A lesson on retaliation

One of the most difficult things to endure is an adversary, worse yet if they close to you. Joseph experienced jealously, hatred and envy from his brothers simply by being himself. The people who hurt us the most are people who are closest to us. What is remarkable in the life of Joseph is how he responded to these hostile attacks. What lessons can we learn from his lifestyle and attitude to the injustices he faced?

Injustice and unfair treatment is everywhere; at home, in the workplace, at the bank, on the street, everywhere. You just need to exist to be treated unfairly, and it hurts. The natural tendency is to wait for an opportunity to get even, to repay in kind what is done to you. Payback! Otherwise you'd wish that something similar or worse happens to the object of our misery. Serves you right! This is the natural tendency, but I see in the life of Joseph another way of responding to unfair treatment. One that did not wait for something terrible to happen to his brothers, he did not plan evil for them. There was no eye for an eye thinking in his heart. What did he do?

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. - Genesis 50:20

When Joseph was made a ruler over the land of Egypt, there was a famine in the land and only Egypt had food. This was the perfect circumstance to get even with his brothers who had him suffer greatly for so many years. They were bound to come to him to buy food. There was no better opportunity to strike back and pay them back, make them suffer, give them a taste of their own medicine. Yet he did not get even. He did not also get even with Potiphar, his old boss, who didn't believe him when his wife accused him of raping her. He did not get even with the old lady herself. He kept a positive attitude, and never retaliated. Why?

He said, you meant evil against me, but God mean it for good.... He saw God's overarching purpose through all he suffered. So it was not really about him or his brothers or Potiphar or the old lady, it was God using circumstances to bring him to the fulfilment of the dream he had as a boy.

A lot of the injustices we suffer is not about us, but God using the sin in the world to work out a wonderful work in our lives and through us, in the lives of others. When we look to God and trust that he is in control, in the midst of everything, working it out for his good pleasure, and for his ultimate glory, we will remove our eyes from others and peace will flood our hearts, and love will overcome hatred, envy and retaliation. Jesus preached against retaliation in his sermon on the mount and this should be our attitude as well.

It is not easy to overlook, forebear and refuse to retaliate when evil is done against you, sometimes daily. We all need help to make it like Joseph. God knows our weaknesses and if we express them to him in prayer, and seek his help to live this way, he will make us able, and we will find that we can do it just like Joseph did. It will take a change in our attitude and a continual looking to Jesus who is our perfect example for strength and ability. If we will make the effort, God will give us the grace to do it.

-ONWARD!

A different Hosanna experience

I was going through a React tutorial on Scrimba and the song, Hosanna by Hillsong was singing in my heart. So I paused and listened to it on YouTube.

It's a beautiful song. There's Darlene Zschech and Brooke Fraser, the lyrics are just wonderful. As I was listening I noticed something. I was enjoying this song differently this time.

This time I was paying attention to the instrument; the bass notes, the drums, lead guitar noticing how they play with such discipline. I'm not a musician myself but it was very interesting and made my enjoyment of the song different and more interesting from other times.

It got me thinking that we all experience the same things differently. Hillsong is a large church and as the camera pans to the cut of the crowd with hands raised, eye closed, almost in a trance state or euphoric worship, I could not help but wonder what everyone was experiencing at that time and in that place. Was it the worship of God or an enjoyment of good music?

Anyways, just a thought. I'll get back to React now.

-ONWARD!

Everything you are seeking is in God

This past week has been interesting. I was in church and while the service was going on, the Lord was speaking to me. I felt disconnected with the service because my mind and attention was on what He was saying, so I took my pen and began writing what He was saying. Here's what he said to me:

God never leaves anyone. 
If God is far from you, you are the one that went away.
You are seeking something out there.
Do you think God cannot supply those things?
Everything you are seeking is in God.

God is faithful, he will never leave you or forsake you.
His nature is faithfulness.
Even when we are not faithful, he is faithful.

That was Sunday. And I have to say, yeah I had shifted from where I was in my relationship with God. Other things - the cares of this world, had crowded my heart. But God is always seeking to save the lost.

Then again during the week this word came to me while praying. I will paraphrase because I don't remember it verbatim:

People leave the God of love in search of love.
They leave the Most High in search of security, power and influence.
They leave the one that gives wisdom to the wise to search for enlightenment, and education.
They leave the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills to search for their sustenance - for bread and meat, for money.

Basically people leave God who freely gives all things for us to enjoy and seek what they think is real. These two events cannot be coincidences. God is speaking. He is speaking to me. Maybe to you too.

Nothing is worth leaving God to get. If God can't give it to me, I never want it. It doesn't matter what it is.

It's interesting that the supreme God of heaven and earth, who doesn't really need me is the one who will reach out to seek me and rejoice in my restoration. 

Once again you have sought me out in your love and found me. I'm deeply grateful Father. Thank you.

-ONWARD!

I should write more

I should write more. I always say this.

It's been quite a while.

I've got a few posts coming soon.

Watch this space.

Oh and Happy New Year.

-ONWARD!

Raya and the Last Dragon

Just watched the movie Raya and the Last Dragon. I don't know much about the stories that make up this movie. I hear they represent some of the folktales of South East Asia. I see a lot of the Thai, Malay and Indonesian culture play through.

It's a really nice story about dragons and their power to unite people and kingdoms.

I've said before that I wish bible stories, stories about God were told in a more realistic way, not the classic stories we know. Someone once told me that, a brown cow eats green grass and makes white milk. The personal stories of God through a life that God has touched, now spread out to the world, how he is the one behind the rain that falls to the ground, why he is loving and kind and wise and his ways are perfect. That story needs to be told.

It also needs to be clear that when we disobey his commands, and live in rebellion, sometimes bad things happen as a result. They happen as a signal to us that we have done wrong and to return and make amends with God.

Maybe I'm ranting but maybe not. God's story needs to be told.

-ONWARD!