Are You A Channel Or A Dam?

Did you know God is looking for available people to accomplish His kingdom purposes on earth? Sadly, many miss out because instead of being a channel through which God can pour out His resources or leverage their influence to help others, life’s challenges have a way of causing them to become a dam or stopped up, preventing them from using the resources God entrusts to them to benefit others.

Let’s look at the life of Joseph. He was an example of a man who didn’t let his negative circumstances prevent him from becoming a blessing to many.

You see, Joseph had a dream from God to one day lead and rule over people. He had no idea how this dream would come to pass, but he believed God could make it happen. Shortly after God gave Joseph the dream, several unfortunate circumstances befell Joseph: he was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery, he was wrongly accused of trying to rape his master’s wife and then was put in prison for many, many years.

I am sure Joseph struggled to understand why he went through all these events and what purpose they could have in his life. But deep on the inside, he learned to trust God by faith regardless of what things looked like in the natural. Then, one day, after being in prison for a very long time, the king of Egypt had a dream from God that left him unsettled. He summoned Joseph from prison to interpret its meaning. Through divine revelation, Joseph was able to offer the king wisdom on how to save the entire nation of Egypt from an impending famine. Instantly, Joseph was promoted to second in command of all of Egypt – the most powerful position in the kingdom apart from the king himself. Joseph immediately began implementing the strategy to save Egypt. Little did he know that he would eventually save his whole family as well!

While in prison, Joseph used his God-given talents and spiritual gifts to encourage the butler who had become distrat. In other words, he did not let his difficult circumstances keep him from being a blessing to the baker or anyone else for that matter. He was an open channel that God could use to be a blessing to those in need. Many times, instead of being an open channel for God to flow through us, we can easily let the difficulties of life, offenses, failures, and disappointments clog our channel, and we become a dam, stopping God’s ability to work through us. Joseph had an opportunity to get bitter, but he didn’t. He allowed God to build character through the challenges and trusted God to vindicate him at just the right time. This trust kept his channel open to hear from God and dispense God’s love and goodness to people. Just think, Joseph’s act of kindness caused the butler to remember him and recommend him to the king. The rest is history. Joseph went on to fulfill God’s divine destiny for his life – the saving of an entire nation and his own family, who would one day become the nation of Israel. And, the Christ, Savior of the world, would come through his family lineage!

Just like Joseph, who trusted God in the midst of hardship, I found myself in a similar situation. I happened to be going through the worst financial crisis of my life when I came across a desperate pastor in Haiti who needed help. I had no experience in international missions, no extra money to give, and no guarantee that this would work out. But, like Joseph, I felt God prompting my heart to get involved. And because I stepped out in faith, I saw a miracle unfold!

Here is how it went down. Within the last year, I heard about a pastor in Haiti who had believed God for 13 years to build a church building for his congregation so that they could really minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the Les Cayes community. I was so moved and inspired by his story that I wanted to do something to help him fulfill his God-given dream! Unfortunately, I had been experiencing the worst financial difficulty of my life and did not see how I could possibly help this man. Nonetheless, I kept sensing the stirring of the Holy Spirit to take on this challenge. With no previous experience in global missions and no money, I began to lead a team from my church to help make this pastor’s dream come true. We asked everyday people to partner with us, and they responded with open arms. Enough money was raised for the first phase of the construction project, which was completed this past July. Even though I was facing my own financial struggles, God asked me to be a channel to help fulfill someone else’s dream like Joseph did and to trust Him to take care of my needs.

Is something in your life blocking you from stepping out in faith to help others? It could be a fear of not having enough or the weight of your own challenges. But remember, just like Joseph, when we trust God even in the hardest of times, He can use us as a channel of blessing to others. You never know where that one act of kindness might lead. For me, one act of obedience helped build a church and changed an entire community in Haiti.

So, what is God asking you to do? Take that step of faith today, and let God work through you. Be the channel of His love and goodness—your act of obedience might be the key to someone else’s breakthrough.