No Longer Dreaming, Dream Walking!
A few days ago I mentioned that two of the most important components in the story of Joseph were “giving” and “for-giving”. Today we are going to look at what Joseph gave.
One thing we can all readily see is that Joseph gave his loyal service to Potiphar, to the jailer, and to Pharoh. Some might argue that this is what a slave should do. However, there are few slaves, who weren’t born slaves, who give themselves wholeheartedly to the good of making their master more successful than they found them.
Many of us are in a work-related circumstance where we have the opportunity to decide whether we will use the favor upon our lives as children of the most High God – without reservation – or whether we will only give our base service – enough to keep our job. Sadly, many Christians withhold the best of who they are on the job and fail to lend their anointing to their workplace.
However, Joseph gave something much more than productivity in his experiences in Egypt. He gave up the right to be angry to the point of sin. Joseph could have justified hating his brothers to the point that he became unable to do anything good for anyone – even himself! Joseph could have in the face of temptation justified yielding to Potiphar’s wife to get back at his condition as a slave (she wouldn’t have told), or even to take pleasure where he could find it saying he deserved it!
Joseph cold have sat down to rot away in prison after being placed there for a crime he didn’t commit, but once again:
“So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. 22 Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. 23 The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.”
Genesis 39: 20-23 (NLT)
Joseph could have given into a real pity party when Pharoh’s cup bearer failed to remember him after he returned to the palace. Scripture does not record how Joseph dealt day after day with such great disappointments, but if we look at the favor that was on his life in all these scenarios we know that Joseph (like the Christ who would come after him):
“He did not retaliate when he was insulted,
nor threaten revenge when he suffered.
He left his case in the hands of God,
who always judges fairly” 1 Peter 2: 23 (NLT)
Joseph not only gave up his right to his dream but he gave up his right to his life – daily sowing into the dreams and lives of those who were in authority over him.
Join us for a concluding look at Joseph on tomorrow…
God Bless You,
Maria
It’s so easy to find an excuse to be angry, not to do our best, to not forgive, to not give of our time and $$$, to not help others… Ultimately, it’s so easy to NOT OBEY HIM and consequently not experience His Favor, Presence & Power by not denying our fleshly feelings and Walking by Faith! Why do we choose to miss out on so much of Him to fulfill our flesh (pride, lust, etc)
I shared my story of forgiveness and moving on with a young woman that was going through a divorce. She came up to me on Sunday and told me how my story had impacted her outcome. Instead of becoming bitter over a situation that she couldn’t change, she forgave and moved on. She said that when she would began to become discouraged, bitter and angry, she would remember that someone had went before he and came out victorious. There are times in our lives that need to be shared so that someone else can be discipled and healed. In helping someone in the process and by going through the process in Christ, we become victorious.