Guest Author - Jill Austin

As we know, Joseph was once again betrayed, but the Lord allowed it. Strategically, Potiphar's house wasn't the right place for where God needed Joseph. His garment was literally torn and ripped off. He was accused of being a immoral. How many of you have been unjustly betrayed or misunderstood, and your character has been assassinated? The Lord has even allowed that to test your heart. Are you going to be bitter or sweet?

We know that Joseph was in the royal dungeon, and once again, the favor of the Lord was with him. Once again, he was strategically placed in the royal dungeon, even though it took years to be brought out and put before Pharaoh. Pharaoh had a dream that none of the magicians could solve. Suddenly they remembered Joseph, who had interpreted their dreams, and he was brought before Pharaoh. He interpreted his dream and was given a "robe of authority."

I am talking about a garment change. I am talking about a shifting governmentally where many times you lose your title, you lose your place of authority, God shifts you, and you don't understand why you are being led away in irons. Or suddenly, you are wrongly accused. You have done a good job to the best of your ability, and suddenly you are put in the dungeon where you are forgotten for years. But the Lord has set this up strategically because if you are called as a deliverer and a forerunner, the Lord has to work His heart of humility in you.

There are two seats in Heaven. There is the judgment seat, and there is the mercy seat. When you have been wrongly accused, whipped beyond recognition, and you are bleeding from betrayal and assassination with false accusations coming against you, if you go to the judgment seat, the accuser will be there waiting. He will give you partial truth, and you will start to move in bitterness and anger. Your wounds will become infected, and you could be disqualified until you deal with your unforgiveness!

If you go to the mercy seat, and you cry out and throw yourself between the horns of the altar and onto the precious splattered Blood of the Lord, then your wounds will begin to heal, and the scars will begin to glow with the resurrection anointing of Jesus. It is as though you pray, "Lord forgive them, they don't know what they are doing," This brings promotion in the Spirit.

Then when you go to the city gates--being marred beyond recognition, looking just like the suffering Servant, Jesus, and glowing with the resurrection anointing from the Cross of the Lamb--then you can say, "Open up the gates! Open up the gates for the King of Glory! Open up the gates!" You can cry this out because you look just like Jesus!

So part of your journey as a deliverer and as a forerunner is the changing of garments. What season are you in? That is part of the divine strategy of the Lord--to kill us so that we look more like Him. The only problem is that it is a custom-designed death for each one of us. We don't get to choose how we get to die. We think it would be easier if we could choose our "death," but the Lord strategically sets it up for each one of us to deal with the motives of our heart, so that we love Him; so that we will be desperate for Him and press into Him--no matter what!

Jill Austin
Master Potter Ministries
Email: info@masterpotter.com