Blog, Perspective, Scripture, Uncategorized
Feelings or Faith
“When the message came to him, Joseph wept.”
This is from Genesis 50. It’s referring to when Joseph’s brothers for the “umpteenth time” mistreated him. Now, before I get into this record, I want us to consider that quote.
“When the message came to him, Joseph wept.”
Have you ever been harmed by someone to the point that you wept? I seriously doubt that any of us couldn’t raise our hand here. We have all been hurt one way or another in life. But, what we do from there is ALWAYS our choice.
Do you believe that you have been given power in this life?
→ Power to rise, power to win
→ Power to thrive
→ Power to think for yourself
→ Power to have peace
→ Power to calm storms
→ Power to heal-restore-reconcile
Those are big questions!
I believe we do!
Mainly because my Big Brother said so in Luke.
Luke 10:19“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Consider this for a moment, if I have been given all power why is it that sometimes someone can say or do something to me that cuts to the bone and I am deflated and powerless?
Well, let’s look at Genesis and see the example Joesph set for us.
Genesis 50:15-18
And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
So, Joesph’s father dies and the brothers who have harmed him since his youth get scared that without dad alive Joseph, who is only second to the Pharaoh at this time, will take revenge on them for all the harm they did to him. Instead of humbly going to Joseph with apologies and an honest heart, facing their wrongdoings, they decided to lie to him in an effort to cover their butts.
Honesty is always the correct way to face anything in life.
I’m going on a tangent here for a second but we will come back around to Joseph.
Have you ever heard “the truth shall set you free”?
This statement has multiple meanings. Being honest with myself is the first place I am to be honest and by doing so there is freedom that comes to me. It is not always easy to be honest with yourself. I promise you this! I have ben on a journey for the past year of intentionally checking myself to see if I am being honest with myself. I have found that I have been in some really bad habits of lying to myself or allowing others lies to become my beliefs then lying to myself and making them my own.
For example, I was once told that if I looked any where else to find God and His will other than the church I was attending, I would be a “grease spot by morning.” So with this fear in my belief system, I limited my views. I did this by searching for truth, discovery and even music to one source. Was I peaceful with this? Was this life giving to me? Nope, but I wasn’t “interrupting” this dictation of non truth to face the truth that my God is not limited by man, churches, organizations, books, man made frames, ideologies or feelings.
When I began to be honest about the heart cry within my soul to rise to new heights, I began to see freedom that I never knew existed. This one example is one of the hundreds I am learning about myself. The point to this tangent? Get honest. Get honest with yourself in all categories of life and then that honesty will spread to others.
Okay, back to our story. Why did Joseph weep?
Because prior to his brothers “sending” a lying letter, he had met with his father. He was the one to bury his father according to his father’s wishes. He knew his father did not say this to them. He knew they were lying. So, here was yet another crossroad for Joesph to decide if he was going to be a vicim of others’ harm or rise above it (and if he were a score keeping man, his brothers had racked up a lot of harm points thoughough his life). We too get to make this decision in our lives.
Joseph had several things in his past that he could have held onto and identified himself as a victim. He could have recalled that his brothers sold him into slavery and that they lied to his father. He could have accounted about how when he worked for Potifer he was wrongly accused and put in jail. He then could have wallowed in the fact that in jail he was promised three times that others would speak on his behalf to get him out, but they did not. Yet, Joseph never was identified as a victim.
Look what he declared in verses 19-22
And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God.But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.Now, therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
Several times throughout Genesis it says “but the Lord was with him”. Nothing anyone did to him trumped that fact that the “Lord was with him”. He was not a victim to others actions but was a victor who walked in his Spirit, who overcame obstacles, never wallowed in self pity, nor did he seek validation from others. Instead, he knew “the Lord was with him.”
Now, let’s circle back to my question above…
If I have been given all power, why is it that sometimes someone can say or do something to me that cuts to the bone and I feel deflated and powerless?
Simple answer, I gave my power away to the one who harmed me.
Feelings dictate that I am to be hurt, offended, and take it personally but faith dictates that:
No matter what, the Lord is with me!
What was meant for my harm will be turned into good!
I choose to STOP giving my power away to others!
I opened with Joseph weeping for this purpose. We all should acknowledge our feelings, but we do not have to allow our feelings to override our faith. Sometimes feelings spiral us down to a low place but God says “Rise up honey, you’re never alone.”
I have also seen that sometimes feelings rise us up too high emotionally. But faith says, “Peace – be at peace”.
Faith is that balance inside of us that helps us not go too low or rise too high but walk in an even “peace beyond our understanding” pace.
In conclusion, we have the authority to choose how we respond to others harm.
Honesty with oneself always brings freedom.
We have been given all power and we get to live in it or give it away, the choice is urs.
No matter what, the Lord is with us
Faith is the balance in our life that tells us to rise and tells us to bask in His peace.
