LOVING TRUTH MORE THAN PEACE

Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” Genesis 42:7

         How painful would that moment be? Joseph has been far from home since he was a young boy. He’s missed his family but was also betrayed by most of them. Now, out of nowhere, the brothers who sold him into slavery are standing in front of him. I would imagine that part of him wanted to run and embrace them. They were a connection to home. Ah, but there was another part of him ~ the spiritual part that God had tutored. He was more God’s son than Jacob’s son. Time had broadened his perspective and he was able to find restraint; to inflict a wound that would lead to reconciliation.

         Have you ever had to wound someone for their own good? If you’ve been a parent, the answer is automatically yes. But how about a sibling, a friend, or someone you’re mentoring? Inflicting a saving wound out of love is difficult, especially when the other person has hurt you. How do you wound them without having a personal agenda to take vengeance? Only time with God, a long time, will prepare any of us to deal with them for their spiritual good, not our need for justice.

         I can imagine that Joseph was conflicted. He wanted to hurt them. He wanted to hug them. He wanted to make them pay. He wanted a family again. But he knew there could be no reconciliation without true remorse. A quick tearful reunion would not require them to search their own hearts. Only severe testing would unearth true feelings. Joseph was willing to inflict it and delay his own gratification. He set aside embraces for more estrangement.

         Righteousness is often the dividing line in relationships. It fractures as one chooses Jesus and the other chooses his own passions. There can be no reconciliation without both parties being on the same page. If I love peace more than I love truth, I will rush in to make things okay when it’s entirely premature. Inflicting a wound by speaking the truth will delay any chance for intimacy but it will also give a wayward soul time to reflect and deal with his own heart.

         To be a Joseph kind of leader takes courage – the kind of courage born of an adversity that cast us on the breast of God for survival. The wisdom learned there is far more precious than the cheap embraces of those who aren’t ready to pledge true fidelity.

This is graduate school in biblical application. How am I doing, Lord? Only You can show me. Amen

CLUTCHING MY TREASURE

So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. Genesis 42:3-4

         I wonder what God felt as He watched Jacob’s sons, all except one, leave for Egypt. He saw them pack for the long journey. He saw Jacob clutch Benjamin protectively and heard him declare that this child would not go with them. He read the thoughts in this old father’s heart. “I entrusted one of my favorite sons of Rachel to you on another long journey and I never saw him again. You’re not taking Benjamin, too!” God saw this father’s inability to entrust the one who was precious into His care. Though the loss of Joseph happened two decades earlier, the wound was still like it happened yesterday.

         Jacob had not gotten over his sons’ carelessness with their younger brother. He had nursed the hurt and distrust had grown with the years. Ultimately though, his issue was not with his sons but with God. He could not see, though he would see shortly, that God is trustworthy and does all things well. For now, Jacob overprotected Benjamin and trusted no one, not even the God he’d given his life to.

         What wound from the past are you hanging on to?  What wound still defines you to the point that you over-correct today’s decisions based on yesterday’s heartbreak? You are able to live most of your life quite normally but your ‘Benjamin’ is still in your clutches. Release him to God? Never.

         We know how the story of Joseph ends. We know that God oversees, with great care and vengeance, the lives of Joseph and Benjamin. In reviewing His sovereignty and faithfulness, can we not ask for the grace to stop clenching what we feel we need to protect? Perhaps today is the day each of us can acknowledge our need to play God. Can 2015 be the year we move toward setting free what we have entrapped? God can be trusted.

Gentle pry my fingers loose. Reassure me that You are trustworthy. Amen

At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules.  Psalm 119:62

Around many dinner tables this week, a suggestion will be made. “Let’s each share something we’re thankful for before we offer the blessing.” Well known clichés will abound.  “God was good this year because….” Stories of health and provision will be told and God will be hailed as ‘good’ because of them.  But what of those who find themselves in God’s waiting room?  Their lives are still hard.  They are still ill.  Their hearts are still broken.

These are hard times. Suffering marks the church across the world.  Warm beds and full bellies are out of reach for so many, even here in the U.S., as our economy has plummeted and the value of the dollar is the lowest it has ever been.  Can God’s children still cry out that He is good?  Or, are we stuck when asked to give a glowing testimony about His character?  May it not be.

