October 30, 2010: Between a Rock and a Hard Place:
He was caught between a rock and a hard place. Either he could send his beloved son Benjamin with his other sons back to Egypt to buy grain, or they could starve to death. The story starts some 22 years earlier and most of you are probably familiar with the story. Jacob had 12 sons but only two of them were from Rachael, the wife he had worked for 7 years for. Then she had died in childbirth with Benjamin the younger of two sons she bore. She had died while they were traveling so Jacob couldn’t even bury her in the family burial cave that Abraham had purchased in the land of Canaan. Their two sons were the only mementos he had left of the woman that he loved so intensely.
Gen 29:20 says: And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.
The older of Rachael’s sons, Joseph had been sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers but they tricked their father Jacob into thinking Joseph was dead. Now 22 years later there was a terrible famine in the land and unbeknownst to them Joseph was the ruler of Egypt. Some months previous to this occasion Jacob had heard there was food in Egypt and had sent 10 of his sons there to buy grain. Joseph recognized them and found out through an interpreter, (to keep his identity secret) that his father Jacob and his young brother Benjamin were still alive. Joseph locked up one brother Simeon and demanded they return with Benjamin if they wanted Simeon’s release and to purchase more food. Now Jacob was agonizing over a decision, to send Benjamin or starve.
GEN 42:36 says: And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
He finally relented and let Benjamin go with these words.
GEN 43:14: And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
Little did Jacob know that he was sending his son Benjamin back to the care of Benjamin’s older brother and his lost son, Joseph. Little did Jacob know that that his entire world was about to change and that he was about to get back everything he had lost with interest. You see - God knew that there was a terrible famine coming and God himself had sent Joseph before them to prepare the way, to keep them from starvation. All of the things that Jacob felt like were against him had in reality been for him and the welfare of his family. The man he was so terrified of, was none other than his lost son Joseph who had his welfare, and the welfare of his family at heart. It is interesting, that the man that was heir to the blessing of Abraham and the lineage of Christ had to lose or release what was most precious to him for God to work his will in his life for his salvation and the salvation of his family.
God doesn’t just take stuff from us or make us face hardship because HE wants to make us suffer. He loves you with everything within HIM and as your older brother, Jesus holds that trial you are walking through in his hand and he has your welfare at heart. No matter where you walk or the circumstances you face you can trust him. Many times HE can’t tell us what HE is up to, because we would mess up what HE is trying to do. Can you imagine what would have happened if God had told Jacob that Joseph was alive in Egypt. Jacob would have probably killed or at the least totally rejected the sons that had sold Joseph and then searched from one end of Egypt to the other until he had found him. God had to wait until the time was right to reveal to Jacob what his plan was from the beginning.
Did you know that God has a plan for your life and that HE is working in you to will and to do of HIS good pleasure for your benefit.
In the NIV JER 29:11 we read: For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Like Jacob of old, God has to wait until the time is right to reveal to us what HE is working in our lives. Then, when you least expect it, many times when it seems the worst is upon you, you will find the situation reversed and you will reap benefits that could not be obtained in any other way than the path you walked. Job faced a trial most of us will never have to face but from the depths of despair he was able to say:
JOB 23:10, But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
The Apostle Paul walked through trials that would make most of ours seem trivial and yet he penned these words:
2 CO 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
2 CO 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Dearly beloved of GOD - keep holding to that UNSEEN HAND. HE has good things in store and the best is yet to come.
James 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? (KJV)
In the King James Bible the word lust means a strong desire for something, about which a person’s life revolves.
The NIV gives us a little more insight into this verse. It reads like this:
James 4:5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the Spirit he
caused to live in us envies intensely?
The word envy means to feel resentful or painful desire for another's advantages or possessions. When we look to other sources to meet our needs, God can only stand by and be envious of that source we are looking to and wish we were giving HIM that opportunity in our lives. He is envious for our sakes, the position that we have given to something or someone other than Him. It is our legal right to look to whatever source we want for fulfillment and it is only when we give HIM permission by acknowledging Him that HE can step in and meet the need. He loves us so much and He realizes that whatever, or whoever it is we are looking to, can never meet our needs the way He can.
