Persistence of Faith
How long before a dream comes true?
Although Joseph had recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Joseph also remembered the dreams that he had dreamed about them. - Genesis 42:8-9
I love the story of Joseph. For me, Joseph represents persistence of faith.
In a dream, when he is but a child, God shows him that he will be a leader of men, one to whom his brothers and father will bow down.
He has no idea when or how this will happen, but he never loses faith that he will be able to overcome all obstacles until it does.
Falsely accused and locked away in prison, he retains his confidence that he will be able to use his gifts and abilities to get by, and after each attempt fails, he remains optimistic and positive.
When we read the story, we are caught up in his charm and we face the obstacles with him, becoming believers. The journey we take with him has us convinced that he will succeed, and he does, though throughout, he seems to act a bit like a trickster.
Here, in his encounter with his brothers who do not recognize him, he sets them up for a test, a type of punishment, and he seems to enjoy it.
God has given him an opportunity to take advantage of his brothers, to dole out harm for harm, to redeem himself by getting even with them, and though he chooses to tease them, he does not harm them.
He makes them go back and bring his brother and father with them.
We may look at him and see someone who is playing a game on them, but he knows they will do whatever they can to cheat and lie, so he has to make them want to do what he needs them to do.
We can learn a lot from Joseph. When we deal with those who are out to get away with doing as little as possible to claim a reward, we need to think the way they think, and use our talents and wisdom to guide them to a positive end. Joseph did that for his brothers, saving them from death and from sin.
He saved his family because he loved them, despite all they had done to him.
That is persistence of faith. It is what Jesus has done for us.
We cannot escape God's love. We will try, but we will fail.
In the end, the vision He has for us will prevail. Thank God for that!
More to come...