This reading and the blog have been a challenge for me so far. I am a bit ashamed to admit this, but even my years in seminary did not instill in me the habit of daily reading of scripture. It was always such a daunting task, trying to decide what to read, how much to read, what to do before and afterwards, how to evaluate whether or not it was really beneficial for me.
I have now completed one week of this practice, where the first thing I do in the mornings is read scripture, out loud, taking notes and thinking about what I have just read and the message that I feel God is giving me through the Word. (okay, let's be honest. The first thing I actually do is take a shower, but considering the fact that I'm not really awake until after my shower, I think God will understand my need, especially if I am expected to stay alert during the genealogy of Esau).
But this morning I noticed something. I got up, took a shower, and the thought that went through my head was not, "well, I guess I SHOULD take the time for Bible reading right now". The thought I had instead was, "it IS time for me to sit down and read today's scripture". You might think that these two thoughts are extremely similar, if not downright identical, but for me it was a shift in my thinking.
I'm not saying that it's going to be that way every day, especially if I actually get a job and 'first thing in the morning' starts taking place at 7am instead of 10:00am (or whenever I happen to wake up). But I think that my mindset had shifted into understanding that the first part of my day is to be set apart for reading, meditation, instruction, and prayer.
With that I offer you today's insights and observations.
Genesis 37:28
When Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, they sold him for 20 pieces of silver. Betrayal of one that they were supposed to love for 20 pieces of silver. Sound familiar?
Genesis 38:24-26
Would Tamar really have been forgiven as quickly as she was for her 'whoredom'? Or was it merely because Judah didn't want it known that he had slept with his daughter-in-law (whom he thought was a prostitute), gotten her pregnant, and all of that after he had denied her marriage to his youngest son?
Genesis 41:46
Joseph was 30 years old when he was finally made the overseer of Egypt. But he was 17 when he was sold into slavery by his brothers. God watched over him and protected him during those years, but he was not conducted and put where he should have been for 13 YEARS!!!!!
Matthew 11:16-19
Jesus said that the generation of his time was one that was not listening, not taking heed of the message that John the Baptist or Christ himself was bringing.
Matthew 12:38-42
Jesus is challenging the Pharisees, telling them that even the city of Nineveh and the Egyptian queen Sheba will have cause to judge their generation, because something greater than Jonah and greater than King Solomon was present in front of them, and they are rejecting it.
Today's ponderings:
In case you didn't know, I'm going through a pretty rough time in my life, one that has lasted for the last 16 months. I have been trying to find a job as a youth pastor in a church, and have not had any success. I've gotten to the Final Four quite a few times, but I can't seem to get the championship title. It is very discouraging, and I oftentimes feel like somewhat of a failure, especially when I see all of my friends from my graduating class with jobs, and even a bunch of people from the class after mine.
Interestingly enough, I have not lost my faith and firm belief that God has a place for me; it's just that it's going to be so awesome that it's taking a little extra prep time before its ready. Or who knows, maybe I'm not quite ready yet. Whatever the reason, I'm in this hellish sort of limbo place that is driving me just a LITTLE BIT crazy, (not to mention the fact that I can't pay my student loans that put me through grad school in the first place, but that's another story for another time.)
You may be asking yourself: What is Sara babbling on about today? What does this have to do with the scripture she read this morning? Well here's where you find out (if I haven't bored you enough to make you stop reason before now).
Joseph waited for 13 years before God finally had him in the position of overseer of Egypt, the one where he was actually able to help people in what, I think, was the position that god had intended to use him for the most good. And what happened to Joseph in those 13 years? Let's have a little video montage, shall we? (minus the video part)
His brothers beat the snot out of him, throw him in a pit, and then sell him to slave traders. He works his way up in the household of Potiphar, only to have Potiphars wife continually hitting on him, and when she can't stand the rejection anymore, tells everyone that he tried to have sex with her, and he goes to jail. (in my imagination, this is NOT the type of jail where you have your own personal cell, time to play catch with the other inmates in the prison yard, or where a guy named Brooks comes by every night with a cart of books to read. It looks a lot more like the jail in pirates of the Caribbean, with a few more diseased guys chained up next to you.) Things start to look up for him there, he's in charge, interprets a few dreams, but still has to wait 2 years for the cupbearer he helped to remember him and get him out of prison. All on all, not a great way to spend his 20's.
But what I see in this story, is that the timing I everything was still in God's hands. He went through a mess of bad times, but it all made him who he was. He was a dreamer, a prophet, the one that God had picked to carry on the family of Jacob, Abraham and Isaac. And I think it also shows that just because things come at you that seem like the end (being sold into slavery by or brothers or going to jail for something you didn't do) are no match for God's power and God's plan. We are still God's children, loved and blessed, and even if we're sitting in the bottom of a pit, beaten and bloodied, broken in our bodies and our souls, God can still overcome that situation, whether it's been going on for 16 months or 13 years.
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