God’s life revolves around us, meeting our needs and caring for us. We can’t even imagine how much HE loves us and wants to care for us. Did you know that He thinks about you all the time.Psalm 139:17,18 tells us:How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! I should count them, they are more in number than the sand:
One example of what I’m talking about above is a person’s finances. A person’s job is not what supplies their financial needs any more than a hammer builds a house. God IS our source of supply and the job is only a tool in the hands of the Master builder used to provide our finances. We work because God created us to. He created us with a nature to be productively employed and it fulfills us when we are. The first record of man working was before the fall. Genesis 2:25 says:And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
So we see our work is only a tool in the hands of God, who Himself is meeting our financial needs as well fulfilling us productively and He expects us to recognize that. That’s what he was talking about in Colossians 3:23:And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
If we consider our job as our source of supply we are on a limited income but if we acknowledge God as our source of supply our income is according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus.
If you are sick or injured it is not the Doctor, hospital or the medicine that makes you well. God is the healer, He is your source of supply and these are only tools He may use.
Isaiah 53:5tells us:
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
When that Roman whip cut across His back He paid an incredible price for the right to be our Physician and the least we can do is give him that place in our lives. If for whatever reasons He decides not to heal us in this life, it is His right, and He wants us to still trust Him. He has reasons for everything in our lives that many times we cannot fathom, but there is an overwhelming truth and that is “He loves us and intends for everything that comes our way to be for our gain and not loss”
Romans 8:28 tells us:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
I’m not saying, not to go to doctors or take medicine. I’m saying that in any illness or injury to acknowledge Him as the Great Physician and to pray first for healing and direction and then act accordingly, with the knowledge that He is in control of the situation and will direct your steps as He sees fit. When healing comes, regardless of how, recognize that God as the Great Physician brought it to pass and give Him glory. If it doesn’t come, acknowledge His rights in your life and praise Him anyhow. You can trust Him completely. What I’m talking about is a life attitude.
If your marriage is falling apart, a marriage counseling session is not what will heal it. God wants to be the mediator between you and your marriage partner. A counseling session may be a tool that God uses to help fix things but don’t give it the credit. Give the praise where it belongs, to the God who created the institution of marriage and performed the first wedding between Adam and Eve. I once read the story of a young wife whose husband ran off with another woman and then sued her for custody of their child. She went to the Lord in fervent prayer. The Lord spoke to her and said “Give him your son and I’ll give it all back to you”. She decided to trust the Lord, even with her son, but she said signing those custody papers was the hardest thing she ever did. Several months went by and then she got a call from her ex. He had left the other woman and wanted to come home and try again, this time with the Lord in their relationship. God was faithful, He did as he had promised. He gave it all back and then some.
Finally I would like to mention, that one the most significant ways of acknowledging God as your source of supply is the act of giving. The act of unselfish giving, out of a generous heart toward God, is literally your signature on a legal contract between you and God making Him your source of supply.
I once read the story of a family that lived near railroad tracks during the great depression. They had little to eat and the father couldn’t find any work. The lady writing the story said railroad tramps would always knock on the door and want something to eat and the family would always share with them whatever they had. The day finally came when there was nothing left but a little flour and the mother cooked it up into a gruel and put it on the plates. As they sat down to eat, there came a knock on the door and there stood a tramp. For the first time the father was tempted to turn him away but he didn’t. He scrapped some off the other’s plates onto one for the tramp and they sat down and ate it. After eating, the tramp mentioned it was a beautiful day and asked them to take a walk down the tracks with him for a little way. They did, and when they returned and the mother began cleaning off the table, there under the tramp’s plate was a $20 gold piece. Where a tramp came in possession of a $20 gold piece they would never know, but the next day the father found work and it was up, from there on out. At the conclusion of the story the writer said, “I know the story well, it was my home, and the family was mine”.
I could make a list and it would go on endlessly covering every aspect of our lives. God is a jealous God, but that jealousy is not to satisfy Himself like man’s jealousy. That jealousy is directed toward your profit and His great desire for the very best in your life that can only be provided by Himself.
God wants us to look to him for everything. He wants to be acknowledged as our total source of supply and in the act of doing so we are giving Him permission to be it. Proverbs 3:5,6 says: Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
My Presence has gone before you and prepared the way
Acts 15:18 Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.
Some years ago my brother Dave and I were discussing moving from Connecticut to Florida to start a business. I was ready to “do it” but Dave was reluctant to leave (he probably had more sense than I did). He told me he was sitting in a rocking chair and had just been reading the scriptures and was now meditating on the future, what lay before him, when God spoke to him saying, “My Presence has gone before you and prepared the way”. On that word, we moved to Florida, started the business, and are still in business today 27 years later.
