I'm reading this book called The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus and he deals with the "domestication" of Christianity. One of the principles that he discredits is the Americanized version of the safest place to be is in the center of God's will. We've somehow taken this to mean that God will keep us physically safe. That's not necessarily true. I believe, in the eternal sense, that the safest place to be is in the center of God's will, but there's a lot of Biblical argument that God will sacrifice physical safety for spiritual gain.
Ran across another deal this morning...Joseph, son of Jacob, was sold into slavery by his brothers and those same loving brothers told their father that he was dead. They even attempted to manufacture evidence by taking the coat they'd stolen from him and dipping it in animal's blood, to throw Jack McCoy off the track.
After all of this, Joseph goes on this amazing journey where he's sold into slavery, falsely accused for rape and imprisoned for at least 2 years or more. Person after person that Joseph helped or served faithfully in his state betrayed him or forgot about him or lied to have him imprisoned. Then, of course, he interprets a dream for Pharaoh and Pharaoh ends up making him second in command of the country of Egypt...a pretty normal occurrence for all us, wouldn't you say?
Here's the point...most folks read that story and think God jumped in while Joseph was in prison and "took over" to bring him to the exalted position of 2nd in command in the country...but that is not what the Bible says. Here's the commentary straight from Joseph's mouth in Genesis 45.
5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6 This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
No matter how you read it..."It was God" sticks out. So was God not in control while he was attacked by his brothers, imprisoned by them, sold & resold as a slave, falsely accused & imprisoned for rape, forgotten and betrayed by people sworn to help, but then he was "in God's will" when God stepped in to make him 2nd in command in Egypt...or was it, as Joseph seems to understand, all a part of God's will to begin with... Kind of blows that "I'm safe in the arms of God" thing. I really like the old song "Sheltered in the Arms of God"...it talks of safety, but the chorus states the truth "so let the storms rage high, the dark clouds rise, they won't worry me". Our physical blessing or safety is not the priority...of course, God doesn't want you to live in a stressed out state, but that's because He wants you to trust Him so much, that you accept what He has for you, NOT that there is always piles of money in the bank or the job is safe or the 401k is rolling on up. We will see death and struggle, but that's not because "Satan" snuck into the control tower and God is breaking down the door to get things back in order...doesn't work that way.
Ran across another deal this morning...Joseph, son of Jacob, was sold into slavery by his brothers and those same loving brothers told their father that he was dead. They even attempted to manufacture evidence by taking the coat they'd stolen from him and dipping it in animal's blood, to throw Jack McCoy off the track.
After all of this, Joseph goes on this amazing journey where he's sold into slavery, falsely accused for rape and imprisoned for at least 2 years or more. Person after person that Joseph helped or served faithfully in his state betrayed him or forgot about him or lied to have him imprisoned. Then, of course, he interprets a dream for Pharaoh and Pharaoh ends up making him second in command of the country of Egypt...a pretty normal occurrence for all us, wouldn't you say?
Here's the point...most folks read that story and think God jumped in while Joseph was in prison and "took over" to bring him to the exalted position of 2nd in command in the country...but that is not what the Bible says. Here's the commentary straight from Joseph's mouth in Genesis 45.
5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6 This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
No matter how you read it..."It was God" sticks out. So was God not in control while he was attacked by his brothers, imprisoned by them, sold & resold as a slave, falsely accused & imprisoned for rape, forgotten and betrayed by people sworn to help, but then he was "in God's will" when God stepped in to make him 2nd in command in Egypt...or was it, as Joseph seems to understand, all a part of God's will to begin with... Kind of blows that "I'm safe in the arms of God" thing. I really like the old song "Sheltered in the Arms of God"...it talks of safety, but the chorus states the truth "so let the storms rage high, the dark clouds rise, they won't worry me". Our physical blessing or safety is not the priority...of course, God doesn't want you to live in a stressed out state, but that's because He wants you to trust Him so much, that you accept what He has for you, NOT that there is always piles of money in the bank or the job is safe or the 401k is rolling on up. We will see death and struggle, but that's not because "Satan" snuck into the control tower and God is breaking down the door to get things back in order...doesn't work that way.
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