlyweds) receive miracles for which you have been praying for years.
• Checking Your Heart: God does not take from one person to bless another. Believers must check their hearts and exchange the negative mindset for a posture of faith and genuine goodwill toward others.
• Switching Focus: When the test arose for the speaker concerning infertility, the couple shifted their focus from their personal lack to faithfully serving others, which immediately led to a change in their attitude and eventually, a miracle baby girl.

Test 7: The Test of Faith (Boldness and Action)

The final test came when Joseph stood before Pharaoh, interpreting his troubling dreams. This required tremendous boldness because an incorrect interpretation or an offense could have led to his immediate death or return to prison.

• Taking the Step: This test often comes right on the verge of the blessing. Joseph stepped out in faith, relying on the Holy Spirit, which led to his promotion as second in command in all of Egypt.
• Honest Self-Examination: Believers are challenged to ask: “What is the step of faith that God has been telling me to take that I’m not taking?”. Do not withhold the action required, despite fear or hesitation.