BIBLE PASSAGE:
But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them,
they plotted to kill him. “Here comes that dreamer!” they said
to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one
of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him.
Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” When Reuben heard
this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his
life,” he said. “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern
here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said
this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. So
when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe
—the ornate robe he was wearing— and they took him and threw
him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in
it. As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a
caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were
loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way
to take them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What
will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come,
let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after
all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.
So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph
up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the
Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
(Genesis 37:18-28)
MEDITATION:
Have you ever had the feeling that life has dealt you a bad hand?
You suddenly have an unfavorable change in health or finances,
or have been saddened by the sickness or the unexpected death
of a loved one.
You feel abandoned or rejected by a good friend, or you feel like your
expressions of love are not being received. The environment at work
changes and you feel you are being overlooked as a valued employee.
You think you are ‘going the extra mile’ but no one else seems to notice
or even care.
Or maybe you just have a feeling that you are making bad choices
with the things you say or do. No matter what your intentions are,
your words or actions are not received well by others; they fail to
understand your heartfelt intentions.
Any of these types of situations can give you the
feeling that you are on an island with no relief in sight.
Sometimes we can arrive at this point as a result of our own faults
and failures. We may not be exercising godly wisdom in the things
we do and say. Our godly ‘filter’ may not be engaged and we spend
an inordinate amount of time looking for (and sometimes pointing
out) the fault of others, instead of appreciating the good in them.
Finding fault in others is a slippery slope that can grow deeper and
be difficult to get out of, once you are on it. It can cause a leader or
boss to overlook those who should be rewarded for their good efforts.
It can also cause a breakdown in relationships between two or more
people.
Sometimes we may feel as though we are on an island through no
fault of our own. Regardless of whether it was the result of the
actions of someone else, or caused by our own bad choices, when
we have reached this point of loneliness, how should we respond
to the feelings we are having?
We should spend time reading and learning from the scriptures.
Try personalizing the scriptures when reading them. Read them
as if your name has replaced the one in scriptures, and then try
meditating on them and how they impact your own life. For
instance, when reading,
For God so loved the world that He gave His one
and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall
not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16)
Read it as,
For God so loved the world that He gave His
one and only Son, that when YOU believe in
Him, You shall not perish but have eternal life.
or if your name is Susan,
For God so loved the world that He gave His
one and only Son, that when SUSAN believes
in Him she will not perish but have eternal life.
When we personalize the scriptures, they can speak to us
in new ways, can’t they? We can’t do it with all scriptures,
but when we spend time trying to personalize them, they
can create in us a closer ‘connection’ with the Lord.
Joseph was only 17 when it seemed he had lost almost everything
as a result of the actions of those who should have been the very
ones who would defend him in every situation – his brothers! He
lost his family, his position as the favored son, his home and his
freedom. The hatred from his brothers and his overwhelming
losses must have stunned and devastated Joseph.
Why did this happen to him? It could have been because
His father created an unfavorable environment as a result
of his feelings toward Joseph.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him
more than any of them, they hated him and could
not speak a kind word to him.
(Genesis 37:4)
We can see that showing favoritism toward one child is never a
good idea. Adding fuel to the situation, Joseph shared a godly
dream with his brothers and his father. A dream that indicated
his father and brothers would be subjected to him one day.
This caused his brothers to hate him even more and his father
even rebuked him. Instead of being glad that their brother had
received a message of how he would rise to a high position, they
allowed their selfish feelings to rule their emotions, and it caused
them to make some extremely bad decisions.
But how did Joseph respond to these overwhelming losses? He never
lost his faith. His faith was the one thing his jealous brothers could
not take from him. Joseph probably wondered why God had allowed
this trial to enter his life, and he may have wondered why the pain was
continuing (and even worsened), but he held fast to his faith.
He had faith that God would bring goodness out of a bad situation.
We see his faithful attitude when he spoke to his brothers years later.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended
it for good to accomplish what is now being
done, the saving of many lives.”
(Genesis 50:20)
Even while serving as a slave in a foreign land,
Joseph’s faith in God resulted in his blessings from God.
The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered,
and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
When his master saw that the Lord was with him
and that the Lord gave him success in everything
he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became
his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his
household, and he entrusted to his care everything
he owned.
(Genesis 39:2-4)
ACTION:
When God has a plan, He will see that it is executed successfully
(regardless of the obstacles man tries to put in the way). God
may even use man’s failures as pathways for fulfilling His plans.
We may not understand why God has allowed a trial into our lives,
but we can learn from the example Joseph gave us in the scriptures.
When we are walking through dark valleys (those times when life is
crumbling and the future looks grim), we should embrace the reality
of God’s presence with us.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and
be content with what you have, because God has
said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake
you.”
(Hebrews 13:5)
When we are saved, at the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit
comes to live permanently within the new Christian and seals
him or her as belonging to God forever. Because of this act of
love and kindness from God, we are never apart from the Lord.
No circumstance, suffering, or loss can separate us
from Him or His love. Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or
sword?
(Romans 8:35)
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the
love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:38-39)
If you are going through a difficult time right now, then talk to
the Lord about it; share your feelings with Him (you may already
be doing this, and if so, don’t stop). We know that Satan will try
to discourage us by causing us to dwell on the devastating feelings
we are experiencing.
But our God is greater than Satan, and He has the power to give us
feelings of hope that not only will our situation improve, but we will
also be able to understand how He can use bad situations to create
something good in, and for us.
And we know that in all things God works
for the good of those who love Him, who
have been called according to His purpose.
(Romans 8:28)
We know how physical pain can affect us, but emotional pain can
often be more painful, right? Rest can provide relief for different
kinds of physical pain, but it is difficult to find rest from emotional
pain because it involves our mind, which is seldom at rest.
In either case, we need to guard against Satan’s attempts to tempt
us to put time limitations on when God will ‘work good’ out of our
situation. Focusing on a timeframe can not only kill our hopes, but
it can also weaken our faith and trust in God’s efforts to bless us.
Joseph gives us a good example. He had to wait years for God
to make something good out of his situation, but he maintained
his hope during the wait for God’s timing. He also wasn’t idle
during the lull but instead he kept moving forward with confidence.
Look at these words from 1 Peter:
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received
to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its
various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one
who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they
should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all
things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him
be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
(1 Peter 4:10-11)
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your presence with me
at all times, and especially during this time when I feel lonely
and, or, unappreciated. If I have caused others to desert me,
then help me to see my faults. If it is not a result of my own
faults, then help me avoid the feelings of bitterness and anger
toward others. Regardless of the causes, help me to remember
Your promises to be with me at all times. Show me how Your
love will sustain me as You bring goodness out of a bad situation.
I pray that this experience will be a time for increasing my faith
in You, and not just an incident that will cause me to lash out at
others, or feel that You have abandoned me and are deaf to my
prayers. Forgive me for any wrong attitudes I may have, and
help me to enjoy Your presence, so Your love can overflow to
others through me.”
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