God Intended it For Good
GraceNotes
A Monthly Letter of Encouragement To Men and Women in Christian Service
From Jim Stephens - Resource Ministries
Issue 102 – February 2007
Copyright©2007 - Jim Stephens
But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 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. (Genesis 45:7 & 50:19-21 NIV)
In my daily Bible Reading and Journaling I recently read the story of Joseph in Genesis 37 – 50. What a great story of character development, patience, and perseverance as Joseph faced tests and trials on the way to the fulfillment of the dream God had given him.
Joseph had successfully faced all the previous tests of his faith, his character, and the call of God on his life. Now remained one final test. How would Joseph use his power and authority? Would Joseph use his power to get even or to revenge himself upon those who had wronged him? Would he use his power to secure only his own future or would he use his power to serve and save the very ones who had wronged him so many years earlier?
Joseph experienced misunderstanding, betrayal, isolation, injustice, setbacks, and delay. Joseph experienced every difficult and challenging thing I experience and yet Joseph saw the hand of God at work both through and in spite of the wrongs that had been done him. He told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good..”
Joseph’s Secret Weapon – “God-Consciousness.”
Joseph’s greatest protection, the thing that sustained him in his trials, was that he was able to see God’s hand at work in adverse circumstances. Joseph was able to remain faithful when treated unjustly. Joseph was more concerned with the fulfillment of God’s call and purpose than with his own comfort or success. (God is more interested in your character than your comfort!)
Joseph was able to maintain “God-Consciousness” in the pit, in the prison and in the palace.
· When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph and tempted him day after day, his response was, “How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
· When the cupbearer and baker had troubling dreams in the prison Joseph replied. “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams!”
· When Pharaoh’s troubling dreams brought fear to the nation and Joseph was called from the dungeon to the throne room to try to interpret the king’s dreams, Joseph said, “I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
· When Joseph’s brothers came to him in fear that he would use his power to take revenge on them for the things they had done to him, he said, “You intended it for evil, but God intended it for good.”
It’s hard to find a quote from Joseph in the 14 chapters of Genesis that contain his story that doesn’t refer to God.
I believe Joseph maintained God-Consciousness by stopping many times in his day and simply acknowledging God. I believe Joseph certainly had regular times of prayer and meditation in his day, whether in Potiphar’s house, in the prison of Egypt, or in the palace of the king.
How is your “God-Consciousness?”
I don’t mean how is your God-Consciousness when you are at a church meeting and everyone is singing and praising and the preacher is speaking from God’s Word.
· I mean how is your God-Consciousness when you are struggling with the checkbook and trying to make too little money stretch to cover too many bills.
· I mean how is your God-Consciousness when you are telling others how wonderful it is to be a Christian and you are struggling to overcome areas of fear and doubt in your own mind.
· I mean how is your God-Consciousness when you are telling others to be strong and faithful and you are struggling with weakness and sin in your own life.
· I mean how is your God-Consciousness when you have labored long and faithfully and someone else receives the credit and praise for your work.
· I mean how is your God-Consciousness when you alone are striving to remain faithful and others have left you to carry the burden alone.
How do you maintain your “God-Consciousness?”
Do you have a pattern of behavior, do you have practices of spiritual discipline that help you maintain God-Consciousness?
Here are some things I recommend to you:
· Make daily devotions – Bible Reading, meditation, and journaling – a necessary, habitual, consistent part of every day of your life. I recommend that you do this early each day. Sacrifice sleep time if necessary. Use a Bible Reading plan that takes you through the Bible in a Year. Get a notebook and pen and after you read, write at least a page of your thoughts from the reading.
· Develop a pattern of stopping as often as possible during your day to renew your God-Consciousness. Stop, quiet yourself, and ask God, “What do You want to say to me right now?” In Daniel 6:10 we read that “three times a day Daniel got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God.” I remember one night on a trans-Africa flight sitting next to a wealthy Muslim businessman. While others read the in-flight magazine, he read from the Koran. While others slept or watched the in-flight movie, he got up twice in the night, put his prayer rug in the aisle of the plane and knelt and prayed. He was maintaining his God-Consciousness. Since that night I’ve often asked myself, “How much discipline am I willing to exercise to maintain my God-Consciousness?”
· Carry on a continual conversation with God as you move through your day. Thank Him profusely for every blessing. Ask Him every question that comes to mind as you deal with your responsibilities and duties. Stop and pray when you’re working on a project, or even pray without stopping!
· Find another Christian believer or even a small group of other believers who are willing to practice the same disciplines, and meet with them at least once a week to discuss the things God is bringing to you in your devotions, your quiet times, and your journaling.
And We Know…
If we maintain a healthy “God-Consciousness” then we can say these words with Paul… “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NIV)
How do we know? How can we know? How can we know that in all things God is working for our good?
· By verses like this on in the Bible. We have the declaration of God’s word.
· By the stories and experiences of people in the Bible: Job, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Jesus, Paul.
· By the stories of other believers who have walked with God. Stories from history, stories from the lives of those who have taught us God’s ways.
· By our own stories. As we walk with the Lord and learn to trust him in all of life’s situations and circumstances, we know from our own experience that God is always at work on our behalf.
· By the experience and testimony of a life lived daily in purposeful and intentional “God-Consciousness.”
Jim Stephens
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Amazing Grace! ...Tis Grace hath brought me safe this far, and Grace will lead me home!
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