JOSEPH - SOLD INTO DESTINY

Joseph had a dream- that he was going to be a ruler.In a family and a culture where the firstborn status and seniority in the family was very important (something their father had worked hard to get), if his dreams were anything to go by, then he had become a threat to the worth of his elder brothers. His brothers could not imagine themselves bowing to their younger brother sometime in the future, whether near or far. Joseph was about to break the status quo, and they didn't find that amusing.
It is very interesting where the fulfillment of this dream started; the very beginning  was the exact point where he should have been discouraged from pursuing his dream. 

First, he 'ends down' in a pit, awaiting a probable death sentence for no offense but that of having a dream of being great in his generation, then sold for a few coins into slavery.  His brothers had to find a way of killing the dream, and the best way (to them) was to kill the dreamer. (i.e. if you want to get rid of the smoke, get rid of the fire)

...So come on now, let us kill him ... and we shall see what will become of his dreams!     Gen 37:20 

1. Everyone with a God-given dream is a target of one enemy or the other. That enemy sees you as a threat.The bigger your dream, the stronger your adversaries.

Though his coming out of the pit was nothing short of a miracle, his status had changed- from a freeman to a slave. From this point, everything started going in opposite directions for Joseph. Instead of progressing in life towards his dreams, he found his life spiraling deeper and deeper. Day after day, he realized how far he was moving away from his dream; things unfolded in such a way that the realization of this dream became more and more 'impossible'. The reality was that, unless there was a miracle, he was going to spend the rest of his youth as a slave and probably die as one. As if all these were not enough, he lands in prison. For what? Just being faithful to God.

2. Remaining faithful to God in times of adversity is very expensive; It will take you out of your comfort zone, yes! even the little comfort you have.

All these circumstances were not enough for him to throw his arms in the air, question the integrity and faithfulness of God and then get negative and focus on how impossible  the realization of his dream must have been, poisoning his future with words like these :

• This is the end of the road for me; my dream is never going to come to pass, the dream is not true. I must have been deceived.
• I'm probably going to spend my entire life as a slave in a strange land
• Now that I'm in prison, everything is over. Even God must have forgotten about me by now

• Why me?! Why is life so cruel to me, what have I done to you, God?

It is very important that when you find yourself in situations like these, you fix your eyes on the word of God (what God has said about you). You are very likely to hear many voices but be strong enough to stand by the word of God (the promise).
One such voice is that of Satan. In the case of Joseph,the devil would have said something like this,

"If there's really a God of your Forefathers, and this God loves you, why would He look on while you are going through this?, are you sure you are not being a fool? If there's really a God like that, wouldn't He rather reward you for being faithful to Him? Have you seen anyone faithful to God who has been punished like this. Even if there is a God, then He has betrayed you, don't you think so?"

3. In times like these, Satan will attempt to take away your faith, get you to believe that God does not exist. If he does not succeed, he will attempt to make you believe that God hates you. If not, he will scrutinize  your past and show you that it is pay back time for God - God is punishing you for your past sins. Never believe any of these lies.

Joseph definitely wanted to get out of the dungeon. If Pharaoh could hear of Joseph  and his plight, perhaps he could get out of prison; Pharaoh was the one who could authorize his release but a slave as he was, he wasn't the kind of fellow Pharaoh would want to know anything about - he had more important things to think about than a slave. Joseph saw the opportunity to  get his name in the books of Pharaoh when he interpreted the dream of his chief butler- the one who put Pharaoh's cup into his hands and served him wine. Joseph said to him:

But think of me when it shall be well with you and show kindness, I beg of you, to me, and mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house.

For truly I was carried away from the land of the Hebrews by unlawful force, and here too I have done nothing for which they should put me into the dungeon.  Gen 40:14-15

The chief butler was the only human connection Joseph had with the king. In spite of Joseph's request, he forgot about Joseph. For two years, Joseph heard nothing from him.

4. When we find ourselves in certain situations, we often know people who can easily help us out or even others who can just mention our names to someone of some influence who can help us, yet they don't. At this stage, it is important to realize that no man can help you on his own, and that God is directly involved in what you are going  through; this is where you get to know that His plan is working, He doesn't want anyone to interfere with His plan for you. Here is what the bible says:

It is better to depend on the LORD than to trust mortals. It is better to depend on the LORD than to trust influential people.  -  Psalm 118:8-9 (God's Word)

It took God to make a move before Joseph was finally remembered. It was time for God to execute His plan.

He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold as a servant.

His feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in chains of iron and his soul entered into the iron,

Until his word [to his cruel brothers] came true, until the word of the Lord tried and tested him.

