Joseph

“(Potiphar) took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held.  But the Lord was with Joseph there…..”  Gen 41:20, 21

  Where are you this morning?  Are you in a tight place?  Do you feel like you are suffocating?  Do you feel like the walls of your life are closing in on you?  Do you feel like you are in a prison?  Walls damp with the condensation of doubt; the stale air heavy with the fear of being forgotten.  Every now and then a slice of hope slid into this room but not enough to sustain, you feel.

Is this you this morning?  Is this the room you find yourself in this day?

It does not matter how you got here or why.  You are here and you need strength for another day.  “God help me.”

What is to be done here?  How do I live?  What is expected of me?  Has God forgotten me?  Am I being punished?  Tested?  Do I just mark time and wait?  A mark of chalk down the side of my wall, another day in this hole.

I am right here with you.  I know where you are.  My cell may not look like yours but prison is prison.  A difficult season is a difficult season.  What to do?

Friend, you and I have a choice; and that choice is all ours. 

We can sit shackled and starve on our complaining or we can rise, as Joseph, and work…..here….now….where He has put us.

Complain or get to work.  Die or live.  What other choice is there?

“I have come to give you life and life abundant” John 10:10

When?  Now.  Today.  This moment.

Going through a divorce.  “I have come to give you life and life abundant”

Just lost your job.  “I have come to give you life and life abundant”

A broken heart.  “I have come to give you life and life abundant”

Sit and complain or rise and get to work.

Joseph went to work where God had put him.  Only once do we see Joseph complain (Gen. 40: 14, 15) and after that he learned and waited patiently.

Sit and complain or rise and get to work.

God is not asking you to do anything He has not prepared you to do.  But you must choose.

Sit and complain or rise and get to work.

It is not easy.  But there is great joy, GREAT JOY, for those that rise where they are. 

Remember Paul and Silas.  They sat chained to a wall and praised. 

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.”  Acts 16:25-26

Let’s you and I stop complaining and get to work.  He is a good God.  Praise Him with everything you have.

 

Brian

Almost Ready

The corn here in Illinois stands tall early in the season.  Tall, green and supple.  Great weather and early rains have powered this crop to an early start.  In fact, it is ahead of where it should be at this time in the season.  Standing 6 feet and without a sign of disease it looks likes its time to harvest, what are we waiting on?

But looking closer it is missing the most important part:  the actual ears of corn.  The body is ready and soon will follow the ears of corn.  To harvest now, though it looks ready and stands as tall as it will get, would prove fruitless and provide nothing for the farmer.   A year of growing would be over and nothing to show for it.  No, he must wait a little longer for the crop to mature.  Just a bit more now, almost there.  A few more rains and it will be ready.

The Lord works on His timetable and only He knows the season and maturity of us all.  Though we may feel anxious and ready to go; though a particular situation looks primed and we must act now, though someone looks like they are treading water from the outside and not moving forward.  The Lord, the patient Farmer, waits and watches.  To harvest now could prove costly and fruitless.  To move ahead now could bring only heartache later as it was premature.  There is a time to harvest and to act and only the Farmer knows this.  We must wait for the ‘fruit’ to be ready.  He knows.  So we wait.  A few more rains.  He will not be late.

 And remember, no one watches the crop more closely than the one who planted it.  You will not be forgotten.

 

“Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.”  James 5:7-8

 

Brian

Game Time

It is June and my favorite football team is already in their workout gear and running through plays.  2 months before the season!  6 months since the last pass of their season ended!  But there they are, out of season, working, in the heat of summer.

They understand that to stay sharp, focused and prepared they must work even out of season. Becoming football ready takes dedication and a foundation of good habits and discipline.  It does not happen overnight.  For an NFL player, whose seasons are long and challenging filled with physical demands and emotional stress, they must be ready.  To step onto the field unprepared opens them up to damaging injury that could sideline them for their careers.

You and I are not that different.  We are stepping onto another type of ‘field’ every morning. When you step out your front door you are now ‘in play’, and you must be ready.  Here in the Christian life we are running a race, Paul tells us; and that race is filled with times of stress, joy, difficult situations, excitement and, sometimes, incredible pain.  We must stay focused and sharp, ready to be used, even ‘out of season’.  What does that mean?  It means even when we don’t feel like speaking about Christ or feel like helping someone we step up and go to work.  It means even when we feel grumpy or irritated we are available to be used.

That is not easy, but life….and God,  does not work on our timetables.  We too must have a life set on a broad foundation of dedication and discipline.  The solid Christian man or woman does not happen overnight; and, unfortunately, sometimes does not always happen period. 

But we can start training today for the life He requires.  This very day we can start a lifetime of habits of getting alone with God, worship and prayer.  Remember, we have a ‘Coach’ who is ready and able to help us work out our salvation. 

A great athlete is not made overnight.  Nor is a solid, faithful Christian.  Habits, started small and faithfully kept, are the secret to being ready in and out of season.

Brian

Act I

(written from upstate IL, in the middle of nowhere…..bliss!)

Fading light of evening; caught in the gloaming.  What a fantastic picture…no…what a fantastic nature play You are putting on for me.

I am down at the pond, sun setting behind me and act I of this majestic play unfolds before me.

All the players know their parts; all singing and dancing in chorus.  What precision!  No exits missed, no songs late.

Swallows dart in groups of twos and threes over the water.  A catfish snatches a water bug and a bull frog tells me he is now on stage.

Father, as rehearsed, this play goes on.  Even if I or no one else were here in this wonderful theatre would the curtain still pull back and all these players would dance and move for You.

I see the wisps of blue clouds reflected in the glassy water.  What a backdrop You’ve hung!  A bumblebee works a flower behind me.  There are no small parts in His play; everyone to his place and with such vigor they perform.

There is no God but You Father.  What a fantastic Creator and tonight I have a front row seat.

Brian