This morning, I came across a well known story found in Exodus 17, and something new popped out at me. I love when this happens! It tells the encounter Israel had with the Amalekites, their first battle encounter after coming out of Egypt. Up to this point, they were not asked to fight, but to flee. The Bible doesn't mention how the Israelites felt when they were first attacked or knew of the eminent attack of the Amalekites, so before I continue, I add this disclaimer. I do not claim to be the final word of God. This is simply what I felt God speak to me personally through His word this morning. As my pastor often says, chew the meat and spit out the bones. The Amalekites, from what I understand, were trained warriors. Their enemy, the Israelites, had been in slavery for 400 years. The Israelites would not have been trained for battle, but would have been very trained in the art of submission and being dominated. I cannot imagine anyone who desired to keep a people captive and under their authority, would have equipped them with the knowledge of war. That wouldn't make sense. And, at this particular time, the Israelites were in a state of added weakness, physically and mentally. They were in a dessert, hot, tired, and extremely thirsty. They had, in fact, just gotten done complaining to Moses about their lack of water and were of the mindset that they were all going to die. It's not really a great atmosphere to be in if you are about ready to face a well-trained army. In short, they were weak and unprepared. They would have had a slaves mentality and in the face of a bigger, authoritative, and trained army; they would have had a submissive and fearful spirit in the shadow of these warriors. Their first response would have been flight, something they were good at, and not fight, something they had not done in over 400 years. However, Moses; with all of this knowledge about these people, took a look at the Israelites and took a look at the Amalekites and did the most logical thing: He called Joshua to him and said, "Get some men together. Tomorrow we fight. I'm going to stand up there on that hill with the staff of God in my hand." The Bible does not suggest any questioning or fear on Joshua's part when He was given this order; he went and did exactly as Moses asked him too. This seems crazy to me. If it had been me, I would have had a lot of questions, a ton of doubt, and even more fear. "You want me to go get who? They are not trained! They are weak, tired, complaining....there is no way even the strongest of these men are fit to fight the enemy!" It's a good thing I wasn't there, I guess. I would have buried my head in the sand! Joshua's obedience and unwavering spirit blows my mind!
The next day, Joshua and his men went out to fight and Moses, along with Aaron and Hur, went up on top of the hill. As Moses stood there, he raised his hand (praise), firmly grasping the staff of God (the authority of God) in his hands. There must have been times that Moses lowered the staff, maybe out of fatigue, maybe out of pride or self-assurance as he saw the Israelites prevailing, however; these three men began to notice a pattern. As long as Moses kept his hand raised with the staff of God in it, Israel began to overcome their enemy, but when he lowered the staff, Amalek began to prevail. The Bible says that Moses' hands became heavy and it became hard for him to hold the staff up. It became difficult for him to continue to hold the authority of God high, but at this point, Moses understood the importance of keeping it raised, because he had witnessed the Israelites struggle every time he lowered his hand. Aaron and Hur took a rock and placed it under Moses for him to sit on. Then, with one on each side, they stood beside Moses supporting his hands. Moses' hands remained study until sun down and Joshua and the Israelites prevailed in battle.
WOW! As I read through Exodus Chapter 17 this morning, so many things stood out to me. Moses raised his hand. A hand raised is a symbol of praise. In his hand, he held the staff of God. The staff of God was and is the authority of God. Moses stood, his hand raised in praise grasping onto the very authority of God. When he grew tired, two of his friends, two of his "brothers" stood beside him and supported him through his weakness. As I finished reading, I saw how beautifully applicable this is to our own lives.
How often do we walk through a desert in our lives? We are tired, thirsty, worn out and our spirits begin to complain. "Where are you God!? Why have you led me out here. Are you trying to kill me?! I would have been better off staying in the land of my oppression." We begin to doubt, question, and fear what the future may be holding for us. We cannot see a way out and then, when we just think things can't get any worse, we spot our enemy on the horizon. We know we are ill equipped to fight. All the scenarios begin running through our minds. We can fight and die or we can run and die or we can surrender and die. Nothing looks promising. As we contemplate our choices, our leader comes near and begins hand picking the strongest men out of our midst and says, "tomorrow you will be fighting. I'm calling you up." Our response, my response, is never one of excitement, but more like, "ya right!"