The king sent and loosed him, even the ruler of the peoples, and let him go free.

 He made Joseph lord of his house and ruler of all his substance,

To bind his princes at his pleasure and teach his elders wisdom.

 Psalm 105:17-22

What Joseph did not know was that he was a part of God's master plan - a plan to save humanity from an approaching decimating disaster. In this plan of God, he needed His man to be in charge and implement the plan, but the political and economic system in Canaan did not have the capacity to handle a 7-year food reserve for the whole world. Joseph then ends up in Egypt which was just the right place God needed for this plan.  God in His infinite wisdom, did not take Joseph to Egypt as a statesman, and a potential Prime Minister; there is no doubt the amount of opposition he would have received and the number of people who would have wanted to kill him. Egypt was the highest civilization at the time. They had enough capacity to build warehouses for this purpose. Joseph only got to know the plan when everything finally unfolded.

5. When we are going through difficult times, it is very difficult to understand what is going on. When you find yourself in such a situation, you don't need to worry. When a pen is in the hand of its writer, it is not for the pen to understand what it is writing, only the writer understands what he is writing. We (Christians) are like individual keys on God's   keyboard (harmonious/computer), we may not understand why he presses us at certain times but one thing is sure: He is making beautiful melody and we are just privileged enough to be one of the keys God is using to unleash His glory. If you are a key on God's computer keyboard, it is no different; you are just one of the keys God is using to type another story of victory.

At God's appointed time, Joseph's status and position changed in the twinkle of an eye. One morning, he wakes up a prisoner, and then goes to bed a prime minister the evening of the same day. This is how God surprised Joseph and this is how He will surprise anyone who is faithfully going through tough times. He did not just rule, he ruled over the greatest civilization of his generation. This is how David made reference to the story:

You have delivered Me from the strivings of the people; You have made Me the head of the nations; a people whom I have not known shall serve Me. -Psalm 18:43 (MKJV)

Through all these, God never left Joseph. He may have prayed every prayer he knew of and may also have led the most righteous life. God was so silent certain times that he was likely to ask himself if God really cared. God had no choice but to watch from the sidelines when we was being taken to prison. However,  He provided the necessary support to keep Joseph in the contest and help him win. For example, everywhere he went;  whether a slave or a prisoner, he was the head and not the tail. There was something about him that made everything he touched prosper.

Here are a few highlights that I also picked from Joseph's life that kept him in God's plan;

1. He stayed faithful - though Joseph had been treated unjustly by his own brothers and had found himself in a strange land, that did not stop him from remaining faithful to his God.

2. He maintained a positive spirit  -  the Lord may have given him all the favor he needed, but he definitely did not go about carrying a gloomy face and the documents of his betrayal by his brothers, whining to everyone he saw. I am very certain that in spite of all that happened to him, he carried a positive spirit, relying on the promise of God to him. He must have had a firm hope that though he did not understand what God was doing, what God had said about his life in the dreams he had were surely going to happen, only he didn't know how.

3. He was diligent - Joseph was a diligent servant, first, to the Lord and then to his master - Potiphar. Genesis 39:2-6 gives an account of how God was with Joseph and made everything he did prosper. In verse 6, we learn that his master left everything in his house in the care (responsibility) of Joseph. Only a diligent servant can attract such a responsibility. Your present circumstances do not excuse you from being diligent in everything you do, whether great or small.

4. He forgave - many of us, if we were in Joseph's shoes would have taught our brothers a real lesson of a lifetime- they would probably have been in prison for twice the number of years we spent there (with a very hard labor).

Back in primary school, when I was a class prefect, we (me and my colleague prefect) were mandated to control the class so they wouldn't make noise, in the absence of the teacher. Usually the class would go beyond control (I was the smallest person in the class and my other colleague was a girl),we knew nothing about leadership then, so we would write down the names of troublemakers and submit to the teacher for them to be punished. One popular abbreviation in the list was D.P. - Double Punishment. Unofficially, this was for anyone who may have beaten me the previous days or may have wronged me somehow; this was my chance to pay them back and I didn't joke with it. Joseph however did not see it this way; he forgave his brothers, knowing that God used their hatred and subsequent diabolic action as a fuel to move His plans for him to the next level.

I believe you have learnt something from Joseph's life that God knows our struggles and He is concerned about whatever we go through. In the end, apart from becoming the Prime Minister on a strange land, Joseph was given the revered and coveted position of the First born. He had the double portion of his father's inheritance; the land of Canaan was  divided into thirteen equal portions - he had two. (the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh).

Gen 48:22 

And I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

If God has selected you to do anything great, then prepare for your test, get ready to go through the refinery where God will turn you into a master craft.

