Genesis 41-42
Key Passages/Thoughts:
Gen 41:45 - "Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah "
When other people look at me and my life, do they truly see Christ? God asked me this question several weeks ago. In my own justification of an answer, I began to break my life up into different segment and try to answer that question with regard to each segment. Do my friends truly see Christ in me? Family? Strangers? Co-workers? The answer should be, "Yes." Not only should the answer be yes, but it should be yes 100% of the time. It's that 100% that has been haunting me. When I read that Pharaoh saw what a godly man Joseph was that he named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah (or God speaks and He lives), I begin to realize that I have some room for improvement. When people speak to me, do they walk away thinking that God just spoke to them through my words and actions? I began to ask myself why I tend to fail in some of those situations? One of the reasons is that I'm just not aware all the time. I often find myself living life in the rear view mirror. I get so focused on what I didn't do, didn't say or how I messed something up that I miss the opportunities that are staring me right in the face. The place I fail at this the most is with my family. Every day I have opportunities to teach my kids something about God. While I take advantage of some of those opportunities, I miss a whole lot more. My kids are like sponges, and I need to make sure that they absorb as much about the love of God as they can while they are still under my roof.
Another reason that I tend to fail is that I tell myself that I don't have time. This is one of the biggest fallacies that Satan uses to distract me from taking advantage of the opportunities God places before me. I'll hear a voice in my ear saying, "you don't have time to stop and talk to that person, you need to be _____ (fill in the blank)." The reality is, I do have time to spend with someone if they need it. I need to have my schedule flexible enough to be able to stop when God tells me to stop. My wife and have been in the process of trying to free up more time in our family schedule to be able to minister more and spend more time as a family. This is a daily struggle and battle because it goes against what everyone else is doing. We have backed away from almost all sports, dance or whatever class or extracurricular activity you can think of. The reason being is that we want our family to love each other first, then give that love to everyone we come in contact with. The Bible talks about being a the "sweet aroma" of Christ to those we come across, and that is what we want for our family. We want people to look at our family and see the love of Christ present! We are not there yet, but what an exciting journey to be on.
The last hurdle for me to overcome is the lack of desire. There are times that I just don't feel like doing what God asks me to do. It's a me problem! There are days that I wake up and don't have the energy to engage the people God puts in my path. There is still of piece of me not willing to be sacrificed, and boy can it put up a good fight! Pride, for me, is the hardest thing to relinquish. Pride is what keeps me from having this desire every day. However, I feel that God continues to kill that part of me on a daily basis. It would be so much easier if I were to just release my pride, but my stubbornness won't let it go.
These three obstacles seem insurmountable at times, but, as I said before, God continues to chip away at them every day. I pray that God brings the sledge hammer and knocks down the wall of pride so that He can have every part of me. God continue to open my eyes to the opportunities that you place before me. Help me to make the most of the time I have with my kids and teach them about Your great love. Give me the courage to share Your love in every situation I face, so that when people walk away they can say Zaphenath-paneah..."God speaks and He lives!"
Another reason that I tend to fail is that I tell myself that I don't have time. This is one of the biggest fallacies that Satan uses to distract me from taking advantage of the opportunities God places before me. I'll hear a voice in my ear saying, "you don't have time to stop and talk to that person, you need to be _____ (fill in the blank)." The reality is, I do have time to spend with someone if they need it. I need to have my schedule flexible enough to be able to stop when God tells me to stop. My wife and have been in the process of trying to free up more time in our family schedule to be able to minister more and spend more time as a family. This is a daily struggle and battle because it goes against what everyone else is doing. We have backed away from almost all sports, dance or whatever class or extracurricular activity you can think of. The reason being is that we want our family to love each other first, then give that love to everyone we come in contact with. The Bible talks about being a the "sweet aroma" of Christ to those we come across, and that is what we want for our family. We want people to look at our family and see the love of Christ present! We are not there yet, but what an exciting journey to be on.
The last hurdle for me to overcome is the lack of desire. There are times that I just don't feel like doing what God asks me to do. It's a me problem! There are days that I wake up and don't have the energy to engage the people God puts in my path. There is still of piece of me not willing to be sacrificed, and boy can it put up a good fight! Pride, for me, is the hardest thing to relinquish. Pride is what keeps me from having this desire every day. However, I feel that God continues to kill that part of me on a daily basis. It would be so much easier if I were to just release my pride, but my stubbornness won't let it go.
These three obstacles seem insurmountable at times, but, as I said before, God continues to chip away at them every day. I pray that God brings the sledge hammer and knocks down the wall of pride so that He can have every part of me. God continue to open my eyes to the opportunities that you place before me. Help me to make the most of the time I have with my kids and teach them about Your great love. Give me the courage to share Your love in every situation I face, so that when people walk away they can say Zaphenath-paneah..."God speaks and He lives!"
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