Seize the Opportunity

"Then they said to him, 'We have had a dream and there is no one to interpret it.' Then Joseph said to them, 'Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.'"  -Genesis 40.8

Joseph has been running the prison for years at this point, but recently he has acquired two new inmates from the palace.  They have been placed in his care and one morning he notices their attitudes are different.  He asks them about it and comes to find that they are distressed over dreams they have had.  They are unable to interpret the meaning behind them, and so Joseph offers to listen.

As a young man God had given him dreams of his own.  In them his brothers bowed to him through different objects, stars and sheaves of wheat.  God has gifted him with the ability to interpret dreams, and now there is the opportunity to use his gift.  And in doing so he is setting himself up for the next step of God's plan.

Men, what opportunities are you being presented with?  Are you seizing them?  You may be hesitating because you aren't sure if it's God's will or not.  I've had the same thing happen, but I've found guidance in the words of a college professor.

"When ability, desire, and opportunity line up, that is the will of God."  If you are gifted in an area, and have the desire to excel there, and you are given the opportunity to do it, God has directed you in His will.  And if one of those is absent, god doesn't want you to go down that path.

You have the ability to do a job well, and therefore are presented with the opportunity, but your heart isn't in it, and you know it will suck the life out of you.  That isn't God's will for your life.  

You have the ability to teach, you have a desire to work with kids or teens, and an opportunity opens up for you to move to the inner city and work in a school.  That could be God's will for the moment.

Now I do need to say that not every situation we find ourselves in is always going to be in line with our desires.  Joseph didn't desire to go to jail.  But that situation got him into place for what God had sent him to Egypt for.  It got him into position to receive the opportunity.  And I believe that is how God works.  Right now I'm working where I have to in order to provide for my family.  This isn't my desire, but it is getting me into position for the opportunity.  

Had Joseph not been in jail his ability and desire would have never found the opportunity to shine.  Without doing what I'm doing right now, my ability and desire may never get to find the opportunity to work.  There are times when God is preparing us for the opportunity, and in these moments let us learn to be content that we are in the will of God, moving towards what we were created for.  Let us praise Him for the preparation, and when the opportunities come, let's seize them.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Life, Protect and Value it

"But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, 'Let us not take his life.' Reuben further said to them, 'Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him'—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father." -Genesis 37.21-22

Joseph's brothers have had all they can take. First it was their father's favoritism, but then Joseph had these dreams that just pushed them over the edge. They take the sheep to pasture, probably relieved to be on the road away from home, and their brother. But Israel wants a report. Again, he cares about all of his children, he loves each of his sons, Joseph is just his favorite, and everybody knows it.

Joseph is sent to bring a report, his brothers see him in the distance and decide to be done with him. They are in the wilderness, no one will know what really happened except for them, and so they decide to be rid of their pesky little brother forever. But then Reuben, the oldest, speaks up, and saves his life.

I have a theory that Reuben is trying to win back some approval from his father after his relationship with Bilhah. What better way then by saving the life of the favorite son? But here we see a crucial characteristic for a man. Men value, and protect, life.

Anyone can take a life, physically or figuratively. It's not hard to destroy someone, people do it everyday without a second thought. But it takes strength to stand up for life. It takes strength to fight for life. It takes strength to resist taking a life. In the first Hobbit movie Gandalf says to Bilbo, "True courage is knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one."

It takes a man to protect life, and a man does. A man does everything he can to save life. He realizes how precious a gift it is, and he does what he can to give it. Men, let us do all that we can to protect life. Let us speak it into others, and rescue them from those who seek to destroy it.

Life is precious, value and protect it. This is what your strength is for.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Satisfied with Life

"Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people." -Genesis 25.8

This verse has stood out to me for a while. Abraham dies at a ripe old age, old and satisfied with life. Oh that this would be the result for every man. How many get to the end and wish they had lived more? Not necessarily longer, but lived more fully alive. How many men get to the end with regrets about all the time they wasted? How many men get to the end regretting the dreams they never pursued? How many get to the end without having enjoyed any of life?

I don't want that to be me, and I'm guessing neither do you. I want to live my life to the fullest, like Abraham. I want to set out into the unknown on a journey of faith, with God. I want to live ready to hear Him speak, and willing to obey whatever He asks. I want to do things right, and lay a solid foundation for those who come after me. And ultimately, I want to defend the defenseless and live to be a blessing to others.

That was how Abraham lived his life. Yes, he made some mistakes along the way, we all will, but he didn't let them discourage and depress him. When he came to the end of his life, he looked back over it with satisfaction, ready for what came next. Oh that we would all face death this way, not wishing we had just a little more time.

Let us live life to the fullest, so when the time comes, we can die satisfied with life.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor