Wednesday December 7, 2016
And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. -Genesis 45:5
I am practically blind without my contacts in my eyes. The things that other people can see, are not what I see if I don’t have my sight help.
As Christians, I think we constantly need help seeing. Just like I need contacts in my eyes to see the road I’m driving on clearly, I need God to help me see the entirety of situations clearly.
If you have ever been around church, you?ve heard the Bible story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. There is more to that story though. Joseph was a man that saw things from God’s point of view.
Joseph had brothers that were very jealous of him. They schemed to kill him, but then eventually decided to sell him to people of Egypt so they would still never have to see him again. Little did his brother know, he was sold to a man named Potiphar, who was an assistant to the Pharaoh of Egypt.
Joseph started as a slave, but eventually became high up and even a helper to the king. He was given a lot of power, and was given many things to be in charge of.
Eventually in the story, the whole world was in need of food, and it just so happened that Joseph’s brothers came to him to buy grain. It had been over 10 years since that had seen him last, so they didn’t recognize him until Joseph told them who he was.
If you ask me, this would be a really awkward meeting. If my brothers sold me, I would be less than thrilled to see them begging me to supply their need for food. Good thing Joseph was not me. He looked at them and said, “Don’t be upset or angry with yourselves for what you did to me, because it was to save lives that God sent here.”
Are you kidding me? Not only is Joseph not upset, but he tells them not to be either. This is a man who saw life through God’s eyes and not his own. He could have thrown a fit, left his brothers starving, and paid them with vengeance.
Instead, he knew that this was God’s plan all along, and that it was being used to build His kingdom. It even resulted in Pharaoh getting to catch a glimpse of the one true God.
God see’s the bigger picture of situations. God uses the mess. Joseph saw the bigger picture, and realized that God was using this for a greater good.
God see’s what you don’t. If you seek him, He allows us to see what we can’t see on our own. I want to see things clearly. I want to see through the eyes of the Lord himself.
Prayer: God, help me to see the bigger picture of things. I know you are doing a million things, and sometimes I am only aware of three of them. Thank you for doing things for the greater good. Allow me to see you at work more clearly. In your name I pray, Amen.”
-Whitney Flach
