Your Daily Devotional for September 30, 2007

 

September 30,  2007

 

 

Joseph's Faithfulness

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams."

 

Genesis 37:18-20

 

 

Someone once said, "Integrity is keeping my commitment even if the circumstances surrounding the commitment have changed." As we have seen over the past few days, God desires that we would faithfully run our race and finish strong. We have seen through Joseph's life that we must have faith to receive God's Words and to apply them in our lives each day. Today we will see that Joseph's faithfulness helped him finish strong as well.

 

Christians who do not choose to finish strong remove themselves from God's hand of protection and blessing. The devil will tempt us to fall, but ultimately it is our choice whether we keep running for God, or if we fall into the devil's temptations. We cannot make that choice on our own; we need God's help. So how can we remain faithful when the devil tempts us to give up? Let's see how Joseph remained faithful through some difficult circumstances.

 

First, Joseph remained faithful even when his brothers betrayed him. Because Joseph was favored by their father, his brothers envied him and plotted to murder him. It was only through the persuasion of his older brother Reuben that Joseph's life was spared and he was sold into slavery.

 

Many times we can feel betrayed or hurt by others, but we must remain faithful during these times. I'm sure Joseph didn't understand what was happening to him. He was serving God and obeying Him, yet these things came into his life. While some would say Joseph had every right to be upset or angry with God, he remained faithful. No matter what God brings our way, we must remain faithful to Him.

 

Also, Joseph remained faithful when he was tempted by Potiphar's wife. Genesis 39:7-9 says, "And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Joseph was willing to lose a coveted position in the world in order to maintain his integrity.

 

The devil will tempt us to fall. He knows our weak points and will attack them each day. We must be prepared for the devil's attacks. If the devil knows our weak points, then certainly so does the Lord. We must go to Him in prayer each day and ask Him to help us guard against the devil's attacks. We must ask Him for protection where we are weak. Only God can help us remain faithful amidst the devil's temptations.

 

Some could look at Joseph's life and wonder how he remained faithful to finish his race strong! But Joseph realized it was God's help and strength during difficult situations that enabled him to remain faithful. Joseph turned to God when the attacks came and when he didn't understand what was going on.

 

Are you struggling to remain faithful to God today? Is there some difficulty or temptation in your life that is causing you to fall? It wasn't because Joseph was a great man that he made it through difficulties. It was because he relied on the Lord to help him. Turn to God today and seek His help. Ask Him for strength to resist the devil's temptations. Even when you do not understand what you're going through, trust God and seek Him.

 

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Isaiah 9-10 • Ephesians 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Your Daily Devotional for September 29, 2007

 

September 29,  2007

 

 

Joseph's Faith

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed."

 

Genesis 37:3-6

 

 

I once heard the story about a lady in a home for seniors. She saw a new man come into the activity center and went over to introduce herself. She told him, "You look just like my third husband. Wavy brown hair, blue eyes, a strong jaw, etc." He replied, "Really? How many husbands have you had?" She said, "Two."

 

This lady had faith that this man would be her next husband! We may laugh at that story, but this lady had greater faith than most of us. Most Christians today have God's resources at their fingertips yet never take full advantage of it because they lack faith. God calls us to trust Him with every aspect of our lives. We see a good example of someone who trusted God fully in the life of Joseph.

 

As we saw yesterday, God desires that we would finish our race strong, yet the devil attacks our endurance to get us to fall. Some of God's choice servants in the Bible did not finish strong. Moses disobeyed God and did not get to see the Promised Land; Samson fell into sin and God cut off His power from Samson's life; David sinned and his family was plagued with difficulties. Yet, God shows us through the life of Joseph that we can remain faithful to Him.

 

The reason Joseph remained faithful to God even through difficult circumstances was because of his faith. Even when Joseph was sold into slavery and wrongfully accused, he had faith in God. Joseph's faith was developed at an early age as we see in our verses today.

 

Joseph had faith to receive God's Words. Genesis 37:5 says, "And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more." God had spoken to Joseph through a dream and had revealed His will to him. Joseph had faith to receive this dream as God's Words. Even as a young boy, he recognized God's leading in his life and he had faith to trust God.

 

Not only did he have faith to receive God's Words; he also had faith to tell his brothers. Joseph's brothers did not like him because he was favored by their father. Because of this, Joseph's brothers often mocked and mistreated him. Even though Joseph knew his dream would not be well received, he had faith to relay God's will to his brothers.

 

It is one thing to hear the words of God, but it is another thing to grab hold of them and believe them to be true in your own life. We can be in God's Word each day and receive His Words, but it does us no good unless we are applying those truths in our lives each day. We must not only receive God's Words, but have faith to tell others as well.

 

There is no question that Joseph had a life characterized by faith. Could those around you say the same thing about your life? Are you receiving God's Words and faithfully telling others each day? Take time now to meet with God and ask Him to help you develop a life of faith. Spend time in His Word and apply the truths you learn to your life as you live for Him today.

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Isaiah 7-8 • Ephesians 2

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Your Daily Devotional for September 28, 2007

 

September 28,  2007

 

 

Finishing Strong

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them."

 

Genesis 50:19-21

 

 

Recently at a grocery store, I saw an advertisement for dog food that would help prepare dogs for mid-life crisis. We may laugh at that, but it is true that in each of our lives, we will face times of crisis or difficulties. While there isn't a certain type of food we can eat to help us in these situations, God desires to help us.

 

Everyone faces crisis times in their lives. Often these are generated by Satan himself to get us to fall. One area Satan will attack is our endurance. We may be living for God and serving Him with joy, yet Satan desires to sidetrack us. While God calls us to finish our race for Him, Satan desires that we would fall from the race.

 

There is no guarantee that every Christian will finish their life in a strong way spiritually. The Scriptures are filled with illustrations of men who did not finish for God. In the book of Numbers, Moses chose twelve men to spy out the Promised Land. While two men came back with faith that God would provide, ten of those men came back with a fearful report. Israel waited forty years to see the Promised Land because of ten men who had started strong but did not end in faith.

 

I believe most people would want to say what the apostle Paul said at the end of his life as we see in 2 Timothy 4:6-7, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." After all he had been through, Paul could say that he had remained faithful and had finished his race strong.

 

Few men in the Bible have run a race such as Joseph. Even though Joseph was doing right and honoring God, he was mistreated and hated by his brothers. Some may question God's goodness to Joseph, but Joseph continued serving God even when things didn't make sense to him.

 

Joseph was a man who finished his race and he really pictures the way that Jesus finished His race. Joseph was rejected by his brothers, so was Jesus. Joseph was victorious over temptation, so was Jesus. Joseph was taken into custody because of a false witness, so was Jesus. And Joseph suffered for doing what was right, so did Jesus. If there was ever a man in the Bible who could justify quitting, it would have been Joseph. No matter how he tried to do right, things turned out bad. Yet, in the last chapter of Genesis we see Joseph finishing his race with a sweet spirit. Over the next few days we will see how Joseph remained faithful to God and finished his race strong.

 

How are you doing in your race today? Has something come into your life that has sidetracked you? Joseph was sold into slavery, yet remained faithful to God! We must keep our eyes on Christ and continue serving Him even when we don't understand what He's doing in our lives. Take time right now to get alone with God. Ask Him for help to finish your race strong like Paul and Joseph. We cannot remain faithful to Him on our own; we need His help each day.

 

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Isaiah 5-6 • Ephesians 1

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