No Success without Process

"So many folks want to reap the benefits of a particular endeavor, but they always complain about the process. You can't truly embrace success without going through the process".

- Joshua Psalms

No matter how long you've been going to church, I'm sure you've all heard this statement, "God has a plan for your life, He will not leave you nor forsake you". That's a staple phrase in any denomination under the Christian faith. I'm a firm believer that God does have a plan for your life, so that's not the concern. The focal point is the process designed to get you to what God has for you. A lot of people may not agree with me, but the end result isn't the most important aspect of a plan. It's the required path to reach the desired end result that is often ignored. A common train of thought when it comes to our success or reaching our destiny is we don't concern ourselves with the plan. We know there may be hardships along the journey, but do we actually plan for them? Do we truly consider the hurdles we may face can help us learn important lessons on our journey? Are we willing to consider that true success goes far beyond yourself?

Let's consider the life of Joseph. In the beginning he was just another child to his parents, number 11 of 12 sons born to his father Israel (formerly known as Jacob). That would soon change and his life would serve a greater purpose than even he could've thought possible. To truly understand the price of greatness, we'll analyze Joseph's life in 3 Phases: (1) Life Vision, (2) Process, and (3) End State.

Life Vision

Genesis 37:5

"Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: there we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” “Are you really going to reign over us?” his brothers asked him.

Process

Genesis 37:18-20, 23-24, 26-28

They saw him in the distance, and before he had reached them, they plotted to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes that dreamer! Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal ate him. Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”

When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the robe of many colors that he had on. Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Then Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh,” and they agreed. When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt.

Genesis 39:6b-9, 11-14,

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome. After some time his master’s wife looked longingly at Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.” But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority. No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”

Now one day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there. She grabbed him by his garment and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. When she saw that he had left his garment with her and had run outside, she called the household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “my husband brought a Hebrew man to make fools of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, and I screamed as loud as I could.

Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought to us came to make a fool of me, but when I screamed for help, he left his garment with me and ran outside.” When his master heard the story his wife told him—“These are the things your slave did to me”—he was furious and had him thrown into prison, where the king’s prisoners were confined.

End State

Genesis 41:46, 53-57

Joseph was 30 years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.

Then the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food. Extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt, and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh told all Egypt, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” Because the famine had spread across the whole country, Joseph opened up all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. Every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, for the famine was severe in every land.

Genesis 42:5-6

The sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.

Envied by his brothers, sold into slavery, then accused of rape. A traumatic series of events far different from what Joseph might've envisioned what his journey to success what be. All of that trauma led to the vision that God gave him as a child, including the how and why his brothers would end up bowing to him. Through the suffering of one individual blessings can come to many, leaving a blueprint of how success and legacy can be achieved. This was the path God orchestrated Joseph to travel to culminate the plan God laid in motion years prior.

That path could be the same for you. While your process to success may not mirror Joseph's, are you prepared to be exiled from your family because they couldn't comprehend your vision? Could you walk through the fire of being falsely accused, lied on, and your name dragged on social media for the sake of your legacy? Can you withstand journeying through the cold, dark valleys to kiss the sun at the peak of your legacy? These are questions you must answer before you embark on your journey for success, but make no mistake. There is no success without process. The game doesn't work like that.