Readings for today: Genesis 41-43
Father, You work all things for the good of those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. Help me to hold fast to this truth even when times are tough or I feel unfairly treated or unjustly accused. Help me to remember You are at work and will complete the good work You’ve begun in me.
Years ago, the Lord spoke three words to me in a time of prayer. It’s one of the few times in my life where I have heard His voice audibly in my mind. I can still remember it as if it were yesterday. These three words were to guide my life from that point forward. They were to become the grid through which I would discern and process every opportunity that came my way. Those words were “obscurity, anonymity, and insignificance.” God was clear with me. I was to labor in obscurity. I was to embrace anonymity. I was to pursue insignificance. The words still sound strange to me even as I write them. The way of life God continues to call me to still feels very foreign and yet I am more convinced than ever it is right for me. Why these words you might ask? Because God knows my heart. He knows I am an achievement addict. He knows I have spent so much of my life chasing worldly success. Even in the church. He knows I love being the center of attention. He knows I love being recognized for the work I’ve done. He knows how much I like earthly rewards. So out of love, He calls me to walk away. To go the opposite direction. To cut against the grain of my natural way of being. In essence, this is what “denying myself” looks like on a daily basis. What does this mean practically for me? It means I will never seek another job nor ask for another raise nor pursue any accolades nor draw attention to myself. It means I will spend my life building up others. Honoring those around me. Using all my resources to make sure those around me find success.
I resonate with Joseph. As a young man, he was arrogant and proud. He was the favored son. He was charismatic and successful. He had dreams and visions of glory. He believed he would rule over his family and clan. And he believed all of this was God-ordained. This all feels very familiar to me. I love playing the hero. I was told from a young age that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to and to a large degree, that was true. I am an Eagle Scout. An honors student. A college athlete. I won the preaching prize at Princeton Theological Seminary. I’ve experienced great success in ministry. I have a wonderful wife and four wonderful children. But like Joseph, I’ve experienced hardship and suffering as well. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Joseph was falsely accused of rape. Joseph languished forgotten in a prison for many years. All of those experiences humbled him. Brought him to his knees before God. And you can see the change in his heart when he is finally called before Pharaoh. Listen again to his words…
“Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer…Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt…” (Genesis 41:16, 33) Joseph is clearly a changed man. He attributes all his success to God. He takes none of the credit for himself. He even relinquishes his need to be recognized or honored for his success in interpreting the dream. He lets go and lets God be in control. Joseph is content to return to prison if that is what the Lord wills for his life. Pharaoh, of course, sees what God has done in his life. Even testifies as such to his servants. “And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” And he raises Joseph up to the highest position possible in the kingdom. What Pharaoh doesn’t realize, of course, is that this is all God’s doing. God is at work here to give elevate Joseph not because Joseph deserves it. Not because Joseph has earned it. But because God has a plan and Joseph has a role to play. “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 41:16, 33, 38-41)
God still has a plan, friends. You and I have a role to play. It is not ours to seek out that role. It is not given to us to lay claim to that role. Our job is simply to be faithful. To be humble. To embrace the place where God has us and to trust Him to elevate us in His own time and according to His own will and good pleasure. It’s funny. Ever since I went through my own experience of hardship and suffering in Wisconsin almost fifteen years ago and learned to relinquish and let go of control of my life, the more God has entrusted to me. By the grace of God, I am a pastor. By the grace of God, I am a professor. By the grace of God, I am a missionary. By the grace of God, I am a leader in my denomination. None of these things are my achievements. They are gifts. God has raised me up for this particular season and God may lay me low in the next season. My job is not to get caught up or cling to what I have but simply to surrender and let Him use me as He sees fit.
Readings for tomorrow: Genesis 44-46