pop szn

"There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace."

-Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Over the summer, I struggled to grasp the idea of preparation.  I haven’t posted a blog post about my summer yet, and though I hope to do it soon, it will probably take me longer than I expected as I am still coming to terms with everything that happened during those three months. My summer was heavy. A lot didn’t happen but a lot also happened. Throughout the whole time, all I wanted was for God to show me that everything was okay. However, as the summer progressed, my situation just continued to worsen. It seemed like God wasn’t saying anything, but now I know that He was reminding me, “I am preparing you for an opportunity that will align with your purpose.” Thus, p.o.p. szn (season) was born.

The essence of pop szn is that it is a specific season in your life where you are going through a situation (bad or good) that God is using to PREPARE you for an OPPORTUNITY (in the near or far future) that will align with His individual and unique PURPOSE for you. This is not something that I came up with on my own. A few weeks ago, at a prayer meeting, we were engaging in listening prayer (where you just sit and listen to what God had to say to you) and the Holy Spirit laid those three words on my heart. I had been asking God to tell me why my summer had gone horribly wrong and why it seemed like He didn’t care about me at all. That was my answer – that He was doing something bigger in my life than I could ever imagine, and it was true.

There are many instances in the Bible where we see people being tested or prepared by God for something greater. I would like to focus on the story of Joseph (Read Genesis 37-47). Many of us grew up with the story of Joseph. It was one of those Sunday School stories. There is a musical and a movie about it! In summary, Joseph had eleven half-brothers who all disliked him because Jacob (their father) showed great favor towards him. If you think you had mean siblings, think twice! Joseph’s brothers were so mean that they sold him into slavery! Why were they so mean? Well, Joseph had a dream that, when interpreted, predicted that his brothers would bow down to him. They were all upset by this because Joseph was the youngest – aged 17.

After being sold into slavery, Joseph worked for Potiphar, Pharaoh’s official. While working, Joseph was seduced by Potiphar’s wife, but he resisted. After he refused, Potiphar’s wife framed him, telling the servants and her husband that Joseph tried to sleep with her. So, Joseph was thrown into prison. Long story short, Joseph ended up having another dream, interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, being set free from prison, and being made the ruler of Egypt.

To me, it seems like, from his first dream, Joseph was expecting to be a ruler right away. He received a dream from God telling him that everyone would bow down to him. He was probably very chuffed when he had the dream. Little did he know that he had to go through so much before he became the ruler of Egypt. From my experience, before your pop szn starts, God will tell you something great that He has planned for you. In Joseph’s case, God told him that he would rule over some people. For me, God told me what my purpose in life was and I was excited to get going. I was excited to take the “easy” steps needed to start fulfilling my purpose. Just like Joseph, I was oblivious of what was to come.

Joseph was then sold into slavery by his brothers. I’d like to draw your attention to a verse from this story.

"The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did."

-Genesis 39:23

This verse comes after Joseph is thrown into prison for allegedly wanting to sleep with Potiphar’s wife. What struck me is that even though Joseph was in this situation, we are told that the LORD was with him (so he was not alone) and that he would inevitably have success. Isn’t that powerful? Joseph didn’t know this, though. He thought the Lord had forsaken him. He was probably thinking, “Okay God. What games are you playing? You told me that my brothers would bow down to me, yet here I am in prison far away from my home and it doesn’t look like I’m getting out of here!” I remember thinking something like that when I was in a similar situation where I felt like God had lied to me or had forgotten about me. I remember asking myself why God would tell me my purpose and then prevent me from acting to fulfill it during the summer. What I didn’t know was that I was being prepared.

Would you go onto a battlefield without training? Would you run a race without ever having prepared for it? I hope your answer is no. God showed me that when he gives you an opportunity and you are unprepared, you will waste it. Joseph had to go through everything that he did so that he could be the ruler that he was. I believe that his hardships made him wiser and allowed him to rule the people of Egypt with confidence when the time came. God doesn’t want you to go into battle unprepared. Those times of difficulty equip you with the tools that you need to handle the adversities that you will face when you have been given an opportunity.

There are many seasons in our lives where we go through preparation for an opportunity and these times are not easy. If they were easy, they wouldn’t be true preparation, would they? Those two stages are repeated (which can be annoying) but in the end, it all links to your purpose. Joseph’s purpose was to be a good ruler. Even though we knew this right from the beginning, it took years to fulfill that purpose and it took courage and patience for him to eventually reach that point. Although I know what my purpose in life is, I know that it will take me a long time to prepare for it, and with each opportunity that comes my way, I know that it will allow me to fulfill the purpose that God has for my life.

It’s easy to forget that we have a purpose (some of us may know it and some may not) when we are going through situations that we think we shouldn’t be going through. Remember that you wouldn’t go into battle without armor or weapons. I would like to encourage you to pray over your pop szn, especially during the time of preparation where you are most likely to be deterred from your purpose. Ask God to give you strength and patience. I believe that it’s worth it.

God truly loves you.

With love,

Mandile.