Genesis 45 NIV: “1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!†So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?†But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.†When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!
5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. 9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’
Sometimes, the Lord uses our own circumstances in order to bring others into Him. When we allow ourselves to be used for His purpose, we perpetuate His cause and encourage His will to be manifested in the lives of others. At the time, we may be confused and not understand the reasons behind what we are going through, but our discomfort paves the way for others to find Christ through a ‘great deliverance’ and once God has brought us through, we are blessed with peace that passes understanding which may or may not provide us with the knowledge of God’s plan, but it gives us the assurance that we have succumbed to what the Lord was working on within us, and within others, all along.
Ask yourself: How can I condition myself to view things in a way that allows me to examine all options so that I am able to consider the possibility that God is bringing me through my hardship into something wonderful- a calm after a storm? … First and foremost, PRAYER IS POWER… The three key words in God’s promise regarding blessings are ASK, SEEK, KNOCK… We have to ASK in order to receive… We have to SEEK in order to find… We have to KNOCK in order for the door to be opened and the opportunity to be presented. You will not find understanding unless you ask for it, seek it, and receive it. Once you have accomplished that, it is then that you are able to apply that understanding in the form of knowledge to the opportunities the Lord places before you. When your soul tells you that your situation is larger than yourself, be reminded that the Lord is your shepherd, and know that for a believer, all pain has meaning. It should comfort you to know that God is using you in some way…
There are many things that we can do to accomplish forgiving those who have trespassed against us… Number one is to try to put yourself in their shoes, and remind yourself that not everyone has accepted Christ, and that you are not mad at that person, but at the ‘thing’ they did against you… and in essence, you are not mad at the ‘thing’ either- but rather, that anger is actually with Satan and the spirits that have bound the person who has trespassed against you. Anything outside of God is evil. We are not perfect. Acknowledging that helps to begin the process of forgiveness. Accept what has happened and realize that the events cannot be changed, but we can give that situation to the Lord and trust Him to work it out, which allows us to lift those feelings off of our own heart and let go.
Try to imagine what kind of shape we would all be in if the Lord refused to forgive us when we wrong him… Deliverance means to have those spirits which have bound your soul to be stripped away so that Christ can take over. It signifies spiritual repair, restoration, and growth! The Lord forgives us for our sins- for all the ‘things’ we have done against Him. We must show this same love and compassion to our brothers and sisters… Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, but he did not hate them for this because he realized that it was not his brothers who ultimately decided his fate- it was God… God sent Joseph into slavery for him to be brought to Egypt so that through him, his family and many others would be delivered and saved from the famine.
Your circumstances are bringing you to one of two places- to God, or to Satan… the choice is yours. The Lord will use your situation to deliver you from evil, but only if you accept Him. If you shun the Lord and shut Him out, you will be delivered into evil rather than from it.
* Written by Kathleen Robertson July 3, 2006
No related posts.