 

TRIALS & TEMPTATIONS

Are you going through hell? - if yes, then you have to thank God that is not your final destination. There's a good chance you are in a refinery, you will definitely come out of it.

God does not like it when any of His children is going through difficulties (trials). However, He sees it necessary for our upbringing and our growth, so He allows it.

1. THEN JESUS was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil.  Mat 4:1 (AMP)

2. Joseph was tried and tested when he was sold into slavery (thanks to the evil plot by his brothers) when according to his dream, he should have been ruling. He also ended up in prison for being faithful to God. (Gen. 47--)

3. Job was tested and tried by the devil at God's own permission (Job 1:8-12). (Here, some men of God preach that it was Job's fear that ended him in the situation in which he found himself. I however disagree. The passage from the bible makes it quite clear, what ensued between God and Satan- God had entered into a contest with Satan to prove His word, or testimony about Job)

It is something every true Christian will have to go through one way or the other, sometime in life. On our way to maturity, we need to pass through the wilderness of trials and temptation where God seems non-existent, and all you can do is to trust Him.

If you are going through this situation, you are probably wondering if:

• You are not being a fool, waiting for some God you have not even seen when you can easily use a different means to get what you want. Even if God exists, what is the probability that HE will show up in my situation?

•  God is not angry with you for something you may have done that you do not even know or remember

• God does not love others more than He loves you and whether He even cares about what you are going through

The 'God's Word' Translation puts James 1:2-4 in a very understandable and simple English:

My brothers and sisters, be very happy when you are tested in different ways.

You know that such testing of your faith produces endurance.

Endure until your testing is over. Then you will be mature and complete, and you won't need anything.  -  James 1:2-4 (God's Word)

These are some of the reasons why God wants us to be tested:

1. To train us unto maturity and completeness
2. To refine us - we come out better than we were
3. To prove our faith in God - To prove that we are not  following God just for material blessings, or we want to follow Him unconditionally.

During this time you are very much likely to shed tears because you will be squeezed and be stretched at the same time; you will be stretched to your elastic limits, you may experience the extremes of heat and cold at the same time . The devil will use your own family and the very people who are close to you to break you down. These people will test your faith and your faithfulness. Remember the friends of Job, oh and his wife. I wonder why the devil wiped out everything Job had, including his children and left his wife untouched. Have you ever wondered why? The devil used her as a weapon to tempt Job, turn him against God, and cause him to renounce God and commit suicide.

Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your blameless uprightness? Renounce God and die! -  Job 2:9

 It is usually a period of embarrassment and loneliness , when you want to hide your face from everyone else and be alone. At this point, everyone seems to have a solution to your problems and the more they try to help you, the harder they hurt you  and the more you want to stay away from them.

Many Christians who have found themselves in this situation in one way or the other have found themselves either thinking of committing suicide or attempting to do so. Suicide is the devil's checkmate for your soul; it's the easiest way for him to get a Christian to go to hell.

Please note this: nobody who commits suicide has a place in heaven.

• It is murder
• You make nonsense of the value of the life God has given you
• You imply that God is incapable of helping you out of your situation

Every trial comes with a temptation. Satan's plan is to pressurize and stretch you so much that you will say "alright! Enough is enough" and then accept his options for you. This is where he wins the battle. There is no Manager (Coach) in sports who  knows how to play mind games than the devil.

Joseph was tempted to sleep with his master's wife; Job was tempted to renounce God; Jesus was tempted to fall for pride and arrogance, and also tempted to abort his mission and accept the whole world on a silver platter - just by worshiping the devil. Job and Joseph could have said, "after all, all die be die" and then give up on God. The Good news is that they never did and we have the opportunity to learn from them and to know that victory awaits us. NEVER GIVE UP ON GOD!

Your trial is an indication that God has chosen you; to write another chapter of testimony with your life. It means God sees you trustworthy enough to go through whatever it is you are going through and not let Him down. He sees you as a warrior in His Kingdom that will bring glory to Him. Like Job, God is comfortable enough to let you at the hands of the devil and stay out of the contest and watch you defeat him, and when you are finally through, He'd say with so much delight on His face; that's my child and then turn to the rest of heaven and announce: We have another victory here with so and so, then He'll mention your name; the whole of heaven will rejoice over your victory as if the football team of heaven has just won a world cup.

