Level Up: Lessons from difficult seasons

“The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.”

Bertrand Russell

Are you ready to level up? Do you feel stuck in place and can’t seem to move forward? I know the feeling all too well, but there is something to be said for being stuck for a season. It’s like in the movie Groundhog Day where the main character keeps reliving the same day over and over again until he gets it right. He has to figure out what he needs to learn to move forward.

Level 1

Seasons are like that. There is something for us to learn in each of them that help us grow, but it also prepares us for what comes next. It’s like a computer game I was playing last week. I felt like I had been stuck at the same difficult level for weeks although it had only been days. Within the game, there were smaller games you could play that offered special tools as rewards. So, I played these and racked up a stack of rewards. When I went back to the difficult level, I was able to complete it because of these tools.

Could the difficult seasons that seem to be holding us back from our destiny or purpose actually be preparing us with the right tools we will need to fulfill our purpose? Take a look at Joseph in Genesis. He was the favored son and had a dream of one day being a leader, a dream which angered his brothers. Finally, they got so angry that they sold him into slavery to get rid of him.

And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

Genesis 39:4

As slave to Potiphar, Joseph learned how to run a house and an estate. He worked his way up until he was made overseer. Prior to that, Joseph had just been in charge of his father’s sheep. After a run-in with Potiphar’s wife, Joseph is unfairly imprisoned. It sounds harsh, right, but look what Joseph does in response.

Level 2

And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.

Genesis 39:22

Even in prison, Joseph becomes a leader. It is also in prison that Joseph meets the Baker and Cup Bearer for Pharaoh. He helps them out, but one is executed and the other forgets about him, temporarily. When the time is right, the Cup Bearer remembers Joseph, and he is called to court to help Pharaoh understand his dream. Joseph uses the skills he has already been given and tells the Pharaoh what he needs to know in order to avert disaster in the coming years.

Level 3

³⁹ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: ⁴⁰ Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. ⁴¹ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41: 39-41

When the famine comes to Joseph’s family, they come to Egypt for help and find their brother in charge. He has reached the age and skills that he is ready to be a leader of both his family and an entire country. The little boy guarding his father’s sheep would not have been able to accomplish this. It was the difficult seasons that gave him the tools to level up when the opportunity appeared.

So, if you are feeling stuck in place, look around and see what you can learn from this season, this job, or this time. Gather up the tools or skills where you are so that you will be ready to level up when God says the time is right. Make the most of where you are and find the little joys all around you and strive to be like Paul:

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

Philippians 4:11

It’s a work in progress, so celebrate the little victories and enjoy the journey because difficult times come and go. We might as well make the most of them.