We read in 2 Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:” (KJV)
As we continue our meditations on the theme ‘God is able’ here are some lessons we learnt.
1. God is able to keep us from falling – Even when everything around is constantly changing and even when we are challenged with hindrances and are sometimes prone to falter,
2. God is able to keep us and to present us faultless before His presence.
3. God is able to deliver us from every situation that seem to entangle us, and is able to lift us up.
4. God is also able to do far above what we can ask, think or even imagine.
Today’s meditation is based on Romans 4:21, “He was absolutely sure that God would be able to do what he had promised.”(GNB)
This is the testimony about Abraham, that he fully believed that God who promised was able to fulfill that promise in his life.
If the Lord has given a promise to someone, no matter how difficult it may seem to see its fulfillment, the Lord is able to fulfill it.
Let us try to understand why God gives us a promise. Promises are given by God to His children so that we can move from the level we are at to the higher level that God has ordained for us.
A good example that we will be looking at is the life of Joseph from the Old Testament.
God’s promise to Joseph through his dreams
We read in Genesis 37:5-8, “One time Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more. He said, "Listen to the dream I had. We were all in the field tying up sheaves of wheat, when my sheaf got up and stood up straight. Yours formed a circle around mine and bowed down to it." "Do you think you are going to be a king and rule over us?" his brothers asked. So they hated him even more because of his dreams and because of what he said about them.” (GNB)
Joseph was the eleventh son in a family of twelve boys. God gave Joseph a revelation about his future through dreams, and when Joseph shared these dreams with his brothers, it angered them greatly. The dreams of Joseph implied that Joseph would rule over his elder brothers, and when the older brothers perceived this, they hated Joseph even more.
If we want to see the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lives, we have to journey down the road that He has determined for us. God’s promises won’t be fulfilled then and there, but will be actualized in God’s time and this happens step by step.
Joseph grew up in his father’s house as his Dad’s favorite son. A couple of reason why this was so was because Joseph was the son of his father’s much loved wife, and also was born to him in his old age. There was therefore much love and security for Joseph as he was growing up. Honestly, there was no evidence that the dreams of Joseph would actually find fulfillment in his life time.
Oftentimes when God gives us a promise we may doubt if it could ever materialize in our lives. Remember that God is able to fulfill the promises He has made, no matter what our situation may be. As we move on this road towards the fulfillment of God’s promises, there will be many opportunities for us to deviate from the path, and these are pitfalls that we should avoid as we journey on. God’s purpose for us is that we move toward his higher calling, and as we do so there will be obstacles that we will have to overcome. When we make right decisions, and steer forward we will see that the promises of God are duly fulfilled in His time.
1. Let go of bitterness
We read in Genesis 37:23-24, “When Joseph came up to his brothers, they ripped off his long robe with full sleeves. Then they took him and threw him into the well, which was dry.” (GNB)
Joseph’s brother had gone far away from home in order to graze their cattle. Joseph’s father Jacob sent Joseph to his brothers with some food, to check up on them and bring him word again. As Joseph neared the place, his brothers identified him a long way off because Joseph wore a specially ornamented coat that his father had given to him, because he loved Joseph so much. As soon as they noted that their brother was coming to meet them, his brothers began to plot and planned to do away with Joseph. Joseph was alone, and had to contend with ten elder brothers who were against him. Joseph only told them his dreams, but this greatly angered his elder brothers. They could not bear to think that the dreams that Joseph had could someday become a reality, and that they would have to be subservient to him.
When we are progressing in the will of God, and are awaiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises, there are times when we face opposition where people may even want us out of the way. Anyone who has received the promise of God can be assured that until the time that he reaches his destination, no one can hinder God’s plan.
As soon as Joseph met his brothers, the first thing they did was to rip him off his coat that his father had lovingly gifted to him, which gave a unique identity to Joseph. This is a revelation of their extreme anger against Joseph. There was nothing Joseph could do as all of his brothers were stronger than he was, and he was helpless as they threw him into a dry pit.
