Who is watching out for me..?

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Catey Stover in Freedom Fighters

With one event, their entire life shifted from apparent joy to sorrow and fear. Choices were being made that were out of their control; thrown for one horror to the next with total carelessness and disregard for anything they held dear. Alone and scarred, hope seemed to vanish, and they wondered, “Who is left to watch over me?”

 

Joseph must have thought this while thrust from a dark pit to a prison cage, and finally sold on the auction block into slavery. Life has become a merry-go-round of events that left him in unfamiliar circumstances, alone, and with seemingly nowhere to turn. But in reality, “The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.” (Genesis 39:2) The answer to ‘who is watching out for me’ for the child of God is this; “walk in obedience to God and His Word” and “Seek His rule above all else” and God will care for you.”

Potiphar saw this promise being lived out in Joseph and realized that the Lord was with him, giving Joseph success in everything he did. This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.” (vs. 3-4)  Even when Potiphar’s wife threatened to destroy Joseph, God uses Potiphar to protect his life. Instead of having Joseph killed, he placed him in protected custody with the ‘king’s prisoners.’ Here again, “the Lord was with him; God showed Joseph kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” (39:21) Joseph’s story is one of unjust circumstances and his remaining ‘obedient to the Word of God’; refusing to give in to the events and choices of other people. Because Joseph humbles himself under the mighty hand of God, He lifts Joseph up to the throne room of Egypt and gives him administration over the whole kingdom. It’s here that the ultimate challenge to his faith is played out; as God’s servant, he comes face to face with those who seemingly ruined his life… his brothers. It is easy to love when it doesn’t directly impact your life. But when the pain is up close and intimate, having scarred your heart, loving like God loves you requires a complete dependency on God’s Spirit in us. Joseph’s response to his brothers is based on an understanding he grasped over time. It was in the silent and lonely periods that Joseph learned to let go of his own willfulness and trust God’s promises. It was in the darkest hours of being still before God that he understood, “God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me a father to Pharaoh, Lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” (Genesis 45:7-8) Joseph grasped that what others do may be intended for harm, but God uses all things to lead to ‘the good’ found only in His plan (Romans 8:28). We can trust God always to be looking out for us. Even in the darkest of pits and the seemingly unbearable silence, God is at work in and through us. He purposely doesn’t pull us from the cauldron of adversity till the work of conforming us to the likeness of Christ is complete. He desires to raise us to the administration of His kingdom, but He must qualify us for the position first… a role that requires Holiness. To enjoy God’s best, we must be obedient to His Word, ‘knowing the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For You will not leave my soul among the dead or allow Your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” (Psalms 16:8-11)

 

Joseph is an example for us of God’s purpose for our lives. He was given a vision of the endgame and then sovereignly moved, as he was obedient to God’s Word, through one circumstance after another to both position him in God’s will and conform him to the Holiness of Christ. Yes, it is painful to give up our own will and desires. It often takes intense heartache to get us to shift our gaze from the garbage pile of self-directed willfulness to the glory of God’s perfect will. God’s will is to raise us up as ‘joint heirs with Christ’ over ‘all His Creation.’ This requires Holiness… to be like Jesus in every aspect. God, in His grace and love, will remove everything we have come to trust instead of Him, even removing the stability of our foundation, i.e., our parents, jobs, finances, our family, our health, and our reputations to get us to anchor our lives in Him. God is watching over you as the Silversmith watches over the refining cauldron. He maintains the heat at the perfect temperature to remove all that keeps us from being precious in His sight. Our Heavenly Father is mindful of the adversity, not allowing it to be too much for us to handle as we rely on His Spirit to strengthen and guide us through each circumstance. And when God sees His uncorrupted reflection in us, He gently repositions us following His perfect purpose and plans.

Joseph remained in God’s care, as did Daniel, Moses, Paul, and Joshua, to name a few others who obeyed God’s Word and walked by faith. God will not twist your arm to stay in His care, in His love He will give you over to the desires of your heart. If you want the limited, self-driven, and destructive desires of selfishness, anger, lust, and revenge, they are yours.  But remember there is a consequence to your choices; to choose yourself, is to reject God. God is absolute perfection, you are either ‘all’ in… that is clothed in the righteousness of Christ… having placed your trust in Him and walk in obedience to His Word; Or, ‘all’ out… being self-centered and depending only on what you can produce. There is no middle ground. Thank God for His sufficient grace! Because of His loving-kindness, He patiently waits for us to choose Christ, knowing the ‘good’ of being like Him in every aspect of His nature.

 

One day, you too can say like Joseph, “God did this so I can know His Goodness in my life. He worked through me so others could come to know Him and be saved from an eternal hell.” God and His Word are always watching out for you and me. It is our obedience to His Word that keeps us on track, even when we can’t see beyond the pain of adversity. You can be sure He is watching the cauldron and will lift you up in His perfect time.

Choose wisely…

 

“Now I’m standing in confidence, with the strength of your faithfulness; and I’m not who I was before, No, I don’t have to fear anymore…

So I’m thankful for the scars,

‘Cause without them I wouldn’t know your heart, and I know they’ll always tell of who you are…

So forever, I am thankful for the scars.” (I am They/wordspring music)

 

Praying 4 U

 

Written by David Brown: David Brown is a husband, father, grandfather, Pastor with a Masters of Religious Studies and a Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Religions. Dave is the Associate Pastor of Pemberton’s First Baptist Church.

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Think About This: “You can see God from anywhere if your mind is set to love and obey Him.” – A.W. Tozer

The Daily Bible Reading: Reflection| You can download our 2021 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here. 

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: ³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born ^[a]again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” –John 3:3