And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt."
Genesis 45:4
Why did Joseph have to endure the hardships he encountered? To preserve a posterity in the earth and to save his brothers' lives by a great deliverance. God was working through Joseph's life to save others! It was not to destroy Joseph. He knew that Joseph had the power of God on His side and the spiritual fortitude to overcome. He had gifted Joseph with supernatural abilities and everything he needed to face his obstacles and overcome them. He had great plans for Joseph. It was a master plan to preserve not only Joseph, but his family as well. Joseph was to be the conduit for God's mercy and deliverance. God did not have plans to harm Joseph; indeed, he was highly favored by God and chosen for this mission.
Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to use what God has given us, to face life head on with the certainty that He is in control, and to forge bravely ahead in spite of our seemingly impossible circumstances.
Indeed, what we have should be beheld as a treasure:
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. II Corinthians 4:7-9.
Monday, February 04, 2008
No Mission Impossible
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3 comments:
Cindy, II Corinthians 4: 7-9 is my favorite verse! Well, one of them, anyway! There are many days it is quite simply, my mantra! I think I'll ask that it is put on my gravestone!
Great post!
Diane
Many times the pit seems to be unbearable. Yet, as long as there is breath in a man, there is hope. No matter how perilous the pit, while in the pit one is preserved from the dangers that lurk outside of the pit.
Given the severity of our recent storms, a pit would present as an opportunity to live.
mission impossible...and the instruuctions never dissolve. His word endures forever. wow!
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