Patience comes with many hard times

Merry Christmas!!

Last week we talked about Joseph, his childhood, and how God was setting him to be successful even when he might not have realized it.  This week we are going to dive further in to Joseph patience and why we should all strive to be a little more like him. 

We left off right when his brothers sold Joseph into slavery for 20 shekels of Silver or about $136.16 in today currency.  When Joseph reached Egypt, (more likely than not walking the entire way) Potiphar, one of Pharaohs officials, bought him.  This was God working again in Joseph’s life even if he didn’t realize it. Within no time, Joseph was Potiphar’s lead man.  Potiphar had entrusted just about everything to Joseph.  God was with Joseph and he prospered.  However, there was a slight snag, Potiphar’s wife thought that Joseph was a handsome young man and she wanted to sleep with him.  Now I’m just throwing this out there, but I would assume that she was used to getting her way.  

Joseph was a righteous man though and wouldn’t sleep with her.  He told her, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Genesis 39:9  I absolutely love this answer! He didn’t say, “No your too ugly”, or “no my master would be furious”, or even, “maybe, but let’s make sure we don’t get caught.”  He told her how could I sin against God.  She on the other had was furious with this answer saw the opportunity to make him learn with her lies and told everyone that he came to “make sport of her” until she screamed and scared him off.  Literally quite the opposite of what happened.  Nonetheless, Potiphar soon found out and sent Joseph to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. 

Again, all of this happened to Joseph for a reason. I’m sure in the moment he didn’t realize it but God was working on saving hundreds of thousands of people and needed Joseph to be able to handle tough situations with dignity and a sound mind. 

Joseph was in prison for about 2 years and during that time, the prison keeper put Joseph in charge of the entire prison he was in.  Again, God led Joseph to a place of leadership.  Two of pharaohs officials were jailed in that same prison and they both had dreams the same night.  They came to Joseph and through God; he gave them the interpretation of their dreams.  One was promising and the other not so promising.  Both dreams came true just as Joseph had said they would.  Again, Joseph had to learn more patience because neither official honored their word and told Pharaoh about Joseph and his strong relationship with God. Here is the thing; we almost want to blame them don’t we? I know that I do. However, they were doing what God needed them to do.  God wasn’t ready for Joseph to be revealed to the world again. 

Later the chief cup barer remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh about him after no one else could interpret his dreams.  In short, order Joseph was cleaned up and brought to see pharaoh.  Again, through God Joseph gave pharaoh the interpretations of his dreams.  The key here is that Joseph didn’t take any credit for the interpretations; he gave it fully to God.  Without patience and wisdom, Joseph might have been tempted to say, “Well Mr. pharaoh after hearing your dreams here is what I have determined.”  Instead, he replied ^“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” Genesis 41:16

Joseph goes on to be second in command of the land of Egypt.  His first visions come true when his brothers come down to buy grain; they literally bow down to him.  Joseph didn’t hold any grudges though he sold them grain, and then placed the silver they paid with back into the sacks secretly.  The story doesn’t stop there, but that’s where we are ending today.  I highly encourage you to back and re-read the entire story of Joseph to learn about his patience. 

God we come to you today with such a humble heart.  We are thankful that you utilize us in ways that we might never fully understand.  We are thankful that you help us to grow through the situations that we see as, not great.  We are thankful that you continue to give us hope, and strength.  God we pray that you would open our eyes to you and your ways.  Help us to always give you credit for everything that happens, even when those things don’t seem to be in our favor.  Help us to have the patience to realize that you are great and always good.  You are working for us, not against us.  Lord we would like to take a moment and ask that you open our eyes to see you and your work in our lives, open our ears to hear the work you are doing for us, and help us to keep our mouth shut so we can hear and see you.  Help us to glorify you in every aspect of our lives.  We pray that when others see the way we live it encourages them to live a more righteous life. 

God thank you for your son, for the sacrifices that both you have made for us, thank you for being there for us, even when we lose sight of the path.  Thank you

Amen

Patience is more than a virtue!

