Painting by Peter Cornelius, circa 1816. Photograph by Notanyron, Creative Commons
To read the last post on Genesis, see What Does God Want?: Genesis 44
Read Genesis 45:1-4
In the last post on Genesis, we left Joseph’s brothers in deep deep trouble. Joseph’s steward had just found Joseph’s divining cup in Benjamin’s bag. Joseph has ordered that Benjamin be taken as a slave. Judah, realizing his father Jacob will die of grief if they don’t return with Benjamin, offers himself to Joseph, in place of his youngest brother.
It’s at this point Joseph can no longer contain himself. He orders all his attendants out. “Have everyone leave my presence!” he says. So he’s alone with his brothers. And he weeps. He weeps so loudly, the Egyptians outside hear him. And the word spreads to Pharaoh about Joseph’s weeping.
Joseph says, I’m Joseph! Is my father still alive? But his brothers are unable to speak, because they’re terrified at his presence.
Then Joseph says to his brothers these words, “Come close to me.”
What God Says to You:
What does God say to you? Before He says anything, He weeps for you. He desires you. He wants you to draw close to Him. Your greater than Joseph, Jesus, says the same thing Joseph said. He says, “Come. Please come. Come close to me.”
Listen, I know, it’s like it was with Joseph’s brothers. Your terrified at His presence. You might even be speechless. It is, without question, a daunting thing to come close to Jesus. Like Joseph, Jesus knows about your past sins against Him. And He knows about your misplaced confidence in your own ability. He knows, well, He knows everything. And like Joseph, He has incredible power. Like Joseph He has the power of life and death over you. He has the power to destroy you.
He has the power to change your life forever–one way or the other.
So you’re terrified. You’re terrified at His presence because you know if you draw close, your life will change forever. And there will without question be collateral portions of your life left behind.
But the thing is, you need a Person with that power. You need a Savior. You need your life changed. Your anxiety, your problems, require Someone with that much power to overcome them. Yes it’s dangerous, but the risk is worth the reward. Because the reward is release! You’ll be freed from your burdens!
Listen:
You can unload your problems.
You can be freed from your emotional burdens.
You can be freed from your depression.
Just give yourself to Him.
The degree to which you give yourself to Christ, is the degree to which you’ll experience release from your anxiety.
So do it.
Go to your knees. Or fall on your face before Him.
Pray.
Pray a prayer of surrender.
If you do, you’ll begin a process of healing.
If you do, you’ll be freed.
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Kurt, I can testify to your invitation for those who haven’t yet surrendered to do so, and as far as the degree of surrender, I can also testify that we must surrender ALL. This is a process once we have turned that corner from darkness to light, the process continues for many years; perhaps, until Messiah arrives one may be surrendering continually a new issue, or the same (sin) over and over until deliverance occurs.
When I came to Messiah with my evil baggage, I bowed down and repented under such conviction because I did not know Him until I heard the Good News. Oh, I knew “of” Him, but I was going down the wrong path and headed for disaster; not only for myself, but for my children to whom I was passing on an evil lifestyle. There was for me only one choice: repent and be saved through the blood of Messiah from my evil ways, or continue my evil ways and pay dearly by seeing them manifest in my children. That day changed my life forever, and consequently the lives of my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren!
The proof: “Because of this, know that Yehovah your God, He is God, the faithful God, keeping covenant and mercy to those who love Him, and to those who keep His commands, to a thousand generations;” (Deuteronomy 7:9)
If anyone reading this has not totally given him/herself over to the Savior of the world, NOW is the time. And “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Time is of the essence for the days and months ahead will literally be “hell” without the Almighty on our side!
I’m reminded of the time when the prophet, Elijah, was fearful; he was running for his life from Jezebel, and Yehovah sent him food via a raven to sustain him, and put him to rest to regather his strength, and spoke to him truth that he was not alone, there were others out there who did not bow their knee to Baal. We either bow our knee to Messiah or to Baal; there is no other choice, and as the saying goes: “Birds of a feather flock togehter!”
And there is no need to be afraid to approach Him; approach Him with reverence due Him and live. He is a loving Father, a father to the fatherless, and I had been fatherless, so I embraced Him with all that I was at the time, which wasn’t much. The little bit of mustard seed faith that I had has proportionately grown over 33 years in my relationship with my perfect Father. He has never forsaken me, nor have my children been begging for bread!
Yes, Joseph was a potentate to be feared because he was a little lower than Pharaoh in power, yet his life mirrored the One and only true Potentate, Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah.
“For He in His own time will reveal who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in light which cannot be approached, whom no one of men have seen, nor can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:15-16/The Webster Bible)
No one on this earth can take His place; no one on this planet is worth worshiping, yet it is easy to fall into a trap set by the Adversary to worship other people and/or idols; the longer we cultivate the relationship with our Father in heaven, idolatry and people worship will fizzle out as we discover He is the only One we can rely on 24/7!
The magazines on the shelves today with stories of broken lives/spirits without God are NOTHING compared to the worthy and true biblical accounts of the exploits that our God has done for His people in the past, will do presently, and will continue in greater measure in the future. NOW is the right time to give ourselves to Him, even daily; let’s keep our names in His Book of LIfe!
Thank you Irene for another excellent comment!
At the end you wrote, “NOW is the right time to give ourselves to Him, even daily…”
Amen!
God’s richest blessings on you, Mike, and your family.