Good afternoon, all!
Today, we continue the story of Joseph. We left Joseph while he was confined to prison for allegedly sleeping with Potiphar's wife. We remember that Joseph's gift of interpreting dreams landed him in a mess, and now we see how they work for his good. Eventually, it is this gift which not only get him released from prison, but enables Egypt to survive a great fast that lasts for seven years (and as we shall see, will allow him to be reunited with his brothers and father).
Some random insights for life at this point: We are all given gifts and special interests by God to be used in serving Him. Often, although we want to use our gifts and develop them, we are discouraged from doing so. Perhaps what we want to do isn't practical. Perhaps our dreams seem to unrealistic or impossible. Perhaps others don't like our gifts and interests, and either put us down for or prevent us from developing them. Sometimes, what we feel God calling us to say or do doesn't jive with other's understanding or conception of what God is calling us to say and do.
And yet, even so, we find that just because we must suffer because of our gifts or those things we are passionate about does not mean that God will not finally use these things for His glory. How often in the past has this been true. Take Martin Luther, for example. Here is a man who comes to a renewed understanding of the Christian faith. When he tries to renew the church in light of what he has learned from Scripture, he pays the penalty of excommunication from the church he loved; moreover, he is forced to go on the run from the authorities who wish to kill him and erase his ideas from memory. And yet God not only protected and delivered him, but God used him to change the world and the face of Christianity. Now, whether you argue that what Luther did was good or bad, both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism have both been deeply affected in positive ways by what Luther did and said.
The point? There are many occasions where we may be discouraged by who God created us to be and what gifts God gives because others do not see the value in them. And yet, all the same, God has wound us up the way we are for a reason - sometimes God uses us to challenge others to think differently; other times, it is we who must be strengthened and challenged through them. Although this is not a license for us to always do what we want or think what we want, sometimes we are truly convicted to challenge the preconceived notion of things as they are. Sometimes we are given gifts and interests that either no one cares about or that others want to sweep under the rug; sometimes people want to just sweep us under the rug because of who we are or what we're passionate about. Yet, even then, God wants to use these things to build us up, to build up the church, and to accomplish His purposes in the world.
Yet, the reality is that in Jesus Christ, God uses us just as God used Joseph to carry out his purposes. And if, like Joseph, we remain faithful to God growing in our faith and seeking His will, He will develop and strengthen those gifts and passions, using us to accomplish His will to bless us, to bless others, and to accomplish His will in and for the world. May you be encouraged by this.
Well, that's what I saw in these readings today. May God richly bless you through the knowledge of His dear Son and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In Christ,
Pastor Nathan
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