You May Never Know If You Let It Go
(Divorce Series Part 3)
Scripture Reference: Genesis 41:9 - 16
Genesis 41:9 Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: 10 Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the chief baker: 11 And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. 12 And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. 13 And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged. 14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. 16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
In our walk with God, we may be forced to hold on to some thoughts that seem crazy to everyone besides us
God may place us in a situation that nobody can understand but Him and us
It is during these times that God can truly search your heart and find what you are made of
Abraham had to be out of his mind to hold on to the thought of leaving his father’s house to follow a God that he had just met (Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:)
Isaac must have lost his mind to simply lie there while his dad thought to sacrifice him (Genesis 22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.)
Jacob was insane to attempt to wrestle all night (Genesis 32:24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.)
Joseph, my dear Joseph, probably had the hardest time of them all
His battle was a mental/spiritual battle
All while he endured this battle that we will discuss today he was in jail.
Some are probably asking, “What does a man in jail have to do with romance and loving your wife?”
The only people that can ask that question have never been separated from their loved ones for any length of time I am sure
Let me explain:
When a man is incarcerated or separated from his family or loved one for any length of time, one of the only ways that he can stay encouraged is to think about the one he loves. This can sometimes present a great challenge because if he is away then the chances of the love between him and his loved one has a great chance of drifting apart.
In fact, when a man is truly in love with a woman he has a tendency to dream about her often as a way of escape from the current situation he may be in. When a man begins to dream about a woman he will find himself talking about her and thinking about her constantly, it will enhance his ability to survive the worse situations. Unfortunately there are times and situations where Satan will attack these comforting dreams of a man and turn them into disturbing nightmares. It is during these times that the man has to understand and be willing to turn his heart completely over to God because these nightmares can drive him insane.
This takes us to our scripture for today.
Here we see Joseph in jail and he had to hold on to his dreams or he would have lost everything
Although I haven’t been incarcerated (for an extended length of time). I have deployed with the Army several times and there is one thing for sure; When you are separated from everything it is extremely difficult to hold on to your dreams.
And if you are able to hold on to your dreams they race around your head at the speed of light and if you are not careful the very dream that you hold on so dearly to can drive you insane
Joseph had already been noted as a dreamer and really this is one of the things that started his problems in the first place (Genesis 37:5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.)
Dreamer- Someone guided more by ideals than by practical considerations
It’s strange how sometimes people with big dreams are hated by their brothers. Many times the dreamer has no idea on how their dreams are effecting those around them. They just feel led to dream and are excited about telling others around them about their dreams. When they are hated for such actions they are usually the last to find out.
Back to my story about Joseph being in jail and yet holding on to his dreams.
By being in jail and having so much time to think Joseph was fully aware that it was his high standard of morals and belief in his God that got him stuck in bondage.
He was also aware that it was the gift of dreams to cause his brothers to hate him so much.
At a time like this and in a situation like this it seemed as though it would be the correct answer to let go of God and his dreams and just be like everybody else.
“Being like everybody else” This in itself can cause many problems in the lives of the people of God
There are so many people divorced right now and they have absolutely no reason why. I can assure that some of them sought after and followed advice from the wrong source.
This is a warning; if the person that you are seeking advice from is not in a relationship with their spouse like the one you desire to have with your spouse then that person is probably not the one that you should seek advice from concerning this matter.
The person that you are seeking advice from will only give instructions on how to “be like everybody else“.
Joseph was truly surrounded by people who had all sorts of bad advice to offer. Surely if they had any good advice then they would take it themselves and make their own situation better.
Another thing that we have to look at is the place that Joseph was in. He was in a dungeon.
Dungeon- A dark cell (usually underground) where prisoners can be confined
Prison systems in the United States of today are nothing even slightly similar to what Joseph was in. Yea prison is a place that is bad and I pray that I never go there but with all of the different safety codes and standards that are enforced in prison systems now there is no way that I can merely say that Joseph was in prison and you understand what I am talking about.
Joseph was in a dark cell. The possibilities of him allowing his belief in God and his ability to dream to fade away were great. He could have allowed himself to get caught up into his current situation and completely let the hand of the almighty God go.
I must say this right now that we serve the same God as Joseph served. I also want to say that the God that we serve now has not gained any power or lost any power since the time that he restored Joseph
This is why I say that you may never know if you let go.
Some of us have allowed our situations to dictate to us whether or not we should stay married, we are getting divorced for no reason and giving up way too soon.
God is still in the miracle business. Miracle - A marvellous event manifesting a supernatural act of God
However the only way that he can perform these miracles in your life is to set up situations that require a supernatural occurrence
Is it that God can’t or is it that we are not giving him the opportunity to prove that he can
I know that your situation may be painful and I am sure that you are saying, “If only I knew what you were dealing with then I would never say this.” But I beseech you brother. Try God and see if he can’t make a miracle out of your situation. Trust him with all that you have (even your reputation).
Just think, when they brought Joseph out of the prison they had to clean him up first because if he had approached the King in the state that he was in he would have been mistaken for a mad man.
I realize that sometimes in order for us to deal with certain situations in our marriages we have to look like mad men to the rest of the world but who wants to be like everybody else anyway.
CONCLUSION
Satan will always make the option of letting go seem so convenient and easy but after we really think about it. Are we letting go too soon?
One thing is for sure, we will never really know what God can do if we let go.
So instead of using that money and energy to break the marriage apart why not buy her what she wants or put the extra energy into her interest and allow God to perform a miracle in your life.
Let’s pray
Thank You. May God continue to bless you and keep you. Amen
Your Friend
Minister Juan D. Lane
