Week 4: Seizing the Opportunities of the Day

This week's Bible reading unfolds like this:

*Sunday: Genesis 44:1-45:28; Matthew 14:13-36; Psalm 18:37-50; Proverbs 4:11-13
*Monday: Genesis 46:1-47:31; Matthew 15:1-28; Psalm 19:1-14; Proverbs 4:14-19
*Tuesday: Genesis 48:1-49:33; Matthew 15:29-16:12; Psalm 20:1-9; Proverbs 4:20-27
*Wednesday: Genesis 50:1-Exodus 2:10; Matthew 16:13-17:9; Psalm 21:1-13; Proverbs 5:1-6
*Thursday: Exodus 2:11-3:22; Matthew 17:10-27; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 5:7-14
*Friday: Exodus 4:1-5:21; Matthew 18:1-20; Psalm 22:19-31; Proverbs 5:15-21
*Saturday: Exodus 5:22-7:25; Matthew 18:21-19:12; Psalm 23:1-6; Proverbs 5:22-23


Scripture: Genesis 45:5-8
"But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh – the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt."

Observation:
The account of Joseph’s revealing himself to his brothers is for me one of the most touching moments in biblical history. When I read this today, I felt myself standing in the room with Joseph and his brothers. I could see the grim despair on the brothers’ faces. I could hear the anguish in Judah’s voice as he pled to take Benjamin’s place as Joseph’s slave. I could feel the emotion building in Joseph’s chest as the moment of truth approached – when he could no longer keep his identity from his brothers. I can hear his loud, heaving sobs echo off the palace walls as the words broke out in his native tongue, which he hadn’t spoken out loud for years: "I AM JOSEPH!"

I wonder at what point Joseph realized that God was the one who sent him to Egypt. It could not have been when he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and left languishing in prison for years. Joseph, it seems, always landed on his feet. The same gifts that elevated him in Potiphar’s house helped him succeed in prison. After he interpreted the cupbearer’s dream and asked him for help to gain clemency, he may have thought his time of release had finally come. Alas, it wasn't so.

How did Joseph pray during that season of his life? How did he feel about his circumstances? What did he think about in the quiet of the night? At that point could Joseph have imagined what God had in store for him? Perhaps he did. Joseph did not become someone else when he was elevated to Egypt's second in command. He was in every situation simply, authentically, himself. Joseph didn’t know how...or when...but even in the darkest hours his life revealed hope and faith. He seemed always to be, in a word, centered.

Application:
I’m not Joseph, but I am the recipient of the promise that God will never leave or forsake me. I want to be like Joseph in the sense of being simply, authentically, myself. I want bloom where I’m planted and take full advantage of the opportunities that each day hands me. Like Joseph, I want to position myself to be ready for "whatever is next" by faithfully attending to the things that God puts on my plate today. So today my goal is to take full advantage of...today!

Prayer:
O Lord, this is a day that you have made, and it is something unique and wonderful. There will never be another one exactly like it. I want to rejoice and be glad in it. I want to be faithful to the opportunities you bring to me and cherish every moment for the gift that it is. Please open my eyes to see your beauty. Open my mind to see the opportunities you’ve placed right in front of me...and quicken my reflexes so I can take full advantage of them before they pass like a fleeting vapor. Please slow me down when I’m going too fast and speed me up when I’m going too slowly. Please go before me and behind me. Please be on my left and on my right. Be above me and below me. Help me feel you all around me...every moment of today...for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Have a great week of SOAPing!

Faithfully,
Chuck