God sent me here....

January 29, 2010
10:10 AM
The Winter Storm is approaching..... 
School closed long before it hit (wisdom).




Day 3.....this may turn into a habit. :)


So......here I sit while the sleet is pelting the side of my home office window.  
Thank you Jesus for providing a place for me and my family - thankful for those that have been His hands extended to support us while we're here in the U.S. for a few more months.


After two trips to Wal-Mart I'm ready for the day.  Here goes.


My daily Bible reading has me in Genesis, the Psalms, and Luke.
I love all of it - but I really love Genesis.  Creation, Noah, Abraham....and especially Joseph.  


I think I blogged about him last year...


Real quick.  This is what I got from today's reading.


Joseph.  

His brothers hated him and betrayed him.

Because of them his life was turned upside down.

They throw him in a pit - sell him into slavery.

Joseph ends up in Potiphar's house and immediately has to fend off Potiphar's flusie of a wife.  She's so lousy even her name isn't recorded.

She propositions Joseph - he refuses - she cries - Joseph flies - she lies - he winds up in prison.

In prison, he helps out 2 prisoners by interpreting their dreams.

The one that's Pharaohs cupbearer is reinstated - he then forgets about Joseph and leaves him down in the prison....locked up....for 2 years.

Betrayed on three separate occasions.

What goes through a mans mind when he's abused in such a manner?

I read about Joseph and every offense that I've ever experienced loses it's teeth.

I may have been wrongfully treated somewhere in my life but it doesn't compare to this.

Not even close.

Very few of us have.

You know what happens - Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams - God uses this to propel Joseph to be the second most powerful individual in Egypt - God uses Joseph to rescue Egypt from a 7 year deadly famine that affects the entire region.

Enter Joseph's brothers. The deadbeats that started this whole mess.

Listen to what he eventually tells them:

'It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.'

(45.5 NLT)

What would I have said to these misfits?  What would you have said?

How would we have treated them?  Would we be so bitter that we would attack them with a verbal assault and then banish them from the land?

'No Soup For You!'

                    -Soup Nazi

I may have done this to them - I know people who would - I even know people who have already done this to someone else in one way or another.  

If I look deep enough - I admit that I'm doing this right now.

Joseph says - God sent me here - not you.

Wow.

We scream, 'But Joseph they......'

God sent me here.

One of my favorite professors at CBC was Dr. David Watson.  He said something that I'll never forget.

'As Christians - we need to have 50:20 vision - Genesis 50:20 vision.'

'You intended to harm me, but God intended it ALL for good.  He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.' (emphasis mine)

In a society that houses people who can get so hurt over something so trivial - hurt to the point that we banish another person - this is a slapping reminder that we lack eternal perspective in so many areas.


God uses it ALL.  The good and the bad.  The beautiful side of life and the ugly. He's the only one I know that can do this.  No one else can even come close.
Praise God.

Pray this with me: Lord, you've promised to be with me just like you were with Joseph.  I need the Holy Spirit to give me perspective - to enlighten my dull mind and enable me to see past the nose on my face.  Help me to see your big picture.  Not just my little crayon colored world that I get so caught up in.

You're the only one that can help me in this.  Thank you for working it ALL for good.  In Jesus' name I pray.  Amen - so be it.

Joseph.

Now there's a guy who had a story to tell.  
Thanks for writing this one down Moses.

Good thing you were a blogger too.