Storm Stories - Pt 3

There is a classic story of adversity that comes to us from the book of Genesis 37-50. The story details the life of a 17-year old boy by the name of Joseph. If you have been around in Church circles for some time this is probably a very familiar story. Joseph’s father was Jacob, son of Isaac & Rebekah and younger brother to Esau whom Jacob stole a birthright from. Jacob’s name meant “deceiver” and a deceiver he was. In fact, not only did he deceive but was also the recipient of deceit. We know that Joseph’s mother was Rachel, actually Jacob’s second wife, but first-love. Jacob loved Rachel and loved Joseph because he was the firstborn of his first-love.

Because Joseph was so favored by his father Jacob, animosity grew between Joseph and his brothers, some of which was deserved because Joseph had a tendency to be a bit arrogant. The story of Joseph shares how Joseph was given a colorful tunic or coat. Symbolically the coat he received carried with it a message of rulership. This idea was encouraged when Joseph shared with his family two dreams that proclaimed the day in which his family would bow down to him. This of course angered his family deeply especially his brothers who put into process a plan to get rid of Joseph for good.

· They throw Joseph into a cistern or well.

· They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites as a slave.

Joseph’s story has many twists many of which seem to have a very unhappy result. After Joseph was sold as a slave to the Ishmaelites, he was…

· Sold to Potiphar, an Egyptian Captain of the Guard.

· Accused of sexual assault on Potiphar’s wife and thrown in jail.

· Interpreted dreams of the Cupbearer and Baker and promised to be rescued from prison only to be forgotten for two more years.


By now you can imagine that Joseph was feeling a bit frustrated and discouraged and potentially wondering if God had turned his back on him or was even punishing him. However, as you will see this was far from the truth. Joseph’s circumstances were actually “God’s weaving of the tapestry of his life” (Boice).

“You may look at your life and see dark threads and wonder how God can possibly use those threads to produce a thing of beauty. But you should look to the life of Joseph and remember that God uses even the wrath of men to praise him.” James Montgomery Boice

Ever wonder what God was thinking when he allowed adversity to come your way.  I know Boice summed up a great deal of my own personal questions when he compared my adversity to the "dark threads" that make up this tapestry of "my life" submitted to "His will."  When we stand back and look at the picture the Lord has created it tends to make more sense when we see it from a distance.

Love to hear from you as far as your stories and connections to this issue.


Randy

Storm Stories 2

Just thought it would be kind of nice to share a few excerpts from this most recent series I have been doing.  Here are some principles concerning Storms / Adversity in life. 

Storm Principle #1:  Neither Jesus nor scripture ever promise that faith will take adversity away from us.

Storm Principle #2:  Storms create one of three personal responses – Fight – Flight – Faith. 

Storm Principle #3:  God will never leave us alone in the midst of any storm we go through.

Studying Peter has truly been a joy because for so many years Peter was always donned the "arrogant" disciple, when in reality he was the most courageous of all.  I really like what I see in this man based on the Matthew 14 story of Peter walking on the water.  I think this incident tells us a lot of the challenges of faith while facing our own personal storms.  Think about some of the truths concerning faith and storms.

Tested faith will replace fear with courage.  I find this to be powerfully true.  Think of a moment in which your faith was tested.  Did you find your stamina to handle a situation like became greater so that you could handle a similar circumstance more effectively in the future.

Christ won't steer you from storms but he will call you out into them.  Far to many Christians today believe that storms are a result of lackluster faith.  I don't follow that way of thinking.  I believe the Lord is always utilizing whatever means necessary to help us in our walk and sometimes those means are not popular.

Storms will examine the depth of our faith and call our faith into account.  No one enjoys being kept accountable for our actions, and certainly not our walk with Christ.  But adversity does have a strange way of keeping us accountable not only to our faith but to our call to righteousness.  Now, don't get me wrong.  Just because our circumstances seem to be a bit adverse does not mean God is disciplining.   Sometimes, or should I say a lot of times, adversity is nothing more then a fluke situation or just a poor decision on our parts.  The reality of it all, however, is there are lessons to be learned and if Christ is the center of our life then anything we learn can have a Christ-like connect no matter what.  

Let me hear what you think.

Randy

Storm Stories

Starting a new series over the next few months entitled "Storm Stories."  This series gives me a chance to study up on some exciting moments in the Bible in which various people encountered horrific storms in their life and after battling through them found true life on the other side of the moment.  So, here is what I am going to ask of you.  There are three characters I am targeting over the next 6-weeks - Peter, Joseph and Elijah.  Each of these individuals went through difficult and strange events and found themselves victorious after getting through their circumstances.  I would love to hear from you.  What are some events of your life, past, present or future, that brought you to your knees before God and changed or molded you.  I'm curious to hear. 

I'm convinced that God only and always wants our best, but often incorporates techniques that we find difficult to get us to the place he has in mind.  Have you ever made that connect?  Maybe this is an opportunity to sit back and say, "hmmm, what was God trying to get through this thick skull of mine?"  Let me hear your stories.

Randy