Untidy Josephs

By Elaine James –

Sitting in my kitchen having a cup of coffee with a friend, we discussed how boring we feel our family meal choices have become. She blurted out that when her Mom wanted to spice things up for their family, she would come up with funny names for sandwiches. One of her favorite names was “Untidy Josephs,” which is more popularly known as “Sloppy Joes.”

After my friend went home, I decided I would make “Untidy Josephs” for dinner. As I was making them, I reflected about Joseph in the Old Testament, and decided to use that name to write about the “Untidy Joseph” of the Bible.

Joseph’s life was far from being tidy. It was actually quite the opposite, it was rather untidy. He endured his brothers abusing him, being sold to slavery, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and then imprisoned. After years and years of chaos, he finally was given what God promised him: the favor from the king to help run a country. Truly, an amazing story!

Our lives also tell a story. In that story, our lives may become untidy, but it doesn’t always mean we have made a mess of it. It could just be God taking care of the details for the future. He wants to show His power and grace for the next generation. Joseph’s life lessons are valuable for us all. He taught us that honesty is the best policy, perseverance is worth pursuing and reminded us not to give up on our dreams.

What is going on in your life right now that seems “untidy”? Ask God to help you look at the “mess” His way.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, my life may get untidy at times, but I am grateful I have You to guide me.

“But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them” (Genesis 50:19-21 NIV).

Squeezed!

By Robin J. Steinweg –

I cannot see ahead nor behind me. SUVs block the view from the windows of my little Ford Focus. I’m focused, all right; I have no choice. Inches to my left are construction posts. To the right, an eighteen-inch drop-off leers at me with jagged, concrete teeth. There were no orange safety barrels to bar my fall if I waver.

My grip on the steering wheel drains the pink from my knuckles. I’m squeezed between a disastrous drop and posts lined up like sentries waiting to whack scratches into my car if I get too close. And if I bump one, will I overreact and careen into the abyss on the opposite side? I’m forced to sit tight (literally) and follow the car in front of me. I hope it’s trustworthy to stay on the road!

I like wide, safe boundaries and a clear view when I travel. Not only on my roads, but through life. Yet there are times when, like pothole-ridden highways, my life needs redirecting and repaired. God shows me signs that I am once again under construction. I feel squeezed into a narrow space, no view ahead or behind, disaster on either side.

Road crews don’t want casualties. Neither does God. I can follow Him and trust that He hems me in, behind and before. He’ll guide me straight and true. I can relax my vise-grip.

PRAYER: Lord, You know the beginning from the end. You have a clear view. When I’m in that tight place, help me to trust You because You’re trustworthy.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (Psalm 32:8 NKJV).

A Trip to the Boonies

By Carin LeRoy –

The other week, I drove with my husband out to a remote location in the “boonies” of Florida to pick up a shipment for work. We grabbed the GPS, punched in the address and waited for the voice to prompt our turns. We arrived with ease.

On the way home, however, was a different story. When leaving, the GPS decided to die, and we were left to fend for ourselves to navigate the way home.

“Do you remember which way we turned? Was it left or right?”

“I’m not sure. I think it was left,” I said.

Wrong.

Twenty minutes later neither of us recognized anything or couldn’t find a road that led south. When we saw a sign pointing to New Smyrna Beach, we knew we were off track and turned around. Finding our way back was more challenging as we tried to remember the roads. After several missed turns, we finally made our way home the old fashioned way – by paying attention to road signs.

Let’s face it. We are a culture dependent on technology. If our GPS breaks, our computer crashes or our phone gets lost, we act like a two-year-old who lost their Mommy.

How would our lives as Christians be different if we were as dependent on God’s Word as we are on technology? How much pain and confusion would we spare ourselves if we became reliant on His direction and obedient to His voice? Instead, have we become distracted from hearing His voice, careless about meeting with Him in prayer and Bible reading, and consequently missed turns in our lives where He meant to bless us.

Let’s ask God to help us to evaluate the changes we need to make. God will never leave us to search alone, and His word is available each day to guide us. Let’s learn what it means to depend on God to lead us in the right direction. With His help, we can get there, with ease.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You that Your Word is available for guidance. Help me to learn to depend on it, to read it and look to You for life’s direction.

“Your word is a lamp to walk by and a light to illumine my path” (Psalm 119:105 NET).

Bug Eyes

By Cheri Cowell –

In the opening scene of the movie It’s a Bug’s Life, Flick and the other ants are in a long line walking single-file in a begrudging task. They are carrying “heavy” crumbs to the mound when a giant leaf comes barreling toward them. Flick is paralyzed with fear as this “giant” obstacle blocks his sight. As he stands there, knees knocking, the lead ant comes to his rescue by saying, “Keep your eyes on me, walk toward me, and don’t panic.” He then guides him and those who are following him around the obstacle so they can rejoin the safety of the line.

Even though we can laugh at the humor, it touches a place in our hearts because, at some point, we have all become paralyzed with fear.

God comes to our rescue by saying ‘keep your eyes on me.’

Paul is writing to Timothy, a young student of the faith, and he is telling him not to allow his youth to make him to be fearful. He is told to be bold and confident, not in his own strength and knowledge, but in Jesus.

When we take our eyes off Jesus, the obstacles that seem to float from the skies and threaten to block out the sun, seem bigger than our ability to handle them. When all we see is the obstacle, we cannot find a way around it and we stand paralyzed in fear. We are like Flick, with knees knocking.

But God is saying to us, “Keep your eyes on me, I know the way, walk towards me, and don’t panic because in me you have enough power, love, and self-discipline to handle anything.”

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV).

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for walking with me on my faith journey. Help me learn to keep my eyes fixed on You, and not the obstacles. Please give me Your eyes to replace my ‘bug eyes.’ I praise You for giving me the power, strength, love, and self-discipline to say to any obstacle, “I am not afraid.”

Vulnerable to Love

By Cheri Cowell –

If you are alive on this planet, there is a good chance you have been betrayed at least once in your life. If we count all the little betrayals, or instances of being treated unfairly, I am sure you would be unable to count them on your fingers and toes. A common reaction from teens I’ve counseled over the years is to say, “I’m just never going to let someone do that to me again.” And so they wall themselves off, believing that if they never let someone get close to them again, then they can protect their hearts. I’m afraid that we, as adults, do the same thing. Although we’re much more sophisticated about it, many of us have decided that being vulnerable makes us targets so we put up walls, act tough, and back away when intimacy is required.

But God has shown us a better way.

For God so loved…He gave. He gave knowing we would reject. He gave knowing we would not believe. He gave in spite of our sin. He gave knowing one of His own would betray and another would deny even knowing Him. He gave until He bled. He gave until it was gone. He gave it all so we might have it all. He gave so we might know how to give and how to love. He was vulnerable to love and that is what it means to love. Yes, we will be hurt, but it is also the only way we will ever know the depth of true love.

So, every time someone annoys you today, every time a driver cuts you off or someone makes a nasty comment, every time you remember the pain someone has caused you—say to yourself, “For God so loved the world…He gave.” Then act in accordance with that love.

PRAYER I thank You, Lord, for giving when You knew it would cost you everything. Help me to focus more on the giving of love and less on how much it will cost me. Help me to be vulnerable enough to experience the true depth of love.

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him” (John 3:16-17 The Message).

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