“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” - Genesis 50:20

You would think that when God gives you a dream, the next step would be smooth sailing. That doors would swing open, opportunities would fall into place, and everything would unfold exactly the way you imagined. But what happens when the very next thing you face is a pit?

David knew that feeling. God had given him a dream, a calling to be king. But instead of immediate favor, he found himself running for his life. Before the palace ever became a reality, he was hiding in caves, hunted like a criminal, and living in a season that looked nothing like the promise God had given him.

And then there was Joseph. God gave him a vision of greatness, but almost immediately, he was thrown into a pit by his own brothers. He went from favored son to forgotten slave, sold off and sent thousands of miles away from home. It didn’t make sense. How could God put such a powerful dream in his heart only to let his reality fall apart?

Maybe you feel that way. You know God has something for you, but instead of walking into it, you’ve found yourself in a pit-rejected, struggling, and facing obstacles you never saw coming. The temptation is to believe that the pit means the dream is dead. That maybe you heard God wrong. That maybe you were never meant for more in the first place.

But what you have to remember is that the pit is part of the process. The adversity Joseph faced didn’t cancel his dream, it prepared him for it. The hardship David endured didn’t disqualify him, it shaped him for his destiny. Before God elevates you, He refines you. Before He fulfills the dream, He develops the character to sustain it.

If you find yourself in a pit today, don’t lose heart. The pit is not the end of your story. God is still at work. He is using what feels like a setback to set you up for something greater. The dream is still alive. His plan for you is still unfolding. The pit may be where you are right now, but it is not where you will stay. Keep trusting and keep believing, because God is faithful to finish what He started in you.