Joseph could have done two things at this point. He could have vowed to take revenge on his brothers or he could just submit to God, knowing that He had promised him a glorious future and that God would eventually turn everything around for Joseph’s good.
There are many situations in life where the ones for whom we have done much good will repay us with evil. Though we did no harm to them, they will constantly seek for opportunities to put us down. There are so many who are waiting for an opportune time to get even with those who have wronged them, and are waiting to see their downfall. This is what we call bitterness.
Kings Saul’s bitterness towards David
King Saul was the first king of Israel, and when David joined hands with Saul they made great conquests. As King Saul and David returned from one such victory, they were greeted by the women of the town who sang and danced in celebration of their mighty feats. The song they sang was that ‘Saul killed thousands, but David tens of thousands.’ This refrain irritated King Saul so much that he became bitter and angry towards David. King Saul was chosen by God, He was Israel’s anointed king, and was elevated from his lowly position. Nonetheless, Saul became so embittered towards David that his only focus from that point on was to kill David, and with this intent he hunted him down right until the end of his life and ultimately forgot God’s purpose for his own life.
If we harbor bitterness in our heart against someone and live with this constant desire to do them harm, we too like Saul will lose out on God’s purposes for our lives.
Uproot bitterness
We read in Hebrews 12:15, “Guard against turning back from the grace of God. Let no one become like a bitter plant that grows up and causes many troubles with its poison.” (GNB)
Bitterness is like a root and when it grows deep in our heart, it will create constant deterioration in our lives. Even when people do us wrong, let us trust God knowing that He can turn all of the evil for our good. Let people be irritated toward us, speak ill of us or even do all they can to bring us down. We must ask God to help us get rid of this bitter root from within, and must give no room for it to work inside of us. Let us chose to forgive them instead, and if we do so, God will surely fulfill His promises.
In this journey of life if our desire is that God should fulfill all of His promises He has made we must patiently run, moving upward step by step, and never allow anything to deter us from achieving this goal. The first thing we must let go off as we progress on is bitterness.
2. Let go of ungodly relationships
We read in Genesis 39:12-13, “She caught him by his robe and said, "Come to bed with me." But he escaped and ran outside, leaving his robe in her hand. When she saw that he had left his robe and had run out of the house,” (GNB)
When Joseph reached Egypt, he was sold as a slave to Potiphar who was Pharaoh’s official. Joseph was gradually elevated, and soon became the person-in-charge of Potiphar’s entire house. It was at this point that Potiphar’s wife invited Joseph to have an affair with him. Joseph fled from her presence though he could have compromised, and made the offer favorable for himself. Remember that Joseph had been badly treated by his own brothers, and sold into slavery. He could have well thought that this was an opportunity to better himself. If Joseph had given room to this temptation we know that he would never have attained the place that God had ordained for him.
There will be friendships that come into our lives that God does not approve of, and like Joseph we too must run away from them. We must remember that we have a vision, and a purpose to fulfill, and need to pray that God will protect us from falling. As we progress in this journey of having God’s promises being fulfilled in our lives, we must let go of all those friendships that will hinder us from moving forward.
David was a man of God who was a great worshipper of God and a renowned king of Israel. However, there were faults in David’s life too. David had a son named Amnon. Amnon had a friend called Jonadab who gave Amnon wrong advice. If Amnon had not heeded to it, he may have had a chance to become the King of Israel. We note that Amnon lost this honor because of the wrong friendship he had.
Think about it. Who are your friends? Do you have friends who are leading you astray and making you think and do things that are contrary to God and His word? Who do we spend much time talking to? Generally young people get so caught up with friends that they just go along with them, and even forget about their families. Sadly, this is true of some married people too who give priority to their friends over their own families. These are friendships that God does not approve of. If there are such friendships that we go after, we can be sure that they will hinder God’s promises from being fulfilled in our lives. Even some married people have close friendships with the wrong people, and this will surely be an obstacle in your spiritual journey. It is therefore better to sever such relationships. We live in a hill station called Ooty, and there is a season when roses are in full bloom. However, just a few months prior to the season the plants are pruned. If this process of pruning is not done, there will certainly be no way the roses will bloom to their fullest in the right season. So also, sometimes we have to cut off those friendships that are unnecessary for us. It is really important that we learn to stop some unnecessary chats on our phones too.
