"IF GOD PUTS HIS FINGER ON YOU, it is enough to change you, your family, your church - even a nation or the world."God took over Joseph's life and we notice.....
- It was without any advance notice.
- It was on his 'sore spot'. The first thing which has to be dealt with is often the thing most dear to us but a sore spot to everybody else. In Joseph's case it was the coat of many colours.
- Joseph underwent the shock of seeing how sinful and frail other people were. Joseph knew that his brothers were not fond of him, but he did not know they were capable of doing what they did. Why does God want us to see the frailty of other men? The answer is in Psalm 118:8 "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." We must all learn this lesson sooner or later, but it comes hard. We want to find at least one other person we can totally trust and say, 'I will believe anything you say.' As soon as we begin to do that we are setting ourselves up for the greatest hurt of our lives!
- God brings Joseph to a place of apparent despair. Joseph was cast into a pit. there was nothing for him to do except for him to pray. We learn to trust God as he is proven through an unprecedented situation.
- God brought Joseph to a point of no return. His 10 brothers lifted him out of the pit but sold him to the Ismaelites. They wanted to get Joseph completely out of the way. The Ismaelites brought Joseph into Egypt. There was no turning back for him now.
Despite Joseph's upheaval, God made things bearable for him:
- Joseph had rest from his enemies. He had a rough time and became the victim of cruel hatred. There came a time when God said, "enough is enough." God knows how much we can bear.
- Joseph had the presence of the Lord. Genesis 39:2 "And the Lord was with Joseph....."
- Joseph prospered in his new career. God did this to encourage him. He never demoralizes us
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