God Did It

This morning I had a very emotional time with God. I was reading Genesis, got that, I had a very emotional morning with God as I read about Joseph. That sounds so strange to me. How could anyone sit crying over Joseph? Honestly, God and His ways are very bizarre to me. I do not understand Him and I never try and say that I do. He is a wonderful mystery and I love the different feelings that I get new from Him, every day. Okay, I have read and heard the accounts of Joseph hundreds of times. But this morning was different! This is what I read. Actually, it seemed to leap off of the page at me, yelling at me. Genesis 45:5-8, Joseph said to his brothers, "But don't be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. He sent me here... Yes, it was God who sent me here, not you!"

This is truly crazy to me. As I look at my life, the different choices that I have made; the different things that have happened to me; the different situations that I have found myself in, could all of this be God. Okay, stay with me here. I have always believed that God can and does, turn good from the evil that Satan tries to inflict upon us. I also know that He knows what I have already done and will do in the future. What if He designed all of it, so that I could be strengthened and in turn, others can find Him because of this. He makes no mistakes and He knew the path that I would take, yet He saved me right in the big mess of all of it. I am not saying that everyone should go out and strip or do drugs. I am saying that because of this "prison" that I was in, many can be fed.

Genesis 37:2, "When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father's flocks with his brothers..." 41:46, "He was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh." For thirteen years he prospered and suffered because of other people. But what he actually said was, "God did it." Joseph chose to worship God in the good times and in the pit of a prison. Because of his steadfast love of God, many were saved. A whole nation was born because of his constant dedication to God.

Obviously, God did not tell me to go out and do the things that I chose to do, but He did know that I would do them. Then He knew that others could be reached, because of them. He loved me and chose me, in spite of my failures; but not only in spite of, but maybe because of. As I have been studying Genesis, I have seen over and over the relationship that was developed between God and His people through hardships. Romans 3:27-31, "Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds. It is based on our faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law... He makes people right with Himself only by faith... only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law."

Hebrews 11, is the hall of faith. "What is faith, It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. God gave His approval to people in days of old because of their faith." They did not always do everything perfect, but they believed God and tried with all of their hearts to please Him. Their faith is what saved them and their actions is what made them right with God. James 2:21-26, "His faith was made complete by what he did - by his actions... 'Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous.' He was even called 'the friend of God.' ...we are made right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. Rahab the prostitute is another example of this. She was made right with God by her actions."

Christ came and died for me, while I was still sinning. By faith I am a child of God, but by my actions I am right with God. My greatest desires have changed. I love my Lord. I desire to please Him. I long to be called 'the friend of God.' How awesome that would be! I want my faith to mean something. I want my good deeds to mimic my faith. I want to be accounted with the rest in the 'hall of faith'. He saved me when... now I serve Him because of His undying love for me. I love Him, because He loved me first. Please God, use my life to bring you glory. I have no secrets to hide, because of You. Make my life a living testimony so others can feel Your grace. Help my life to open their eyes to your free gift.