Defining Success

Joseph, the pride of his father and envy of his brothers.  A young man whose future was already planned.  He'd spend his days along side his brothers tending his father's flocks.  Moving from hillside to valley, providing protection and necessities for them. Having his every need taken care of by his father.

Then in just a moment his entire life flashed before his eyes.  At the request of his father, he set out to find his brothers, checking on them and the flocks in their care.  As he traveled, wandering hillside after hillside looking for them, he never imagined the fate that lay before him.  His brothers, who were quite older than himself, saw him from a distance.  Taking notice of his cloak, they recognized him. Jealousy had already taken root in their hearts and now gave birth to hate.  They plotted his death.  Never once considering the hurt they would cause their own father.  In a last ditch effort, they decided not to kill him but to let him die.  Thus not having blood on their own hands.  Hate gave way to greed.  As they saw a group of merchants traveling to Egypt, they decided to sell their brother.  Forever ridding themselves of his presence and annoyance, or so they thought.



Joseph had prided himself with the visions he had in dreams.  He knew he was favored by his father and rubbed salt in the wounds of his brothers by sharing these dreams.  Now, separated by miles from his family, his only hope was to trust in the God of his father.  The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.  His life had been spared by his brothers and was now in the hands of his master.  God's protection brought Joseph to Egypt and into service in the house of Pharoah's captain of the guard, Potipher. It was there the God of Jacob made Joseph successful and opened the eyes of Potipher to see the ability in Joseph.  And Joseph trusted in the only thing he could claim as his own, the faith he placed in his Creator.

There is so much more to this story.  It is a one of redemption and forgiveness.  One that takes betrayal and pride and learns to see passed the temporary to the bigger picture.  Joseph had nothing else he could do but to lean on Almighty God and not on his own understanding.  He had to trust the God who allowed these events to take place had a greater purpose.  That the God who allowed his slavery could also make him second in command of Egypt.

Trusting God in the difficult times is, well, often difficult.  Don't we often see the here and now and not the bigger picture?  We want to make the offense our reason for ____________________(fill in the blank with whatever emotion suites your fancy).  Instead of trusting the God who brought us to this point and can bring us through it as well.   Whatever you are facing, will you do like Joseph and lean on The One who knows and sees the bigger picture?  Joseph didn't have it all figured out and his idea of success had probably been shattered.  Praise God that His protection covered Joseph and covers us as well!

Today I will allow Christ to be my guide. Accepting His definition of success, I will serve others - and not just the ones I choose.  Sharing the Hope that I have with all who ask my reason for it, and probably even more!

Marriage, Family, Ministry - My Role, God's Design : Day 4

I have a confession to make. I'm not much of a pet person. There, I said it. As a matter of fact, the only pet we had for any length of time when I was a kid was a Gold fish named Freddie my brother got at a birthday party - for free! And honestly, my mom put him in a mason jar hoping he would meet his demise quickly. So, after multiple aquariums and many years later, we finally found Freddie belly up.

I like fish. They are low maintenance. You feed them and clean their aquarium and that's it! There is no teaching tricks or house breaking. You don't have to worry about them attacking anyone. They are low maintenance, like I said before. The best part is, whether you look from inside or outside the aquarium, they still do the same thing - swim. They're not in the habit of changing.

Read Genesis 39.

As I prayed about the next quality a Godly wife possesses, I was led to this chapter. Needless to say, Potiphar's wife did not possess what the Lord impressed upon my heart. As a matter of fact, her life lacked it greatly.

Joseph was a Godly man. The Lord had brought him out of a bad situation into a place he'd never been before. He was sold into slavery to Potiphar. And he was given free reign over the management of Potiphar's house. The one and only thing kept from Joseph by Potiphar was Potiphar's wife. This woman was married to a very wealthy man. She had everything most of what she wanted. However, the one thing she wanted that she didn't have, she couldn't have - Joseph. She made her intentions known to Joseph - she wanted to sleep with him. He refused (way to go Jo Jo!). When she didn't get her way, which I'm going to guess she was used to getting, she made it look like he tried to rape her. Potiphar sided with his wife. He removed Joseph from his house and had him thrown into the king's prison.

This is what gets me, Potiphar trusted his wife! He never second guessed the information given to him. He acted quickly and in such a way as to protect her. However, she was a liar and an adulteress. She was not a Proverbs 31 woman.

Proverbs 31:11-12

Her husband can trust her

Potiphar's wife lacked integrity. How she lived in front of him was not how she lived when he wasn't around. She was not like a fish...when it came to her behavior, she was not the same all the time.

Can your husband, or wife, trust you? Does your life look the same from inside and outside the fish bowl?

Take the time daily to seek the Lord. Choose to make what's important to Him important to you and even when you feel thrown under the bus (or in prison like Joseph) the Lord will be glorified by your integrity.

In Christ,
Naomi