We are going to spend the next few weeks talking about patience. Not because you need to hear it, but because I need to hear it.  Lol. 

Let’s take a closer look at Joseph and his patience.  Joseph was to say the least slightly spoiled as a young child.  His father, Jacob (Israel) was not afraid to let Joseph's siblings know that he liked him better.  He made an “ornate” robe for him to wear.  Joseph’s brothers hated him for multiple reasons. One was that Joseph tattled on them (Genesis 37:2), coming in from the field he told his dad all things that they were doing wrong.  You see Joseph didn’t make his life any easier with his siblings by his actions.  Here’s the thing, God didn’t say “Joseph because you are spoiled and you like to tattle on your brothers I’m going to punish you.”  Instead, he said Joseph I have a plan for you. 

God blessed Joseph with some visions where his siblings and his parents bowed down to him.  Even though Joseph was Jacob’s favorite, he rebuked him because of the visions.  “Do you really think that your mother and I will actually bow down to you?” As Joseph, how would you answer that question?  Personally, if that were to have happened to me I would have had second thoughts about if the visions came from God.  You see God speaks to us all differently, that’s we are supposed to be learning from this.  God came down with his angles and spoke to Abraham, he wrestled with Jacob, he shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel, and he gave Joseph the ability to see and intemperate visions.  God speaks to us all in different ways. 

I’ll bet you are thinking how is any of this dealing with patience, how is this going to help me be more patient. The next part of Joseph's story is where Joseph learned patience.  He was sent out to check on his brothers and when they saw him coming the seemed a plan to kill him.  Luckily, one of his brothers persuaded them not kill him but tie him and throw him in a cistern.  This might not seem like a real win but it was for him, because his intentions were to come back later and pull him out and get him back home safely.  However, while he was away his other brothers sold him into slavery for about 20 shekels of silver.  That’s about 8 ounces or 230 grams, in today’s currency that equals (12/15/2019 Silver price per ounce, $17.02) so the sold Joseph for $136.16!  Holy cow, that’s even one trip to Walmart for most families!! 

God was with Joseph and was teaching him patience.  He took this spoiled kid that was always favored and turned him into a slave so he could learn a lot more than patience.  God gave Joseph the strength to endure everything that happened to him. He shaped Joseph into the leader that he needed him to be so that later in his story he could save hundreds of thousands or even millions of people through 7 years of hardship.  Josephs beginning is part of the story that we sometimes miss, but it is vital to think about because it lets us know that it’s ok if we don’t always have the patience we think we should have.  It also lets us know that God is there for us through the hard times, he is using those times to shape us into the person we need to be.

God we come to you today to thank you for everything that happened to us.  We thank you for the hardships that you have helped us through.  We thank you for the times where we weren’t sure that you were really there for us.  The times that we were on top of the world and forgot that, you were the reason that we were there.  We thank you for the patience that you have with us.  We know that we can be hard headed, especially me just ask my wonderful wife.  We thank for not giving up on us, even when we didn’t deserve to have you on our side.  God we would ask that you would give is the faith of Abraham, Daniel, David, job, and john.  We pray that you would help give us the courage to claim your name and shout it from the rooftops.  We are grateful for the journey that you are sending us on, even when we don’t understand why things are happening give us the strength to know that you are helping to mold us into the person you need us to be. God lastly, we hope that you help us to know that everything happens in God’s time not our time.  Help us know that your timing is perfect, it may not align with our schedules, but it is perfect.

Thank you for the gift of your son, the gift of the holy spirit, the gift of being able to share your word and to help others remain strong in your faith. 

Thank you

Amen.

