Setting Yourself Aside
Setting Yourself Aside
“So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.”
Genesis 50:17
Ever consider what a situation is like for someone else who is going through something horrible?
I’m actually not talking about me here. I’m talking about all the tens of thousands of people all over the world who are dealing with a disastrous situation - yet we put our situations at the top of the list.
I sit and think about how crazy the world has gotten, and that’s just from my viewpoint.
And that’s just it, we often think of things from our perspective. Not someone else’s and certainly not God’s.
We are not God, who can see into the future, who knows His own plan for us and knows the outcome before we even enter the problem.
But as humans, we generally look at a problem from behind our own eyes. We look at what’s happening to us, what’s going to happen and what am I going to suffer because of it.
It is so difficult, when you are smack in the middle of something, to step outside of it and consider what God is doing.
It’s easy to turn to God when things are going well. We sit and comfortably pray to Him and give Him praise and thanks.
But when things are upside down, I find it harder to fall on my face and place my will in His hands.
Joseph did this. His brothers sold him to slavery and for 13 years Joseph was gone. He didn’t understand what God was doing but Joseph knew God “meant it unto good.
“And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”
Genesis 50:19-20
When we are IN the problem it is harder to find the solution. This is why it is so important to have a relationship with God. Above all relationships, this one relationship with God can help you through every situation.
Joseph had such calm and peace about him when he returned. His family had wronged him, yet he was at peace.
Thirteen years of his life was torturous, yet when he returned he was more concerned about the families of his brothers and their comfort and peace.
We need to set ourselves aside and consider what others are going through, what they’ve been through and share our relationship we have with God with them.
We have to stop pointing at ourselves and demanding the attention. It isn’t about us. Even when it is about us, it isn’t about us. It is about God.
God can and will do amazing things in your life, even if it doesn’t look that way right now. You have to let Him. And He can’t do things in your life if you are constantly pushing His will aside for your own attention.
Joseph was able to see his brothers and their children before he died. There was peace in their family because Joseph set himself aside for God.
My hope is that you will take the time today to get to know God by reading the Bible, praying to Him and letting Him lead your life.
“Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.”
Genesis 50:21
“I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.”
John 12:46-47