“In All the world”

“Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’ ‘I cannot do it,’ Joseph replied to Pharaoh, ‘but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.’” –Genesis 41:15-16 (NIV)

Joseph had just spent two years in prison, for being wrongly accused of trying to seduce Potiphar’s wife (Gen. 39). He had been lied to, lied about, rejected, and forgotten. I think the natural reaction here would be to “brown-nose” or “suck up” to Pharaoh. I wouldn’t want to disrespect the king of Egypt and risk being thrown in jail again, or even killed. Yet, Joseph never let his faith waver and he never changed or was ashamed of who he was in God. And God covered that and also covered Pharaoh’s response:

“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has made all this known to you, there is not one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.’” –Gen. 41:40 (NIV)

Joseph didn’t try to earn respect from Pharaoh, and yet he got it, and then some! Joseph “stuck to his guns” and trusted God and was greatly rewarded for that. By that last line Pharaoh says, I think Pharaoh would have been willing to step under Joseph’s command and authority, were it not for the law, regulations, and traditions of Egypt. Lastly, God used and blessed Joseph so much more than Joseph ever expected. God had given him a little insight of his future in his own dream, many years earlier (Gen. 37). While he was a slave and prisoner, Joseph probably never forgot that, and probably questioned God as to what he was doing there? (Have you ever questioned God? “Why in the world am I here?”) From his dreams, he was expecting to just be above his brothers and parents, yet God had the whole world turn and look to him:

“And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the world.” –Gen. 41:57 (NIV)

Before the encounter…

 

“Then John gave this testimony: ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him. I would not have known Him, expect that the One who sent me to baptize with water told me.’” –John 1:32-33a (NIV)

 

 

 

 

Because John was where God wanted him to be and was doing what he was supposed to do, probably the best thing that could ever be revealed, was revealed to him: Jesus Christ. When we are looking for and anticipating Jesus, we are blessed to see Him and know Him, maybe before anyone else. John was the first to recognize and know Jesus at the start of His ministry, in His adult life. John was the first to tell others about Jesus and be the first “witness.” If he wasn’t obeying God and listening to Him, he wouldn’t have recognized Jesus, and John admits that himself (vs. 33). But what’s even greater about John: he was “preparing the way” and preparing others to accept Jesus BEFORE he had a face-to-face, personal encounter with Jesus. He didn’t follow the signs or proof with belief and action; his actions and belief preceded any definite reality of Jesus’ existence. And then what was his reward? Not only did he see Jesus, not only did he meet him or speak with Him… he baptized Him in water and heard God’s voice firsthand. Learn to trust God before the encounter with Him… He never leaves anyway; He may just be harder to find sometimes. Never lose anticipation for Him.

Literally literal…

“But Abram replied, ‘O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings, when I don’t even have a son? …You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own that will be your heir.’ Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, ‘Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!’” –Genesis 15: 2a, 3-5 (NLT)

Abram, later renamed Abraham, became the father of the nations; the “father of generations.” And yet, when he was first called to this, his wife was barren. As if that wasn’t enough, he and his wife Sarai (later named Sarah) were well beyond “child-bearing” years. Their situation was so delicate, because to be barren in that time, was shameful. And now God was calling them to something that they had already wrestled with and gone through the embarrassment of. So this whole situation was impossible, right? Abram thought so. Rather than just do the easy thing and TRUST God, Abram tried to make something out of this calling and try to bring it to life, so he wouldn’t fully disappoint God. It’s interesting how, when we don’t see what God is calling us to as possible, we tweak it just a little to try to make it work. “Oh, God couldn’t have meant that literally… so I’ll do this instead, over here because that’s close to what He said anyway,” we might decide. The whole point of the calling is for it to be impossible! Otherwise, we could do it ourselves. Why do we try to make something work our way, and settle for that? When we could fully experience, beyond ourselves, something so much better. A call that seems impossible for us, we try to turn around so we can make it a possibility. Abram suggested adopting one of his servants as heir (vs. 2), or later in chapter 16, his wife told him to have relations with one of their Egyptian servants (Gen. 16:1-4). These options were close to what God had called him to…but they weren’t 100% his potential or destiny. It’s not about us performing something or coming up with a plan that looks like God’s plan, so we can semi-please Him. The key is obedience to Him, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, and then everything falls into place. God loves to call us to impossible things. I think, because of His sense of humor, maybe he likes to see the looks on our faces. But what He loves even more is for us to allow Him to make it possible. We don’t need to come up with alternate plans to please Him, because they won’t please Him. They especially won’t please Him if they are made to cop-out of the real thing you’re supposed to do. It’s so much easier to just trust Him…there’s no guilt, no jealousy, no dishonesty, no impurity. Allow God to make your calling literally literal.