Tag Archives: Joseph

What now?

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It seems we have many opportunities every day to ask this question.   We’re faced with an opportunity, a challenge, a risk, a leap of faith, an open door and we must ask ourselves…what now?  What will I do with what’s been given to me?  We make these decisions all day long every day, sometimes without really thinking about it.  It could be something trivial like discovering there is no more coffee when you go to the kitchen in the morning.  What now?  Have a hissy fit or make some tea?  It may be something a little more weighty like hearing about a friend who is ill and has a young family to take care of.  What now?  Go take them some food and babysit their kids, or think to yourself “someone else will help them”?  What if your decision affects lots of other people?  That adds even more weight still.   I think of some well-known leaders in history who made decisions that affected entire countries like Martin Luther King, Jr. who knew the hostilities that flared up when racial equality was championed.  As a passion to help bring about change rose up in him he had to ask himself, “What now?”  He decided to face hatred, risk injury or worse, and brave fierce opposition because the outcome he dreamed of was worth the cost.

Jesus said we should count the cost before we decide to follow Him.  He also said He could guarantee there would be trouble along the way.  It costs to follow Him and live for Him, but it’s worth every bead of sweat, every tear, every desperate prayer, every effort to keep walking forward in faith.  Along the way there are times when we see more of Him and it blows us away.  It spurs us on, energizes and impels us.  Those glimpses of his power, love and glory restore us and bring healing.  When that happens we ask ourselves, “what now?”  Do I tell someone else about this? Continue reading →

Lean In

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Lean in for a hug, or even a kiss.  Lean in to smell something delicious.  Lean in to hear something more clearly.  Lean in to be part of the group and see what’s happening.  Lean in to the huddle to hear the next play.  Lean in and over your baby’s bed to watch them peacefully sleeping.  Lean in to just be near someone.

Sometimes instead we lean out…maybe because something or someone smells bad.  Lean out because you feel rejected or your opinion isn’t respected.  Lean out because something or someone has hurt you and you want to back away.  Lean out because leaning in is taking too much effort.  Lean out because you’re afraid to be too close.  Lean out because the uncertainty of what’s next is too nerve-wracking and leaning out seems easier.

My sister shared wise words with me a long time ago from a book she read about marriage: always lean into your spouse, no matter what was happening.  Lean into each other and into God.  That image has been tucked away in my heart and mind ever since and has helped me many times.

John and I have mostly been leaning in toward each other throughout our marriage.  There have been moments, of course, when we forget or our pride gets in the way and we back off out of feeling offended or stubborn or any other childish attitude overtakes us for a little while.  There is always this ache inside of me, however, to be on the same page with him again and to be close.    I picture us standing toe to toe, facing one another, holding both of eachother’s hands.  How much easier to stand when we’re both leaning in and holding each other.  I don’t like the feeling of either one of us leaning out and away from each other or letting go of one or both hands.  It throws us off kilter and takes a little more effort to lean back in and become close again.  It causes us to feel more alone.  This morning we leaned in again, closer to one another and closer to God…straining to hear His voice, to understand each other’s perspective, to vent and process.  It always makes our relationship better, even if leaning in hurts at first or is a little scary because you’re not sure how the other will react or respond.  When we lean in, we’re stronger and less susceptible to being taken down by an enemy.

As I think about Mary and Joseph and the first part of the Christmas story we’re all so familiar with, I think of how Joseph had to make a choice to lean out or lean in Continue reading →

Faith Hero #1: Joseph

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The story of Joseph has been one of my favorites for a long time, but especially lately.  If you are lacking faith or need encouragement about having to wait on God, dealing with the unfairness of life sometimes, trusting even when it seems God has left, even reconciling family relationships, you should read his story (Genesis 37-50).

I read his story again this morning and was moved several times to tears.  As I read, I tried to imagine his emotions, the surroundings, the events and life that happened in between the lines of Genesis.   Having heard the story so many times as I grew up, I read it in The Message version today.  I really took my time to think as I followed him from being born to a joyful and relieved mother and father who had waited a long time for his arrival, to growing strong and handsome as the favored son, to being betrayed and disposed of by jealous brothers, to success then unjust imprisonment, to being forgotten and waiting years for change, to success again and eventually restoration of his relationship with his family.

Can you hear his voice yelling up to his brothers, who sat calmly by eating their dinner, as he yelled for them to pull him up out of the cistern?  Continue reading →

Living the dream?

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He’s one of my favorite Bible characters, probably second only to Jesus.  He persevered through lots of unfair treatment, imprisonment, hatred, and years of waiting and kept giving 100% and because of that people noticed.  They could see that God was with Him.  God never left Him and used all of those things, the entire timeline up to a certain point, to bring him to a place of purpose, a place from which he could save all of Israel, including his very own family.  Joseph’s story is well-known but is one I can learn from over and over again.  This morning, John preached about how God used even the opposition Joseph faced from his own flesh and blood brothers to help propel him down the to road to realizing his dreams.  They were God-given dreams and they would be God-caused, God-created, God-completed.  Joseph just had to stay faithful and keep believing.

Sometimes we let the negative things people say or their opposing attitudes and actions give us doubt about our God-given dreams.  Sometimes we even give up on a dream when it seems nothing is happening, it seems maybe we thought it up or imagined it, when it seems too big to really ever materialize….if we’re being logical.  Continue reading →

Whose dream are you hoping for?

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Joseph had probably been planning and dreaming for a few years. Now the dream was beginning to materialize: Mary was his betrothed!  He had been working and saving to provide a home for her to come to – to join him and make a family, to have children and love life together.  He couldn’t keep from smiling just at the thought of it all.  She was due back from her visit with her cousin Elizabeth today. He put away his tools and cleaned up from his project, hurried out the door and down the street. As he shielded his eyes from the desert sun, he could see the caravan slowly approaching, wispy dust clouds hovering around the camels’ feet. His heartbeat quickened.  He could make out her pretty face now, her petite form as she dismounted and walked toward him.  Continue reading →