• God is good because He gave us me Himself.
• God is good because every day His mercy and grace are available in whatever quantities I need.
• God is good because His Word is powerful enough to change how I think and transform how I feel.
• God is good because He is willing to be my Father even though orphaned here by the death of my parents.

This list can fill pages.  If I change my perspective from external circumstances to my internal world, thanksgiving for who God is and what He gives me is not limited, even in suffering.  Trials and suffering do not eradicate God’s goodness.  Even on the way to Calvary, Jesus would have whispered prayers of God’s goodness and faithfulness.  Suffering is a part of this life.  For the child of God, so is God’s goodness and redemption of our pain.  For that, my heart bursts forth with praise.

If I look in the right places, my heart is full of your testimonies.  Amen

WHAT GOD DOES WHILE I WAIT 

When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” Genesis 42:1-2

         While I’m praying for many years about something that breaks my heart in two, it can appear as if I have a Father who withholds intervention for no good reason. He could act today, couldn’t He? Doesn’t love come running? If a parent can do something to alleviate a child’s suffering, won’t he? This is the human side of praying. God’s side is much more expansive, however.

         So much happened behind the scenes while Joseph waited in slavery. His tearful cries for deliverance weren’t deaf to his God. Though Joseph didn’t see immediate results outside of the daily grace God provided, there was so much happening behind the scenes.

• The right Pharaoh had to be in power to dream the dream that Joseph interpreted.
• The brothers had to live with their sin and come to a place of humility so that the forgiveness Joseph would eventually extend could be effective.
• The land outside Egypt’s borders had to move toward famine so that desperation would make Jacob turn his eyes toward Egypt.
• Joseph needed the humility and wisdom only borne of suffering in order to one-day lead a nation well. Good leaders are cultivated in a crucible.

         Could Joseph have guessed that God was this active? No. No more than I can while I sit in my waiting room. But God was moving history around with His index finger and all to bring about the salvation of His people. Can I not trust Him with my life? Can I dare to believe that His love for me, and His church, is that great? Waiting always has purpose.

         As I review the activity of an active, powerful, all-wise and loving God on behalf of Joseph, may I see my own story with the eyes of faith.

Write the stories of spiritual brothers like Joseph on my heart. I need to review and review how Your unfailing love works. Amen

When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.” Genesis 41:55

         Who better to turn to than a Pharaoh for help? People in high positions should have had all the answers and the keys to all the storehouses. Yet, Pharaoh was in over his head. He was not God’s child and his stone gods weren’t talking.

         Seemingly overnight, Joseph was brought out of obscurity to a place of prominence. He couldn’t have guessed that he would sleep in a palace instead of a prison floor, or that his administrative and prophetic gifts would be implemented for the salvation of his people. Yet, when God decided it was time for his advancement, nothing and no one could stop it. Who did the famished people turn to? To the one whose name they didn’t even know the day before.

         How many righteous are sitting in low places today? They are gifted, overlooked, even ridiculed. They have turned down opportunities for advancement because the pathway to the top meant compromise. The sacrifice, made out of love for God, has cost them dearly. There will come a time that others will turn to them for life-saving advice. Their quiet lives of steadfast faithfulness to God will speak volumes when those they formerly trusted shrivel in the flames of adversity. It is only suffering that exposes the difference between the two. It is only suffering that reveals the golden qualities of the ones they once despised.

         I must not weary of the quiet and steady journey of the true disciple. Drawing near to God is never the popular agenda. I will stand out like a sore thumb and bear the insults of those who have much more interesting lives. Yet, when famine affects the landscape of those around me, it might just be the hour for which God has prepared me. I may not sleep in a palace but I will be sought after for the treasures I’ve cultivated in secret with my God.

         John the Baptist, a peculiar recluse, lived three decades for a future, though short, time of influence. Most of his life was preparation for the short burst of glory when he was privileged to prepare others for the arrival of Jesus. Such is the way of discipleship. You and I must never assume that obscurity will be our ‘normal’. Ever ready, we are looking for the time when the seeds God has sown into our hearts in private will be poured out in others time of need.

I never fit in the mainstream. You made me unique and I know that my time with You will bring a beautiful harvest. Amen

CAN I REALLY FORGET HARDSHIP?

Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” Genesis 41:51-52

         If you are someone who has spent major chunks of your life in hardship, then you know how long life feels. Pain has become your ‘normal’ and the thought of living life any other way is inconceivable. Not only that, but the possibility that you would ever forget your affliction seems unlikely. Hardship has been your constant companion.

         I suspect that the word for ‘forget’ is the same word that is used when God puts my sins behind his back and ‘forgets’ them. He puts them out of sight and they are no longer held up in front of my face as a reminder of what I’ve done. Memories of my sin take a back seat to the joy of walking in forgiveness.

         In light of that ~ To forget former hardship is to have painful memories eclipsed by something infinitely more powerful ~ the kindness and redemption of God. It is impossible to feel the wonder of such exhilaration and, simultaneously, feel the depth of my former despair. God’s redemption is that powerful. But while I wait, all I know is the all-consuming agony of distress.

         I’ve seen the fruits of powerful prayer. Some were answered overnight and others within a few months time. Many of them, in fact. But others accompanied me in God’s waiting room for a decade or two. The pain of waiting made God appear uncaring and I feared that life would never be any different. I had to fight for my faith and sound theology had to war against the reality of my emotions. But when the tide turned, when God came sweeping in with the redemption I sought, it exceeded all that I had asked for. My prayers were of one dimension; his answers were as deep as the ocean. Even now, I cannot plumb the depths of all that He has done – and will do – as a result of persevering prayer.

         If you fear that the joy of answered prayer would pale in comparison to the ways affliction has ravaged your soul, expand your hope in God. If God could cause Joseph to ‘forget’ betrayal of his brothers, being sold into slavery, being unjustly accused and imprisoned for a decade, could He not surprise me with unspeakable joy?

For all the pain that still consumes me, I know that coming redemption will eclipse it all. Your love is that powerful. Amen

HE LETS ME SEE SO I CAN ACT!

Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. 35 And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. Genesis 41:34-35

         Joseph didn’t just interpret Pharaoh’s two dreams. Because Joseph possessed an administrative gift, he offered a plan to counteract the dismal prediction of famine. Joseph was a seer but also one whom God chose to implement a righteous plan.

         God never gives divine insight just for mere intrigue. He discloses His thoughts to someone who is then responsible to find out why they were given such information. Are they to pray? Are they to step forward with information? Are they to expose? Are they to encourage? Seeing is proactive.

         The gift of divine sight is built on the culmination of thousands of life experiences. Spiritual understanding is not something bred overnight. God shapes His servant through years of practice runs. The gift is sharpened through suffering. If you are a prophet, one who can prayerfully discern the mind and heart of God about a person or situation, that gift has been personally expensive. But know this too ~ the gift of divine eyesight is usually paired with another strong gift.

• God revealed the dream so that Joseph could step up with a wise plan.
• God reveals danger so that His child can pray.
• God reveals the root of a problem so that truth can be proclaimed and unrighteousness exposed.
• God reveals the broken heart of another so that they may be strengthened by compassionate words and actions
• God reveals where people perish for lack of knowledge in order for a teacher to arise.

         What has God been showing you about a person or a situation? Perhaps that revelation has been painful, arrested you in place, and you feel helpless. Assess your giftings and ask God to show you how you are to channel what He has revealed. God, in your story, has prepared you for such a time as this.

I have been tormented by what I see. Give me Your action plan. Amen

A RELATIONSHIP IN TROUBLE

They have forsaken Yahweh, spurned the Holy One of Israel, and turned themselves back into foreigners.  Isaiah 1:4

         A big blowup in a relationship is not usually what kills it.  People argue.  Some fight passionately.  But if both are committed to the each other and also committed to truth, there is understanding and restoration.  What is deadly to any relationship, however, is a gradual deadening of the heart.  A slow death is much more difficult to turn around.

You’ve heard the phrase, “I feel like I don’t know you anymore.”  A ‘foreigner’ is a good description.  It is saying, ‘You are acting so strangely that I don’t even recognize you.  You may as well have come from a foreign land.’

Amazing that what can be intimate can grow so deeply estranged.  Continue reading “A Relationship In Trouble” →