There is a lot to learn from the life of Joseph especially
the part when he kept on with his faith in God when he became a slave and was
almost driven to despair when he was tormented by a lot of trials during that
time. All we need to keep in mind is that our time will come and all we have to
do is just continue to trust God in His goodness and mercy and never let go of
our faith. Just imagine what Joseph had to go through. We will never know of
the physical torture and demand of being a slave nowadays. Thanks to God that
slaves are already a thing of the past and no longer existent in today's world.
But more than anything else is the mental torture of the fact that he was well
loved by his father and would have not been in this kind of situation if his
brothers had not done such a horrible and unfair thing to him. If it were us
and not Joseph who had fallen into this kind of fate we could have responded
and reacted to this situation differently. Are these words familiar to us? I do
not deserve to be treated this way. I did not do anything bad for God to punish
me like this, as if God is a tyrant that is ready to strike us with every wrong
move. Why me and not the others who are a lot more sinful than I am. And all
these kind of things that we say without much thought. If we are to look at the
life of Joseph very closely we would discover that he never let go of his faith
in God despite the seemingly desperate and hopeless situation he went through.
He remained firm in his faith and continued to trust in the word of the Lord.
Joseph was tested and found to be true. In our own lives, we too are called to
prove ourselves worthy before the Lord in order for all of the blessings to
flow freely without any block or hindrance. We don't expect a mango fruit if we
planted a banana tree. It is pretty much the same with our lives. If we strive
to live up to the expectations of a child of the Lord by giving Him honor and
praise then we will surely be not disappointed with the outcome. For God
inhabits the praises of His people. Although we have a tendency to forget or
become out of focus since we are surrounded in this world we are in by elements
most especially the physical ones that make us more inclined to pursue worldly
things. We become sidetracked or worse completely off track of the path where
God is leading us. Let us live every single day of our life conscious of the
wonderful truth that we are God's people and He has made a covenant with us.
Almost everybody knows this famous Christian song from kindergarten, “Father
Abraham has many children, some of them are small, some of them are tall, all
of them are beautiful...” We remain beautiful as long as we keep God's covenant
and remain obedient and faithful to God. He is the reason for everything and
the source of all good things. Sometimes morbid thoughts enter into our mind
and immediately we'd think that it is always the devil who does it but whether
it is true or not this thought could be a wake up call and reminder that in
worst case scenarios or life and death situations there is always a God ready
to help us at any time. All we have to do is call on Him. It is indeed good
advice to always look intently on God and find all the joys waiting for us.
There is really no doubt that we need to further explore, know and understand
about our faith. In doing so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him
and recall His goodness. Jesus' name is undeniably powerful and beyond measure.
Its worth is more than all the riches we can gain in this world. There is
really nothing we can find even if we search far and wide, high and low more
than what the Lord can offer.
We could go on and on with so many options we are confronted
with daily in our lives. There is an endless list of "To Do Things"
but what comes first and last is always dependent on our priorities. In
deciding on our priorities we have to always involve God in all the things
happening around us. We would be so glad
to discover that as we place Him in the center of our heart, body and soul He
never fails in guiding and directing us. If we live by the word of God which is
perfect and remains forever then nothing could go wrong. Our hearts will abound
with joy and gladness. There is indeed great power in the name of Jesus. He is
worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Every single day we are confronted with
so many challenges in life and we have to be always hopeful that the
fulfillment of everything that we have been praying for has come. We should
believe that whatever delays or setbacks we are encountering serve as lessons
to be learned that benefit our spiritual journey with Jesus. There is a need to
go through the different seasons throughout the year for there is indeed a time
and a season for everything. Thus, we all go through different situations and
circumstances in life. Some of them do not make any sense if we fail to
acknowledge the power of God moving in it. There are numerous things that we
can think, focus and decide on but there’s only one thing I am sure of. We’ve
got to acknowledge that despite of it all God’s power remains to be above all
things no matter what it may seem to be. We should always keep in mind all the
wonderful things He has done for us. The Lord will never forsake nor abandon
us. In the midst of all the turmoil we inevitably face in our daily lives may
we remain hopeful in the Lord who is Almighty, provides for all means and
prevails now and forever. Whenever we experience difficulties in life we tend
to question God right away and somehow blame Him for what came upon us.
Sometimes we come to a point in our lives when we tend to question the will of
God in our lives. I have plans and you have plans but sometimes things do not
fall into place and ask why things happened the way it did and not the way we
planned and expected. We just need to always remember the marvels the Lord has
done and always hold on to it. If we live by the word of God which is perfect
and remains forever then nothing could go wrong. Our hearts will abound with
joy and gladness as we further explore, know and understand about our faith. In
doing so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him, recall His goodness,
keep our spirits up and make our hearts rejoice like what today's psalm is
telling us about. There is really nothing we can find even if we search far and
wide, high and low more than what the Lord can offer. We may have experienced a
situation in our life when we encountered a lot of trials and difficulties.
Just when we're about to give up and lose hope, suddenly we came across a
particular incident or inspiration that perfectly fits or matches our specific
problem which gave us this hope and feeling that God knows exactly what we're
going through and promises to see us through it. The Lord is telling us is in
today's psalm and assures us that He remembers what He has promised and will surely
bring about what He said to us that He would do. If God remembers, so must we.
Amen. Hallelujah!
R: Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
Then he called down a famine on the land, destroyed the
grain that sustained them.
He had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, sold as a
slave. (R) 18 They had weighed him down
with fetters, and he was bound with chains, 19 till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true. The king sent and released him; the
ruler of peoples set him free. He made him lord over his palace, ruler over all
his possessions,...
If we feel that we've been going through tough times,
feeling rejected and we are already down on our knees then we need not despair
for Jesus Himself stated in one part of the Gospels: “When the world hates you,
realize that it hated me before you.” Let us persevere and not lose hope and be
the people of God that can lay claim on His legacy and inheritance. If we continue to live our lives without much
care and attention to the building up of God's kingdom here on earth then we
might end up forfeiting the benefits that is rightfully ours. We may not be
fully aware of it but what we are doing right now may be rejecting God in our
lives since we can easily be distracted and fooled by the false values and
practicalities of this world. An example that came to my mind was during the
grand draw of winners for a raffle in my previous place of work. Whenever a
winner's name is called and the person was not present to claim the price then
he/she lost the chance of claiming the prize. Lord, we pray that we may be
always guided and led to bearing the fruits of your Holy Spirit and not lose
the gift of God's Kingdom. May we always respond and be ever present to answer
God's call. Let us not forfeit what is rightfully ours and end up empty handed.
Seize the opportunity right now and right here which is right before us. Amen.
Hallelujah!
...Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes’? 43 Therefore, I say to you, the
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