We read in Proverbs 13:20, “Keep company with the wise and you will become wise. If you make friends with stupid people, you will be ruined.” (GNB)
It is quite simple and straight. If we keep company with the wise we will become wise. However, if we are friends with stupid people it’s not that we will become stupid but worse still we will come to ruin. Sometimes we unnecessarily blame God for many things when the real problem is with us. God is faithful and just and He is without fault. If His promises are not fulfilled we have to examine ourselves to see where we have walked away from the path that He has marked out for us.
The first thing we saw was that bitterness will prevent us from attaining God’s promises. If Joseph had harbored bitterness in his heart, he may not have been elevated. Secondly, we must let go off wrong friendships. We don’t know what would have happened if Joseph did not run away from Potiphar’s wife, and had compromised. I guess he would have not gotten to the position that God had planned for him. So we too must be cautious to press on in this path that God has set before us in order to be recipients of God’s glorious promises.
3. Let go of anger towards God
We read in Genesis 40:6-8, When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were upset. He asked them, "Why do you look so worried today?" They answered, "Each of us had a dream, and there is no one here to explain what the dreams mean." "It is God who gives the ability to interpret dreams," Joseph said. "Tell me your dreams." (GNB)
Remember that Joseph got into so much trouble with his brothers only because he told them his dreams. Now he was in prison and there were two inmates, a butler and a baker both of whom had dreams that disturbed them, but had no clue as to what it really meant. Joseph noted that both of them were troubled, and he assured them that interpretation of dreams belonged to God alone, and that he would enquire with God and interpret it for them. The man who had to run at the word dreams was ready to interpret their dreams. Even in the midst of all the troubles that came upon Joseph, the hatred of his own brothers, the unfair treatment, the life of slavery, the false accusations, the disgrace and the torture that he underwent in prison, Joseph was not angry with God.
Maybe you are not angry with God, but are aggrieved with the thought that God could have averted a tragedy, or saved your child, or could have kept you from a difficulty that you are in. As long as we are children of God, who love God, who are called with a purpose, let’s bear in mind that everything that happens is our lives works together for our good.
Think about it, if Joseph’s brothers did not hate him, if they had not sold him into slavery, he would not have gone into Egypt. When Joseph was in Potiphar’s house if he had not been falsely accused and had not been thrown into prison, all of his life Joseph might have continued as a slave in Potiphar’s house. Only because Joseph landed in prison, he was able to interpret the dreams for the two men, and thereby had the opportunity to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams too thereby being elevated to the highest post in the land of Egypt and ultimately saved his entire family.
If for some reason you are angry with God or have some ill-feeling towards Him, get back to God and tell God that you will continue to do good, and continue to move on in this journey of faith.
We read in Galatians 6:9, “So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest.” (GNB)
If Joseph had been upset and angry with God, and if he refused to help the men with the interpretation of their dreams, not sure how many long years he would have had to spend in prison. Joseph trusted God, and gave the interpretation to the men as God revealed it to him.
We understand then that God is faithful, and ready to fulfill His promises. However, if we harbor bitterness or get entangled with unwanted friendships or hold on to anger against God, we will never be able to reach the heights that God has ordained for us. There are many examples in the bible of those who missed out on the promises of God, and His great plans for their lives. Let us decide that we will submit to God so that He can fulfill all of His promises in our life time, and everything that stands as a hindrance to this, we will set aside and press on to reach the goal. When we do so, God will be glorified, and He will take us, and use us mightily to accomplish all that He has purposed to do in and through us.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