Let's shift our attention a bit now to Moses. We have been in his position too, leading, trying to carry out God's will and plan, walking out the passion He has placed on our hearts, the calling He has led us to. This might be in leadership of our families or leadership at work or within the church. We have all been there. Trying to lead a tired, complaining, and unskilled crew. We often just want to shout, "Shut up and quite your complaining!" And we turn to God and say, "look at what you have given me to lead! What am I supposed to do with them?!" Just like Moses. Just as Moses felt he was receiving a little bit of direction from God on how to quiet the people, he sees an enemy on the horizon coming to attack. In fact, from some of the commentaries I read, it seemed to suggest that through all of this, the Amalekites and been already bothering Israel a bit. If I was Moses, and in my own personal life when I am feeling frustrated and then see that I am coming under attack again, I do not usually respond with praise and adoration for God's goodness. I usually say something like, "that's it! I quit....EVERYTHING! You have got to be kidding me, right? When will I ever catch a break!?" We have all been there, right? Moses' response? He gathers the strongest men together under the leadership of Joshua, he stands on a hill, he raises his hand in praise ALL underneath the authority of God which he holds firmly grasped in his hand. What if we began to respond in the desert of our life, under extreme conditions, and facing the enemy just like Moses did? Instead of running and hiding, we gather the strongest of men and sharpen our weapon the Word of God. Instead of continuing to complain, doubt, fear, or question, we raise our hands in praise and we do this all, not with a slave spirit, but with the spirit of Sonship. We raise our hands firmly grasping the power of the Authority of Jesus Christ that has been given to us, knowing that under His authority we have already overcome!! That is so good!!
Before I close out this blog, I have to focus on one more thing. Moses got tired. We do too. Sometimes, in our praise and standing under the authority of Jesus Christ, we still grow weary and it is easy, even after all of the victory we have seen, to lower our hands and lower the authority of Christ in our lives. The answer was beautifully given to this problem in Exodus 17. It is imperative to surround ourselves with brothers and sisters in Christ who are there to support us in our weakness, as we would do likewise for them. Just like Aaron and Hur, it is our brothers and sisters in Christ, who roll a rock underneath us to support us and then they stand and fight with us. They lift their arms as they lift ours, and together, we praise. This is so good!
Dear Heavenly Father, this morning as I read Exodus 17, it is so easy to say, wow that is so good. I'm going to do that the next time I am hurting, struggling, stumbling. I am gong to lift my hands in praise and rest under the authority you have placed in my life. However, in the midst of my struggle, I often fail in this area. God I ask right now, for your strength and for you to bring this section of Scripture rushing back to my mind when I need it most. I know it is only through you, through my praise of who you are and what you are doing and by your authority that my battles are won. Thank you for being my awesome Father and for being the final authority in my life! I love you daddy God!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Doubt
Exodus 4 tells the story about Moses and all his many questions to God about whether or not he should go back to Egypt and if he was capable. As I was reading it this morning, the thought popped into my mind....Moses asked God, "what if they don't believe me?" This was Moses' reason to not go, but I had to wonder, was this really the reason, or was it more of Moses' own doubt, his own need for proof of God that really was in the way. Sometimes we like to put the burden of our disobedience to God's calling on others, because you know, maybe they won't accept us, like us, whatever; but maybe it is really more about us than it is about them. Maybe it is our doubt about God that keeps us from serving in the capacity He has called us too.
Just thoughts that have been rolling around in the brain of mine this morning.
