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."
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