God has already defeated the devil. It is our turn to do same. Why? Because we are his children - His seed. It is only natural for us to take part in the contest and win. The devil is no match for God; God leaves him to us to contest and contend with him (using our faith and putting our trust in God) and come out victors. Our victory is assured if we can follow the rules of the contest. If we can obey God and not divert from the path, the contest becomes just a formality. The whole of heaven is witnessing this contest;

THEREFORE THEN, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth],... and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us.  Hebrews 12:1 (AMP)

 It is not just between us and the devil. We are representing heaven just as any sportsman represents his country. If he/she loses, the entire nation loses and they get disappointed.

Just as every sportsman has some kind of a reward or trophy after winning any contest, God also has a reward package that will surprise you. You will then lift up your head like Job and Joseph and say: Thank you Lord! For what I've been through.

NEVER GIVE UP ON GOD!

HOPE FINALLY PAYS OFF, AFTER 38 YEARS OF HELPLESSNESS

I am sure this would have been one of the headlines among the media in Israel, after Jesus healed the man who had been ill for 38yrs at the pool of Bethesda. This could also pass for a brief write up of the story:


"A man who refused to give up after 38 years of making disappointing attempts to receive his healing by being the first to step in the pool of Bethesda has finally got what he so wanted.
Yesterday in the late afternoon, he had an encounter with Jesus who told him to pick up his bed and walk, and he could not disobey.  However, one thing that we are yet to find out, is why Jesus healed no one else but that man, our reporters are still working on it and we shall bring you these details in our subsequent reports."
 While these are happening, the controversy of Jesus healing on the Sabbath still continues, the question we are still asking is "is He disregarding the law or He is just doing good on the Sabbath?" send your comments through our Facebook page on www.facebook.com/jewnews


John 5:6  When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?]
John 5:7  The invalid answered, Sir, I have nobody when the water is moving to put me into the pool; but while I am trying to come [into it] myself, somebody else steps down ahead of me.
John 5:8  Jesus said to him, Get up! Pick up your bed (sleeping pad) and walk!


This man had been by the pool of Bethesda for 38 years! Why did he not just go home and maybe die, being mad at God?


1. From his own account, for the entire 38 years, he did not get the help he needed; if someone could just push him into the pool, quickly enough after the moving of the water, he could just receive his healing and go home. Apparently, all the people who could help him disappointed him (5:7).
2. Life around the pool must have been very agonizing; some people probably received their healing in just two weeks after they arrived at the pool. He had spent close to years!
3. His stay there became quite ridiculous. Perhaps he was not putting in much effort like the others, maybe his sins were so heavy that he was never going to get the chance- no wonder he had to be quick to explain himself to anyone he came in contact with.
4. On one ordinary day, he did not even know that his time had come. He started the routine of explaining himself to a gentleman (deviating from His question). All he heard was an a voice with authority that said  "pick up your bed and walk" . He did not even know how he got up, by the time he realized, he was on his feet, something he had  not experienced for 38 agonizing years.
5. 38 years of hope had finally paid off. He refused to turn back home. He had the hope that ONE DAY, it would be his turn, and he could walk again- and he did. GLORY BE TO GOD. Finally.


The passage teaches me two things


1. No matter how long it takes, with hope, we shall receive our breakthrough. 
The most hopeless situation is not death, but a man with no hope. To such a person, death is a better option and if you leave him alone, he will commit suicide. Hopelessness is far more deadly than death itself. Hopelessness is the source of depression which can also lead to suicide. If I lost all I have  and I know that in the next few days, I am going to get them back, what cause do I have to worry and further get depressed over it? Having a knowledge  or  a conviction that you will get what you want is what I call hope. If you think there is no hope for you, think about the man in this passage (John 5:1-8) who was left in a vegetative state for 38 years. As far as God is concerned, there are no hopeless situations, except where you find a man without hope.
2. It might look as if God has abandoned us, and that He is not interested in what we are going through, especially if we consider our pasts. Fortunately, we always find out later that it is not what it seemed to be in the beginning.
Look at this man; Jesus literally went straight to him and healed him, it was not recorded that any other person was healed (this was a place concentrated with sick people). After healing the man, the bible says Jesus slipped away, unnoticed because of the crowd. It is indubitable that Jesus went to the pool of Bethesda because of him. I am sure it is at this point that he would understand that all this while, God had His eyes on him.


The eyes of the Lord are on us, He knows every detail of what we have been through and what we are going through. It is true that others may have taken the lead, and you may have been left behind. However, know that He has the power to lift you from the back of the queue to where you are supposed to be. Your faith may be weak, but you can't afford to lose hope. Remember  that as far as God is concerned, there are no hopeless situations, except where you can find a man without hope. You can be helpless but you can't be hopeless.


I hope you get encouraged with this. Keep on praying and feeding on what the Word of God has said about you and your situation. Your breakthrough is on its way.