Just thoughts that have been rolling around in the brain of mine this morning.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
The Joseph Perspective
Ok, so I don't mean to rehash what I just wrote on last week, so I will make my best attempt not too :) However, this morning, as I was getting ready to read the Bible for some devotional time, I had a very distracted mind. A decision I need to make in the next few days that I continue to waiver back and forth on, back and forth on, back and forth on.....it's beginning to make me a little sea sick.....is taking up my emotional energy. So, as I sat down to hurry-up-and-read-so-that-I-can-get-on-with-my-day-because-it-has-started-out-extra-ordinarily-lazy-and-it-is-10:20-and-I-haven't-even-begun-to-start-on-my-duties-for-the-day-and-I-didn't-figure-much-could-possibly-be-spoken-to-me-anyways-through-Genesis 50.....take a deep breath in. That was a really long run on sentence. Verse 20 jumped out at me.
"Ye indeed meant evil against me; God meant it for good, in order that he might do as it is this day, to save a great people alive."
It is all about perspective. So many times, I assume the "bad" things in my life must all be an attack from Satan. I'm not saying some aren't. However, I think I may give him a bit too much credit and not enough credit to God for perfectly orchestrating my life. Sometimes, bad things in our lives, are for our good. That is a hard one to swallow and there may be some who read this and decide that Melody Wilson has officially fallen off her rocker. But isn't that what this verse says?
The thing you did to me that you meant to hurt me with, God meant it for good. It was God's plan all along.
I can hear it now, because the same questions are rolling around in my head....what about rape? What about murder? What about children dying before they have a chance to grow up? What about.....? I don't know. I don't have answers to those questions. Those hard, gut wrenching, events that break our hearts and our lives in two. They don't make any sense. They hurt. I wish I had a good answer. I am not saying all of those hard times in our lives are from God.....or maybe they are.....I don't know. We like to say they are not. It is easier to wrap our brains around that and to blame Satan for all the bad. All the gut wrenching events. All the heart break.
But this verse....this verse....draws me to another perspective. What was meant to hurt me, God all along meant it for good....and that echoes through my heart. Meant it for good, God meant it for good.
I can spend countless hours dissecting, ruminating, trying to wind my way through a maze of making sense of seemingly senseless acts. Broken lives. Hard situations. Bad things. But I wonder, if that pondering is the bigger ploy of Satan. The event, because it causes pain in my life, provokes me to try to understand it. It distracts me from the bigger picture. It takes my mind off of Christ and thrusts it onto the circumstance, my feelings, and onto Satan. It makes me question a sovereign God, who moments before the hard event happened, I would have been saying, "God is good! My life is in His hands and He is in control!" Does God go suddenly out of control when the bad things come? Is He suddenly now against me and no longer working all things together for my good?
I marvel at Joseph. He was as imperfect as me. I know this, because he was human, just like me. But, somehow, in all of that human nature, Joseph had a way of stepping outside of his situations, even hard ones that made no sense, that tore his heart in two, and instead of spending time trying to unravel the craziness of the event, make sense of it, or even figure out who to blame: God or Satan, he did something else. He took his eyes off the circumstances and said, "God has a plan and it is for our good."
That statement doesn't take away the tears or the pain. It doesn't undermine it or make them illegitimate. It's ok to feel. It's ok to cry. It's ok to not understand. It's ok to have anger. It's ok to be real with God about how you are feeling. Believe it or not, He can handle it. But I am challenged by this, instead of trying to spend the time figuring it all out, what would happen if I came to that place sooner of saying, "God has a plan and it is for my good." It doesn't really matter then, whose fault it is that I am in pain or that I didn't get my way, or that my life isn't going as planned, or that something tragic happens because no matter what there is a simple and quiet truth in which I can rest in...."God has a plan and it is for my good."
I am not sure I have my brain wrapped around this idea yet and in typing this I have found no answers. I can't explain away the bad things in life and I can't say why bad things happen and I know that a statement like, "but God has a plan" doesn't magically wipe away the pain someone might be walking through right now, because the pain is real and hard. But that verse, leads me to a truth, and that truth sets my eyes on Him.
I am definitely not finishing this posting with happy, giddy, feelings...rather a pondering. A question and a challenge to myself has been raised. How will I respond in the face of trial, temptation, and pain. What perspective will I choose? Whose face will I decide to focus on? Whose voice will I listen too? What will I choose to apply to my life: Satan's lies or God's truth?
