Category: Encouragement For The Downcast

¹ Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. ² The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. ³ His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. ⁴ So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. ⁵ From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. ⁶ So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. ~ Genesis 39:1-6a

²⁰ And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. ²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²² And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. ²³ The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed. ~ Genesis 39:20-23

¹⁴ Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. ³⁷ This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. ³⁸ And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” ³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. ⁴⁰ You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. ⁴³ And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. ~ Genesis 41:14, 37-45

One of my favorite characters of all time said:

Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not.

Uncle Iroh

Sometimes life feels unfair. When we’re in the valley, we just want to get out. We don’t want to make a life in the valley. We don’t want to spend any time there. We just want to move on to a better life, but sometimes you’re in the valley for a while.

See, Joseph made a life as a slave in Egypt, and because he made the best of a terrible and unfair situation, God honored him and elevated his position. When he was wrongfully taken to prison, he made the best of that unfair situation as well, and God elevated him to second in command to Pharaoh.

Life happens wherever you are. No matter if it’s fair or not. Whether you’re on a hill or in a valley. It doesn’t matter. Life still goes on. Therefore, we have to make the best of wherever we are because God is with us wherever we are. And He will always work things out for your good if you remain faithful to Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Make Your Life.

¹ Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. ~ Ecclesiastes 11:1

King Solomon tells his readers to cast their bread upon the waters, and in many days it will be found. I used to think that that meant that if you treated others well, others would treat you well, but I’m not so convinced of that anymore. See, I think that King Solomon was saying that when you cast your bread upon the water, if you keep looking for it, then you’ll find it. If you continue treating others the way you want to be treated, then even when others mistreat you, God will work it out for your good. When people take advantage of you or cost you something important, God will send help your way if you continue doing good. If you continue treating others as you want to be treated. Paul says it this way:

⁹ And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9

Bad things aren’t going to stop happening to you. People aren’t going to stop taking advantage of you. There’s still an enemy out there whose goal is to destroy you. To get you to give up on your race. To get you to sin so that you might never see an eternal reward from your God. So, hold fast and don’t give up. Keep turning the other cheek and treating others the way you’d like to be treated, regardless of how they have treated you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Continue Doing Good.

⁹ Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. ¹⁰ And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, ¹¹ when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. ¹² Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, ¹³ and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” ~ Deuteronomy 31:9-13

The Year of Release took place every seven years during the Feast of Booths. During this time, all Hebrew slaves would go free. They wouldn’t go free empty-handed either. They would be blessed from their master’s abundance. Their masters would give liberally from their own household, threshing floor, and winepress. This was commanded by the LORD God.

We are slaves, bond-servants of the LORD Jesus. We aren’t sons and daughters. We haven’t been adopted yet. We only have the Spirit of Adoption. Our full adoption and freedom in Christ doesn’t take place until we are given a part of His (Christ, our master) inheritance. He will give to us liberally, and we will receive His Kingdom.

For six thousand years mankind has been a slave, either to Sin or to Christ, but in the seventh thousand year, the year of release, we will be freed. We will inherit all the promises of God. Therefore, hold tightly to your faith. Hold tightly to your God. What He has in store for us is unlike anything we could ever dream or imagine, for His inheritance is not of this world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look Forward To Your Release.

¹ And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. ² So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. ³ And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
⁹ And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ¹¹ So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹² And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. ~ Nehemiah 8:1-3, 9-12

On the first day of Tishrei, the Feast of Trumpets, the people of Judah returned home to their Promised Land of Judea. After over 100 years in captivity, they were able to openly read, teach, and discuss the Torah in the streets. And when they heard it, they wept. They mourned. They hadn’t been keeping their Law as they should have in captivity. And when they did, the Levites calmed all the people, encouraging them to rejoice because it was a Holy Day. And the people did as the Levites encouraged them to.

They didn’t know what they were rejoicing for, but they did it anyway because they believed and trusted the Levites. They rejoiced in something they didn’t know, nor fully understand. Today, we know what they were rejoicing for. We now know the mystery. This is the day set to foreshadow our Savior returning for His Church. What a great day to rejoice and look forward to. They rejoiced in what they didn’t know or understand; let us now rejoice even more in what we do know and understand.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Rejoice For His Return.

