What Do You Do When Your Dream Takes a Detour?

God planned an incredible work in and through Joseph, and communicated that plan to him at an early age. Lacking the maturity to handle the vision of such a glorious dream, Joseph shared it with anyone and everyone who would listen…and even a few who didn’t want to listen?

His brothers didn’t take too kindly to hearing Joseph boast of God’s plan to exalt him over his brothers and to make Joseph a ruler over even his own family. They took matters into their own hands, at first plotting to kill him, but eventually satisfied to sell him off as a common slave to a caravan headed for Egypt. They thought distance would derail Joseph’s dream, and it almost did.

Joseph began at his father’s house, the favored child of his father, and a future brimming with promise. He eventually ascended to second in command to the most powerful ruler of his time – the Egyptian Pharaoh. The road from daddy’s house to Pharaoh’s palace took some disappointing and odd twists and turns, but he eventually wound up in exactly the same position God had promised him.

Joseph probably never would have chosen to leave his father’s house. He would have been pleased to inherit Jacob’s extensive holdings and to take over for his father – one of the wealthiest men of his time. God’s plan for Joseph however was not to preside over a family business but to administer the most powerful empire of his time.

Consider this, however. Joseph could not have made it to Pharaoh’s palace without a pit, Potiphar’s house, and prison. God led Joseph through some really dark times before fulfilling His promise.

Things did not end at my previous church the way I would have chosen, but God necessarily allowed it to happen to prepare me for what is next. Without my present circumstances, I may not be as open to whatever God may choose to do with me next.

As for you, do not be quick to despise unexpected and unwelcome circumstances in your life. God may have you in your pit or your prison to prepare you for His version of your Pharaoh’s palace. Let God reveal Himself to you in your present circumstances. Let God prepare you for what He has in store next. Know that the “various trials” James writes about make us complete and ready for what God already has planned for us.

Thoughts Upon Turning 50

So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom. – Psalm 90:12

I want to share with you a few thoughts that captured my heart as I considered my 18,262 days (that’s 50 years plus 12 leap days) on my birthday.

The prominent theme that I have come to grasp over these last 6 weeks or so is that life is not about me, it’s about God and His plan for His creation. If all we ever do is consider our circumstances in light of their bearing on us, we really miss the grandeur of God’s glory as He includes us in His purposes for now and eternity.

A second truth I pondered today is that life is all about the journey… the walk. Enoch lives 365 days. I think that is significant since it is one year for each day of our year. To me, that signifies that he lived a FULL life, and the Bible says about Him that he had a testimony that He walked with God. I’ve experienced a lot of ups and downs in my 18,262 days, but God has walked with me every step of the way, often carrying me. I grow closer to Him because the journey has so many challenging turns. When I started this blog in the summer of last year, I was inspired by Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “The Long Way Home” (video below). That’s what this life is, a journey on the way to eternity.

A final truth I have pondered today is that God is not finished with me yet. They call us 50-somethings “middle aged.” I guess that means I have somewhere around another 18,000 days to go? Whatever. I do know that I have more passion for ministry now than ever. I sense the urgency of our time and I have a longing in my soul to make a difference for Jesus in the days that I have left.

No matter your age, if you have surrendered your life to Jesus and become His follower, life isn’t about you. Let me encourage you to begin to view your days as opportunities for God to include and involve you in HIS plan for HIS creation. Count your days so that your days will count…for HIS GLORY.

The Value in Hurts and Disappointments

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One of the things I have noticed as I have grown older is that my body tends to ache and pain more than it used to. Just little stuff here and there – muscle spasms, joint pains, bone aches. Just a reminder that God created our bodies to be temporary.

But I have also noticed another pain as I have grown older, a “soul pain.” I think I have become more sensitive to the things that hurt me spiritually, and I am more aware of soul pain in others. I would gladly choose any physical pain over the ache that I sometimes have in my spirit.

Various things cause these soul pains – people have hurt me, circumstances have disappointed me, my own sins have beset me. Negativity has a painful effect on me these days too, and of course, the stress of everyday life can weigh on anyone.

I get the feeling I am not alone in feeling soul pain. Can you feel my pain?

So where do we turn for healing? God has drawn my attention quite a bit lately to Psalm 42. In a refreshing display of transparency, one of the songwriting sons of Korah penned these words:

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. – Psalm 42:5-7

Downcast. Disturbed. Describe you? Does me, sometimes, I am sorry to say. But look at the remedy: put your hope in God. In the Bible “hope” is not the subjunctive wish or desire that it is in our contemporary English language. When we say “hope so” we are expressing a desire but not a confidence that something will happen. When the Bible uses the word “hope” however, it speaks to a confident and quieting assurance that the object of our hope – in this case, God – is a sure thing.

We can claim the promise of verse 5: I WILL YET PRAISE HIM. Things may not look like it right now, I may not feel like it right now, circumstances may seem to indicate otherwise, but the fact (not feeling) of the matter is that God will come through and I will break out into a praising hissy fit eventually. In those moments of despair, the songwriter said he “remembered” God; he reminded himself of God’s past faithfulness and used that memory to give him the strength to take things one day (or one hour even) at a time.

Hang in there, friend. Stick it out. And in the meantime know that God will bring us through. He has great things in store for us and we will yet praise Him.

What to Do When Your QB Gets Hurt…and other life lessons from football

Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Quarterback and Discount Double-Check Salesman – left last night’s game with an injury. Green Bay lost 27-20.

Sunday, the Houston Texans led 21-3 at half-time when their head coach, Gary Kubiak, collapsed while leaving the field.  They lost the game 27-24.

As I thought about the challenges these teams faced, I thought about some challenges my family and I are facing.  What do you do when things don’t go the way you planned?  These football teams can’t decide to wait until they can play under better circumstances. They make adjustments and move forward.

In life, when circumstances seem to mount against us, we can’t just stay in bed and wait for “better times,” we have to adjust and do the best with the circumstances presented us.

At just the right time – as usual – God sent a needed Scripture to me this morning that helps me see how I can continue even with less than desirable circumstances.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. – Romans 12:12

  • REJOICE in hope – my life is not a random flow of unrelated coincidences.  GOD IS IN CONTROL.  My confidence for today  and all of my tomorrows rests in my Sovereign God who is working His plan for my life.  My game plan may need  adjustments, but HIS cannot be thwarted.
  • Be PATIENT in tribulation – Keep on keeping on, even when the going gets tough.  Don’t quit, shrink back, or make excuses.   Do what you CAN and stop complaining about what you CAN’T.
  • Be CONSTANT in prayer – Stay in touch with the ONE in control of the plan.  He is the one to guide my adjustments.  Acknowledge Him in all my ways and He will make my path straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

When circumstances catch you off guard, remember, our all-knowing God knew they were coming all along.  Trust Him and faithfully keep doing the last thing He told you to do until He tells you to do something else.