Faith in God includes Faith in his timing

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28

It is not very often that we are on the same timing as God.  He has the perfect solution to every problem and the ultimate outcome to the perfect life.  If we would just get out of his way.  All too often we offer up a solution to a problem.  Let me handle this, or God you should do this.  I can just see him laughing at all our silly solutions.  I like to think about it as having this awesome hamburger.  Although it might be juicy and cooked just right.  God has this prime cut of steak grilled to perfection just ready for us if we would just be patient.  Taking a deep breath and sitting in the passenger’s seat, while God takes the steering wheel isn’t easy.  Its ok God’s got this.  If you take a step back and ask God to guide you, he will.  However listening and acting on his timing takes a lot of work and prayer.  I know that I am still working on this every day.  Some things that I like to do is pray all the time.  When I’m unsure or even when things are going great.  I pray.  Thank God for your struggles.  He is helping you grow and learn. 

In our society we have so many things that can fill up our everyday lives.  A lot of them can be wonderful and we really enjoy doing them every day, some not so much.  If at all possible take a few minutes every day to spend with God in his word.  I find that if I miss this step for to many days in a row, I start to lose control.  In my actions and situations or even with my emotions and attitude.  Having that one on one time with God and in his word is so beneficial to everyone.  The easiest time to do this is first thing in the morning, or right before bed.  If you’re on the road you might have a break that you need to take, or at lunch.  Find a quit place that you can focus.  Like I said this doesn’t have to be a long time.  A couple of verses or a chapter might be all you need to get you moving in the right direction.  If you feel like you need a little more, then listen to that and dig a little deeper. 

Don’t fight to make everything come out just right.  Gods timing is always so much better if we can just listen and be patient.  Faith in God includes faith in his timing.

Lord we come to you today with open arms and an open mind.  We know that you are the one and only almighty God, the maker of the heavens and the earth and the redeemer.  We would like to a few moments and thank you for being there for us, even when we aren’t always there for ourselves.  Thank you for being with us as we continue through our current season of life.  Thank you for bringing the peace and the chaos to our lives, we know that you are using both to help better us.  Lord if we could ask for a couple of things they would be that you help us to listen to you.  Jesus always said “those with ears let them hear”, Lord we have ears let us hear you.  Lord we also ask that you help us to continue to come to your word and your teaching.  Help us to stay on the right track for you. Help us to keep strong in our faith and to never be afraid to let others know what you are doing for us and what you have done for us.  Lord we thank you for your patience and preservice. Thank you for your timing.

Tis the season for..... Patience and Humility

Ephesians 4:2-3: “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

With the week of Thanksgiving behind us and the Christmas season coming on there are many different devotionals we could write about how without Christ Christmas wouldn’t exist.  We hope that you already realize that so we would like to focus more on humility and patience this week. 

Humility is one of the things that we can loose very quickly in life. As soon as we start to “succeed" our humbleness can fly right out the window. I know this from past experiences I have to admit that I’m not the most humble person all of the time. What I can say is that every time God takes the tie to humble me, it’s always been a good lesson and I truly needed the teaching. I have also found that after I finally listened to him, I was more at peace than I was when I was arrogant. I also felt closer to him afterwards.

Patience is another thing that I lack at times.  Especially with my loved ones , & occasionally co workers.  It would seem that the closer I get to someone the less patience I have with them. How is that?  We should have more patience with the ones who are closer to us. It’s almost as though unconsciously we think that they have to be more forgiving.

When I notice that I’m having issues with humility or patience (pretty much every day), Here’s what I try to do to keep myself in check.  Are you ready this is some really extreme stuff right here.  I PRAY. That’s right I take time and give it all back to God.  I ask him to help me with my weaknesses and help me to be the person he wants and needs me to be.  It’s pretty simple in the end, just give it all back to God and I’m closer to him, have more humility, and more patience with others and myself.

Lord as I reflect today I would like to thank you for everything that you have given unto us. I would like to give you full credit for our lives and the abilities that you have blessed out hands and minds with the ability to perform.  Lord I would also like to ask that you open our hearts to you and your word. That you take a few moments to show us who you would like us to be and how you need us to act and react. Lord we thank you taking time to help us where and when we need it.  Thank you for your wisdom and knowledge  please guide our every thought, conversation, and action through every season of our lives.

Amen