It brings this section of scripture to mind and I will end this posting with it:
Hebrews 11:32-Hebrews 12:3-
And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
"Ye indeed meant evil against me; God meant it for good, in order that he might do as it is this day, to save a great people alive."
It is all about perspective. So many times, I assume the "bad" things in my life must all be an attack from Satan. I'm not saying some aren't. However, I think I may give him a bit too much credit and not enough credit to God for perfectly orchestrating my life. Sometimes, bad things in our lives, are for our good. That is a hard one to swallow and there may be some who read this and decide that Melody Wilson has officially fallen off her rocker. But isn't that what this verse says?
The thing you did to me that you meant to hurt me with, God meant it for good. It was God's plan all along.
I can hear it now, because the same questions are rolling around in my head....what about rape? What about murder? What about children dying before they have a chance to grow up? What about.....? I don't know. I don't have answers to those questions. Those hard, gut wrenching, events that break our hearts and our lives in two. They don't make any sense. They hurt. I wish I had a good answer. I am not saying all of those hard times in our lives are from God.....or maybe they are.....I don't know. We like to say they are not. It is easier to wrap our brains around that and to blame Satan for all the bad. All the gut wrenching events. All the heart break.
But this verse....this verse....draws me to another perspective. What was meant to hurt me, God all along meant it for good....and that echoes through my heart. Meant it for good, God meant it for good.
I can spend countless hours dissecting, ruminating, trying to wind my way through a maze of making sense of seemingly senseless acts. Broken lives. Hard situations. Bad things. But I wonder, if that pondering is the bigger ploy of Satan. The event, because it causes pain in my life, provokes me to try to understand it. It distracts me from the bigger picture. It takes my mind off of Christ and thrusts it onto the circumstance, my feelings, and onto Satan. It makes me question a sovereign God, who moments before the hard event happened, I would have been saying, "God is good! My life is in His hands and He is in control!" Does God go suddenly out of control when the bad things come? Is He suddenly now against me and no longer working all things together for my good?
I marvel at Joseph. He was as imperfect as me. I know this, because he was human, just like me. But, somehow, in all of that human nature, Joseph had a way of stepping outside of his situations, even hard ones that made no sense, that tore his heart in two, and instead of spending time trying to unravel the craziness of the event, make sense of it, or even figure out who to blame: God or Satan, he did something else. He took his eyes off the circumstances and said, "God has a plan and it is for our good."
That statement doesn't take away the tears or the pain. It doesn't undermine it or make them illegitimate. It's ok to feel. It's ok to cry. It's ok to not understand. It's ok to have anger. It's ok to be real with God about how you are feeling. Believe it or not, He can handle it. But I am challenged by this, instead of trying to spend the time figuring it all out, what would happen if I came to that place sooner of saying, "God has a plan and it is for my good." It doesn't really matter then, whose fault it is that I am in pain or that I didn't get my way, or that my life isn't going as planned, or that something tragic happens because no matter what there is a simple and quiet truth in which I can rest in...."God has a plan and it is for my good."
I am not sure I have my brain wrapped around this idea yet and in typing this I have found no answers. I can't explain away the bad things in life and I can't say why bad things happen and I know that a statement like, "but God has a plan" doesn't magically wipe away the pain someone might be walking through right now, because the pain is real and hard. But that verse, leads me to a truth, and that truth sets my eyes on Him.
I am definitely not finishing this posting with happy, giddy, feelings...rather a pondering. A question and a challenge to myself has been raised. How will I respond in the face of trial, temptation, and pain. What perspective will I choose? Whose face will I decide to focus on? Whose voice will I listen too? What will I choose to apply to my life: Satan's lies or God's truth?
It brings this section of scripture to mind and I will end this posting with it:
Hebrews 11:32-Hebrews 12:3-
And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Saving a Remnant
This morning I was reading in Genesis 45. It is a very well known story to me. It is the account of Joseph revealing himself to his brothers in Egypt. I've heard it a million times, but today it spoke something new to my heart.
