I’m on the plane headed to Florida for nine glorious days of family, friends and sun.  The “book” bag is at my feet.  These next days are for me to relax, retreat,  refresh and renew, so I pull out the latest Jodi Picoult novel.  But the other book I’d brought caught my eye just before I zipped the bag shut.  I decided on that one instead.  And that has made all the difference in the world.

The book, God Meant It For Good  by R.T. Kendall is a fresh look at the life of Joseph.  Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe just personal circumstances, or maybe it was a message I was particularly ripe to hear exactly as the Lord wanted me to.  I think the later.

The quick story of Joseph.  At the young age of seventeen, God began to deal with Joseph.  His brothers envied him and hated him and sold him into slavery in Egypt.  They doctored the story so that Jacob, their father, would believe Joseph to be dead.  Once in Egypt, Joseph’s talents began to surface and he was made the “Chief of Staff” of all of Potiphar’s house.  Potiphar’s wife got everything else she wanted, so why not Joseph.  Joseph would have nothing to do with her advances as he was loyal to his employer, but she grabbed onto his coat and used that as evidence that Joseph had been the one to make the advance.  He was quickly stripped of his duties and power, and sent to prison.  While in prison, the warden saw that he could trust Joseph and put him in charge.  There he also accurately interpreted two dreams, so that when Pharaoh himself had a dream that all the wise men of Egypt could not interpret, the butler remembered Joseph and he was brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dream.  The interpretation must have been extremely clear to Pharaoh, along with the plan that Joseph laid out for dealing with seven years of feast followed by seven years of famine, that Pharaoh made Joseph in charge of the whole land of Egypt to carry out this plan.  And Joseph was 30 –a wise, discerning, young professional.  End of story.  Live happily ever after.

Kendall opened me up to three new thoughts about the circumstances surrounding the life of Joseph that I had never thought of before.  Frankly, I had always looked on Joseph as a hero, because he was the victim of his brothers’ jealousy and cruelty; and the lies of Potiphar’s wife that forced him to serve unjust time and punishment in prison.  I had not thought about any imperfections in the life of Joseph.

FIRST.  Joseph was not totally innocent in the circumstances he found himself in.  Joseph was his father’s favorite.  He flaunted his coat of many colors.  He was a tattletale.  He was self-righteous.  If God was ever going to use Joseph, he had some personality issues that needed sorting out first.  Time in a pit.  Time as a slave.  Time in prison.  All of these work very well to peel away haughtiness and self-righteousness.  When God wants to use us, there are times when he deals roughly with us.  Take heart though, it is a sign that He is at work.  It is a sign that He wants us.

SECOND.  Joseph was consumed with his gift—his special talent.  Joseph had a special talent, something that God had given to him and no one else—the power to interpret dreams.  But so often, a strength overused becomes a weakness.  I like to put it this way, “my greatest blessing is also my greatest curse.”  Joseph wanted to use his special gift, but instead he abused his gift by telling his brothers his dreams where they and his father and mother bowed down to him.  This alienated his brothers all the more.

So many of us have a special gift/talent and we want the world to know about, especially now in the age of “shameless self-promotion” through social networking tools.  In today’s world, if you’re not noticed, you’re not much.  Get ready Hollywood, here I come!  You can see how great I am because I’m going to tell you on…..YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Plaxo, LinkedIn, and on and on.  1 Corinthians 10:24 teaches us that, “nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”  It is basic human nature to want to be exalted.  But God will exult us in due time.  In His time.  After telling the butler’s dream, Joseph says, “but when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of prison.” (Genesis 40:14).  Kendall says, “the worst thing that can happen to a man is to succeed before he’s ready.  There is no greater folly than for us to get ahead of the Lord.”  Joseph was getting ahead of the Lord.  Remember me!  I have this great gift!  I want to use it so the world will know!  Get me out of here so I can strut my stuff!  “The chief cupbearer (butler), however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.” (Genesis 40:23).  Joseph was not yet ready to use his special gift the way the Lord wanted.

THREE.  Joseph spent a lot of time in prison.  I didn’t realize the number of years he spent in prison.  I focused only on Joseph’s success.  His prison time was necessary for him to get right with himself and fully forgive his brothers, Potiphar, Potiphar’s wife and also the butler–who forgot him.  Then, after an additional two more years, Joseph was finally ready for God’s ultimate appointment and exultation of him.  God will not greatly use any man or woman who harbor’s a grudge or who is angry, resentful, or bitter toward something or someone.  Reading this part I felt like King David must have, when Nathan rebukes him by saying, “You are the man!”  (2 Samuel 12:7).  For many years the Holy Spirit has been nudging me to “lose the weight of it.”

If you have harbored a grudge, or been bitter and resentful as I have been, know that being a child of God is the most important thing in the whole world.  The Lord may want to use you mightily right now, but can’t if you are not right with others.  He may force you to think about, or put his finger directly on the matter that is so painful to you, as he has for me through this book.  You may feel you are getting unjust and unfair punishment and being shut out.  Praise the Lord for finding you out!  Lose the weight of it!  Joseph did.  The greatness of Joseph is that he learned to forgive and he learned to love.  Joseph just didn’t say “I forgive you.”  He demonstrated his deep love and forgiveness openly.  In Genesis 50: 20-21 we read, “‘you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.  So then, don’t be afraid.  I will provide for you and your children.’  And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.”    

Make Lent a time of introspection for you.  We should set aside time to work on ourselves for forty days, so we don’t end up wandering around for forty years.  Lent actually means “springtime” and can be viewed as a spiritual spring cleaning.  During Lent, think not about what you are giving up, but what you are getting rid of and what you’ll give away.  It is a time for a spiritual inventory and a cleansing of those things that hinder our personal relationship with Jesus Christ and with others we care for and love.  Demonstrate kindness and compassion.  Give mercy toward an offender.  Extend grace to your enemies and those who have hurt you physically and emotionally.    

Through this cleansing we’ll be more open to serving others, caring for others, interceding for others, forgiving others and loving others.  When we help others, we share the love and compassion of the Resurrected Lord.

St. Augustine said, “God loves every man as though there were no one else to love.  God also prepares every man as though there were no one else.”  Now is your time.  Are you ready?                  

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 3:26 pm and is filed under Articles.