Read through Genesis chapter 37.
Soon on Sunday nights I will start a series on the life of
Joseph. Joseph was the rejected brother
who saved his family, his nation and the world! He lived in a world where faith was fading
and integrity was rare. The life of
Joseph in the Old Testament shines like a brilliant star in the nighttime
sky. His life teaches us that following
God brings hope even the worst of circumstances. Joseph will teach us to walk a life of faith.
It is my prayer that we as believers will learn to trust the
providential role of God in our lives.
Few families today are as dysfunctional as the family of
Joseph. No man today faces greater
temptation than Potiphar’s wife offered Joseph.
No person today has a life in which his or her faith is more challenged
than Joseph was when he was on death row in an Egyptian prison. Yet, Joseph stood firm, modeling for us that
it is possible when ordinary people maintain their connections to God. He shows us the rewards of truly seeking to
develop an intimate relationship with God.
Faithfully, God is ruling in our life and His rule is providential. From slavery to power, from temptation to
imprisonment, and all the way to the king’s side, Joseph inspires us to trust
God's good graces, even when we don't understand.
When faced with opportunities to get revenge we learn that
forgiveness is possible. There are few
stories in history or in the Bible more compelling than that of Joseph. This story tucked away in Genesis reads like
an epic novel, filled with tension, temptation, and so many emotions. It touches us deeply because many of us face
these kinds of situations, and we learn that we can win. Trusting God to take us to a destination is
not always easy, the process is not always fun, but the outcome is always
rewarding.
I never stepped foot onto an airplane until I was 26 years
old. Since that time I logged a few
miles, at one point not that long ago had over 80,000 flyer miles with one
airline. One of the fascinating things
to me is how off course a plane can get in the midst of travel. Most of the time because of up drafts,
downdrafts, crosswinds, headwinds and tailwinds, even the magnetic pull the
earth a plane rarely and almost never has a straight uninterrupted path. Such things as storms and other air traffic
all play into the journey of a plane.
Once the plane plots a course, that plane will likely veer at some
point. Course corrections will be
necessary. The plane is always close to the projected path but seldom
right on the line. The pilot is
constantly making adjustments to maintain the destination.
Tomorrow if you go to the airport and board a plane let’s
say you leave on a mission team to go to New York, to help the victims of
hurricane Sandy. They will tell you
upon embarking on that aircraft, that the anticipated air travel time 2 hours
and 36 minutes. And they will tell you
exactly what to expect. Then in 2hours
and 36 minutes they will put the wheels down and land. Providing there is not a problem in the
airport or bad weather they have become very good at predicting their lending
times.
It is interesting to me is this: during the course of that travel that
airplane will get off course. But
because of course corrections the plane will make an on-time arrival. The truth of our Christian life is pretty
simple: There are factors in our lives
that will blow us off course. Many times
things below us this way or that way. If
we are not careful, things will move us back and forth and all around. If we are not
paying attention, we will fail to make course corrections and we will
end up out in the middle of no where.
But here's the truth I want to understand, because of our
faith in Jesus Christ God is going to get you home! God is
going to take you exactly where He wants you to go. Whenever you look at the life of Joseph. You begin to wonder, because it is apparent,
that something is terribly gone wrong.
As you begin reading his life it just seems as if these things that
happen to him are good? This thing that
happens to Joseph blows him off course over here in he's blown off course over
there, and if you are not careful you will wonder before the end of the story
what in the world is going on?
But the interesting thing is this: in Joseph's life God gets him at the precise
place, at the precise moment, at the exact time that he wants him there. Literally he saves the Hebrew people, and the
world. His father and his brothers are
saved. But greater still the race of
people from whom the Messiah will come are saved through Joseph.
What course corrections do you need to make today in your
life? What destination is God's
providential hand taking you to? We you
comply? Will you be a person of
integrity, forgiveness, and trust like Joseph?
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