Verses 4-8 reads: "And Joseph said to his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. And now, be not grieved, and be not angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been these two years in the land: and yet there are five years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. So God sent me before you to preserve a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. And now it was not you that sent me here, but God and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and governor over all the land of Egypt."
Joseph seemed to have a deep wisdom filled understanding about his mission to Egypt. He understood God had sent him and brought him through some very unfair and unjust treatment, put him in jail, and seemingly left him forgotten, but all for a purpose. God brought him to and through it all to preserve a remnant on earth. Wow! I wish I had that perspective! I find it incredibly easy to feel unjustly treated or like life isn't fair, or feeling like God has forgotten all the hopes and dreams He once placed on my heart. I often look around and see other's being blessed and walking in the fullness of God's calling on their lives and I wonder, "why not me Lord?" But not once in Genesis, that I can find or that I remember, did Joseph ever do that! And though he landed in a very posh environment in the end, we must not forget his unjust treatment from his brothers, being falsely accused, living in jail.....All that stuff wasn't fair! He could have grown bitter and angry. He could have screamed out to God: "DON'T YOU REMEMBER THOSE DREAMS YOU PLACED IN MY HEART AND MIND!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING GOD!? THIS IS NOT FAIR!" He doesn't do that though. Instead, no matter where he was placed, he put forth his best, gaining favor in the eyes of all those who spent time with him. That would never have happened if he had complained, pouted, thrown a fit, grown angry and bitter. And in the end, he was able to look at his brothers and say, "hey, no worries! I'm not mad at you! You were just helping God out to bring me to this place so I could save you!"
Again, WOW! It made me take a quick look at my life. I've gone through a few things, but nothing like Joseph went through. Sure, I have felt unjustly treated at times, misunderstood, forgotten, and have felt life is not fair. But do I complain or do I put forth my best in every situation? UGH! Unfortunately, I often complain. I had to ask myself this morning: "In my life, through the situations I have been placed in, what remnant is God desiring to save through me and through my life?" I'm not sure I have the answer for that....and if you had asked Joseph that question when he was thrown into the pit by his brothers or when he was thrown in jail having been falsely accused and then forgotten, I'm not sure he would have known exactly what God was up to either. HOWEVER, it didn't change how he chose to react.
I found this so challenging. I don't know what God is up to in my life. I really don't. I have hopes and dreams, visions and heart cries that have not been answered. They seem to be on the back burner and some of them look like the flame has even been snuffed out all together. But, I do know this: I believe God is up to something bigger than me through my life. I believe He has placed me strategically in order to save a remnant at the perfect time. I believe the hopes, dreams, visions, and heart cries He has given to me have not been forgotten and have yet to be fulfilled. And I believe the change in my heart at this moment needs to be this: though I feel often forgotten, I have not been. And it is this place that God has called me to do one thing. That one thing is to serve Him faithfully without complaining, whining, pouting, or doubting. He has called me to put forth my best right where I am at, whether I feel like the place I am at makes sense or whether I feel like it could possibly have anything to do with the dreams I still hold in my heart that look like they will never happen. Isn't that what Joseph did? He was sold into slavery and that was the farthest thing from being at a place where his family might fall at his feet like he had seen in his dreams, but he served faithfully. Then he was falsely accused and sent to jail....he wasn't getting any closer to those dreams he had been given. In fact, this must have felt like a step backwards, but he served faithfully anyway. When he did see a ray of hope for getting out of jail when he interpreted the dreams of the baker and the cupbearer, it was dashed because the cupbearer forgot about him for two years, but, again, Joseph continued to serve faithfully.
What a challenge. Serve faithfully NO MATTER WHAT. God hasn't forgotten you or the dreams He gave to you. He isn't stalling or trying to make life hard. But He is preparing and making a way in our hearts and lives so that HE can save a remnant through us in His perfect timing.
I hope this challenge seeps down from my head into my heart and changes my reactions in life. I want to be found faithful in every situation so that when the time comes I will be ready to have my life used to save the remnant God desires to save.
