1/17/08 - Life Journal - His Plan Plows Forward

"I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die."
Genesis 42:2

God's plan is starting to come clear! All of Joseph's trials and successes led up to this point. God planned the 7 years of excess, 7 years of famine, planted it in Pharaoh's head in the form of a dream and had Joseph right where he wanted him to take advantage of this situation. Now, the famine has spread throughout Canaan which leads Jacob to send his sons to the Governor of the land of Egypt, who just so happens to be Joseph, to buy some grain! Brilliant! One more step on the people of Israel's journey to the promised land.

God's timing, God's timing, God's timing..........I gotta get a grip on this subject. His plan will come through when He has set it come about and nothing we do will stop it or even slow it down for a second. Joseph's brothers did all they could! Even if they had managed to kill him we'd just be reading a different historical account of how the Jews made it into Egypt or maybe they would have bypassed it completely, who knows? But it all would have worked out exactly the same. Moses would still have ended up on Mount Sinai, the people still would have made it to the Holy Land, etc, etc, etc. He's pretty awesome, huh?

I'm here to be used Father God, it may seem like I'm on a circuitous route, but I must know that it all fits perfectly.

1/16/08 - Life Journal - Oh, for the Integrity of Joseph

The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man...
Genesis 39:2

This is the overriding theme of the next 3 chapters. Joseph is constantly getting a raw deal. His brothers want to kill him, he's sold into slavery, he's accused of attempted rape and thrown into jail and then forgot about for 2 years. So what does He do about it? He continues his life as a man of integrity and of God. Because of this the Lord was constantly with Him. His brother talks the rest into not killing him, he's sold to a wealthy man that sees his value as a leader, he's put in charge of the prison, he's given the gift of dream interpretation which eventually leads him to being the second in command of all of Egypt! Out of his pitfalls, literally pits if you count the first his brothers threw him into and second the one where he was kept in prison, God raises him to positions of increasingly greater importance. All the while Joseph points all his gifts and successes back to Him that provided.

And I let the sound of the alarm clock ruin my day? I've been given blessings on top of blessings and still I act the role of spoiled kid to indulgent Father. How do I respond to his bounty? Great family? more work. Promotion? more work. Gift of music? more work. Position of leadership at work and church? more work. Bigger, more beautiful home? more work. Man, I'm a wreck! My answeres to the above should be HALLELUJAH, THANK YOU GOD, I'M NOT WORTHY, YOU ARE AWESOME, WHAT CAN I DO TO THANK YOU, YOU'RE AWESOME.

Father, I know I break your heart with my response to your blessings yet they keep coming. You are awesome, thank you for your neverending forgiveness.