The way that God has moved for us and taken care of us through the years would take pages to write. We found indeed, that God’s presence went before us and prepared the way. It’s hard to understand, but God created the entity called “time” and has already placed everything in it that will ever be. Acts 15:18 tells us: Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
Every page that you turn, each new chapter in your life, each new day that you enter, the Presence of God has already been there and made provision for you. Every difficulty that you face, every troubling circumstance, God is fully aware of it, and has already made a way around or through it, for you.
A Doctor who operated a medical clinic for poor people in New York City in the early 1900’s and also held prayer meetings several evenings a week, told the following story. There was a lawyer who attended the prayer meetings who from time to time would give him sums of money telling him to place it, where it was needed most. It seemed that God always had a special purpose for each gift. One day the lawyer gave him a check for 12 dollars and 50 cents, telling him to “place it where it was needed most”. The doctor put it in a drawer not sure what God intended for it and there it sat. He said after several weeks and no instructions, he thought maybe he had lost touch with that “still small voice”.
One evening however, just before prayer meeting as he opened the drawer the word came “take it out”. That evening he looked across the people to see if there was possibly a foreign missionary present as different times gifts had gone to them, but tonight there was a lady there, who with her husband operated the John 3:16 mission for the homeless and he felt the gift was to go to her. After the service he approached her and asked if there were any special needs that they might have at their mission. She replied, “Brother, our mission is a work of faith and our needs are only brought before the Lord”. He handed her the check however and said “I feel this is to go to you for the mission work”. She then told him the following story. The nights had been bitter cold and they had run out of coal and had no money to purchase more. If they were not able to obtain more, for the first time since they started the mission, they would have to shut the doors. Just before she had come to prayer meeting that evening she and her husband had gotten on their knees and made their plea before their God, and now, here was the answer. The price of a ton of coal delivered down the chute – 12 dollars and 50 cents. Simply chance? Or is there ONE who declares “before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear."
Hebrews 11:29: By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
God has never excused his children from trouble. God’s children walk through the same troubles and sometimes more than the world does, but the outcome is different because we walk by faith and not by sight. Those things that many times would destroy a child of the world, will cause a child of God to grow stronger, as they see His hand make a way for them through the difficulty. The circumstances that God’s children walk through have been carefully weighed in God’s hand and are intended for their profit, not loss. The God that has been with you in six troubles will not fail you in the seventh (Charles Spurgeon).
Psalm 34:19: Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
II Corinthians 4:17&18: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms...
Today I was thinking about the song Dottie Rambo wrote “Sheltered in the arms of God”. I was thinking about how she was traveling between concerts and was asleep in her bed when a gust of wind blew her concert bus off the road. In an instant that verse she wrote in this song came to pass: “I’ll fall asleep and wake in God’s new heaven, sheltered safe within in the arms of God”. I then began thinking back on my life and the presence of those everlasting arms. It was over 50 years ago; I was 7 years old at the time, when I asked Jesus into my heart. He didn’t say you’re too young, He didn’t say you wouldn’t understand, He came and He has never left me.
Some years ago I was walking through a dark valley in my life. It seemed as black as night and bottomless. In my Bible reading for that day was Deut 33:27The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms....
Those arms have been real to me ever since. I don’t care how low or how dark the valley, if you’re his child, those arms are there and you can't fall through them. In your darkest hour He will make His presence known and let you know He has total control of the situation. Isaiah 54:17 says: No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
Everything we do in the natural realm has connections and ties in the Spirit realm.
That is why George Mueller, a mighty man of prayer in 19th century England simply made his requests known to God in order to get his needs met for his orphanages, rather than expound his needs to man. George recognized that if God was his source of supply, than God was the one he should talk to. Through prayer alone he operated many orphanages and brought in the equivalent of millions of dollars in today’s economy.
In the same manner our attempts to bring things to pass through efforts in the natural realm often thwart the very thing we are trying to do. We are exercising our rights and thus removing God's rights in our situations. One of these areas is indulging in conversation with others in relationship to problems we perceive in our lives, in bad situations, or in others lives. What we gain from the conversation, is our own attempt to placate ourselves through venting temporary feelings, or attempts to change a bad situation through use of the natural realm. This indulgence is one and the same as the Pharisee standing on the street corner praying loudly so others can see him and applaud his holiness, or throwing out handfuls of coins to the poor so everyone can see his generosity. In such a situation Jesus said “verily I say unto you they have theirreward”. By refusing to indulge in feelings of misery or to vent our frustration through conversation that makes us feel better, and by bringing the situation before a God who can do something about the matter in the spirit realm, we give up our reward in the natural, and our rights to try and change things. We are giving God specific legal rights to really change the situation and bring about a right answer of peace for us, or for the other person we are concerned about. God can only work to the extent we give Him permission to, by yielding up our rights in a situation to Him. By the way - that’s called faith, and He will prove Himself faithful.