Colossians 3:17: "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Verses 4-8 reads: "And Joseph said to his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. And now, be not grieved, and be not angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been these two years in the land: and yet there are five years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. So God sent me before you to preserve a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. And now it was not you that sent me here, but God and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and governor over all the land of Egypt."
Joseph seemed to have a deep wisdom filled understanding about his mission to Egypt. He understood God had sent him and brought him through some very unfair and unjust treatment, put him in jail, and seemingly left him forgotten, but all for a purpose. God brought him to and through it all to preserve a remnant on earth. Wow! I wish I had that perspective! I find it incredibly easy to feel unjustly treated or like life isn't fair, or feeling like God has forgotten all the hopes and dreams He once placed on my heart. I often look around and see other's being blessed and walking in the fullness of God's calling on their lives and I wonder, "why not me Lord?" But not once in Genesis, that I can find or that I remember, did Joseph ever do that! And though he landed in a very posh environment in the end, we must not forget his unjust treatment from his brothers, being falsely accused, living in jail.....All that stuff wasn't fair! He could have grown bitter and angry. He could have screamed out to God: "DON'T YOU REMEMBER THOSE DREAMS YOU PLACED IN MY HEART AND MIND!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING GOD!? THIS IS NOT FAIR!" He doesn't do that though. Instead, no matter where he was placed, he put forth his best, gaining favor in the eyes of all those who spent time with him. That would never have happened if he had complained, pouted, thrown a fit, grown angry and bitter. And in the end, he was able to look at his brothers and say, "hey, no worries! I'm not mad at you! You were just helping God out to bring me to this place so I could save you!"
Again, WOW! It made me take a quick look at my life. I've gone through a few things, but nothing like Joseph went through. Sure, I have felt unjustly treated at times, misunderstood, forgotten, and have felt life is not fair. But do I complain or do I put forth my best in every situation? UGH! Unfortunately, I often complain. I had to ask myself this morning: "In my life, through the situations I have been placed in, what remnant is God desiring to save through me and through my life?" I'm not sure I have the answer for that....and if you had asked Joseph that question when he was thrown into the pit by his brothers or when he was thrown in jail having been falsely accused and then forgotten, I'm not sure he would have known exactly what God was up to either. HOWEVER, it didn't change how he chose to react.
I found this so challenging. I don't know what God is up to in my life. I really don't. I have hopes and dreams, visions and heart cries that have not been answered. They seem to be on the back burner and some of them look like the flame has even been snuffed out all together. But, I do know this: I believe God is up to something bigger than me through my life. I believe He has placed me strategically in order to save a remnant at the perfect time. I believe the hopes, dreams, visions, and heart cries He has given to me have not been forgotten and have yet to be fulfilled. And I believe the change in my heart at this moment needs to be this: though I feel often forgotten, I have not been. And it is this place that God has called me to do one thing. That one thing is to serve Him faithfully without complaining, whining, pouting, or doubting. He has called me to put forth my best right where I am at, whether I feel like the place I am at makes sense or whether I feel like it could possibly have anything to do with the dreams I still hold in my heart that look like they will never happen. Isn't that what Joseph did? He was sold into slavery and that was the farthest thing from being at a place where his family might fall at his feet like he had seen in his dreams, but he served faithfully. Then he was falsely accused and sent to jail....he wasn't getting any closer to those dreams he had been given. In fact, this must have felt like a step backwards, but he served faithfully anyway. When he did see a ray of hope for getting out of jail when he interpreted the dreams of the baker and the cupbearer, it was dashed because the cupbearer forgot about him for two years, but, again, Joseph continued to serve faithfully.
What a challenge. Serve faithfully NO MATTER WHAT. God hasn't forgotten you or the dreams He gave to you. He isn't stalling or trying to make life hard. But He is preparing and making a way in our hearts and lives so that HE can save a remnant through us in His perfect timing.
I hope this challenge seeps down from my head into my heart and changes my reactions in life. I want to be found faithful in every situation so that when the time comes I will be ready to have my life used to save the remnant God desires to save.
Colossians 3:17: "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
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