¹ Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near, ² a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.
¹⁰ The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. ¹¹ The LORD utters His voice before His army, for His camp is exceedingly great; He who executes His word is powerful. For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome; who can endure it? ~ Joel 2:1-2, 10-11

The early Church described the Day of the LORD as a day of rejoicing. As our Blessed Hope. The prophets described the Day of the LORD as a fearful day. A day of great trembling. Joel poses the question, ‘Who can endure it?’ Isaiah tells the people to wail, for the Day of the LORD is near (Isaiah 13:6-13). Jeremiah describes it as a day of vengeance, where the sword of the LORD will spill much blood (Jeremiah 46:10). Ezekiel says it’s a day of doom for the nations (Ezekiel 30:3). Amos even goes as far as to say, ‘Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!’ he even questions why they would desire it since it’s a day of great gloom and darkness (Amos 5:18-20). This now begs the question: why did the early Church and the ancient prophets be so polar opposites on what the Day of the LORD is? One word: Jesus.

The Prophets wrote from a position of hopelessness. See, before Jesus there was no hope. There was just this day of reckoning coming from God that none can endure. The LORD returning and His recompense with Him. See, there was no sacrifice for their sin other than the blood of animals, which could never wash away sins. So the ancient prophets (Joel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, etc.) only saw the coming wrath of God, not the hope. But Paul saw the full picture. See, Paul saw how dreadful the Day of the LORD would be for all who don’t believe. For all who aren’t ready for His return, but to those who are saved. Who are ready for His return, it is a day of great rejoicing. A day of great hope. Paul, because he was ready, saw Jesus. He saw his Savior because His Passover Lamb had been slain and Jesus had gone behind the curtain in Heaven and sprinkled His own blood on the Ark of the Covenant.

See, for us, the Church, Jesus isn’t our punisher; He is our coming groom returning for His bride. Our God returning for His people. We are spared from His wrath, not because we don’t deserve it, but because we’ve been washed in His blood.

Today at sunset, the Feast of Trumpets will begin. So, let us today remember what that day foreshadowed. It wasn’t just blowing a trumpet for no reason. It foreshadowed the coming Messiah to carry us from this Earth and take us back to be with Him forever. So, today, let the Bride say ‘come.’ Let us prepare ourselves for our Messiah’s return. For our Groom to carry us away and save us from His coming wrath. That is what we are celebrating, remembering, praying for, and dwelling on. Our Savior is coming to redeem us, so that we might not be caught up in His wrath.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Come, LORD Jesus, Come.

²⁶ There the ships sail about; There is that Leviathan Which You have made to play there. ~ Psalms 104:26^NKJV

In Job 41, God describes Leviathan as a fierce foe. Psalms and Isaiah both paint a similar picture, yet that wasn’t how it was when God created Leviathan. He wasn’t created evil. Yet his purpose was corrupted at some point; the Bible doesn’t say when, but it does paint a corrupted creature. I say this to say that all things were created good with a purpose. Even now, enemies of God.

Each person is created with a purpose. A good purpose from God, but we can corrupt ourselves. We can corrupt our purpose, just as Leviathan did. Just as Satan did. We are all given free will. Free will to decide what we will be and who we will become. God said, today I have set before you life and death, so choose life.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Do Not Choose Corruption.

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. ⁴ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” ~ Revelation 21:1-4

I was listening to a song the other day that said, “Maybe I’m an alien, Earth is hard.” I’ve just been thinking about that lyric since. We aren’t of this world; we’ve now been called out of this world and set apart. This life isn’t easy. It’s hard and difficult. It has ups and downs. Obstacles and victories. Hills and Valleys. You have to work for everything. This earth is not our home. One day, we will live with Christ on a new and better earth where there will be no more pain, tears, suffering, fear, etc., where all things will be made new.

So, don’t grow attached to this earth, it won’t last forever. Neither grow weary, so that you might last forever on the new earth with your Creator and God. He has good things in store for you that we could never even imagine or dream of.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be An Alien.