1st Corinthians 2:7-8: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
If they had known what?
From the time of Adam to the time of Christ, satan had a legal right to every man that was born. Man himself had given that right to satan, for God had told Adam “In the day you eat thereof, Thou shalt surely die". When Jesus came on the scene however, satan didn’t know what He was up to and tried desperately in every way possible to get Jesus into his power. He thought he had finally succeeded when he had Jesus nailed to the cross. Even though Jesus freely gave His life for us, satan was the executioner, because at the last supper, satan through Judas betrayed Him to death, the scriptures record that “satan entered into Judas and Jesus told him, what thou doest, do quickly”.
Satan had rebelled against God in the beginning and had been throw out of Heaven, but now he thought he had Him in his power. This, however, was the greatest blunder of the ages and was satan’s total undoing, for you see, satan had no legal right to Jesus by birth because God was his father or by sin because Jesus had lived a perfect sinless life. At the moment Jesus gave up His spirit, for the first time satan became a legal murderer and every right that Adam had given to satan was recovered by Jesus Christ. It was at this moment that Jesus became the possessor of the keys to death, hell and the grave. I have no idea at what moment satan became aware of the total blunder he had committed, but Colossians 2:15 says:And having spoiled principalities and powers, He(Christ) made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Convicted felons have no rights and now satan is existing under the condemnation of death. One day soon, satan will be delivered into it’s power and Jesus Christ our Friend and Elder Brother will be crowned Lord of Lords and King of Kings. And the best part for me, that makes me want to shout for joy“I'll be part of that coronation ceremony”.
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: For the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee: He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. When Moses the man of God said these words he knew it would be this way, for he had interceded before God on Mt. Sinai for God's presence, and God promised His presence would go with them. It cost Moses his own opportunity, at that time to go into the promised land. When Moses walked up Mt Sinai he was probably trembling with concern. God had accepted his intercession for the people's sins but he had told Moses that His presence was no longer to go with them. Instead He would send an angel. This of course was not acceptable to Moses. Now Moses is going to try and secure that most valuable of all possessions for his people, the living presence of the eternal God of the ages walking in their midst. The intercession was more than just securing the remission of their sins, but also a restoration of the walk they previously had had with God. Moses pleaded, God accepted, and God told Moses: "MY PRESENCE SHALL GO WITH THEE, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST"
When Jesus crawled up that lonely hill called Golgotha, He was doing more than securing the remission of my sins. That was wonderful, but now, that Prophet, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, raised up from the midst of the brethern like unto Moses, was crawling up that hill with the cross on His back to secure, for me, "the forever presence" of the living God that loves His people. That intercession was heard and accepted that day, for Isaiah says: Isaiah 53:11 "HE SAW THE TRAVAIL OF HIS SOUL AND WAS SATISFIED"
The walk that Adam had with God has been restored and now God has personally given me the promise of His eternal presence. I consider that to be the greatest promise in the Bible, for every other promise in the scripture is nothing without that promise. If we have His presence we have everything, if we don't have His presence, no matter what we may seem to have, all is dust and ashes and we truly have nothing.
I have not hid Thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared
Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation: I have not concealed Thy
lovingkindness and Thy truth from the great congregation.
If it ever appears that God has been unfaithful toward you, put it aside until you
understand it better. There is no unfaithfulness in God. That is one of the ground
rules that we have to accept. It is surer than the law of gravity. We don't
question the law of gravity. If something seems to conflict with the law of gravity
we begin to look around for an explanation as we know that the law of
gravity is still valid. We have learned to view natural events
in the framework of the unalterable laws that surround them, i.e. The river that
appears to flow upward due to the surrounding terrain. No matter how it appears,
we know the river is really flowing downhill. The same way in the realm of the
Spirit we have to learn to view everything in the framework of the total faithfulness
Of God toward us. It is much more sure and unalterable than the natural laws we trust.
When we do this we view everything in a completely different perspective than
what we did before. Because of His great love and total faithfulness towards us, we find
ourselves realizing that no matter how it may appear on the surface, everything that
He allows to come our way is really and truly for us, not against us.
Deuteronomy 32:4 says: He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.
2 Corinthians 4:17 says:
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a
far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory;
2 Corinthians4:18 says:
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but
the things which are not seen [are] eternal.
