What is this that God Has done unto us?

Gen. 42:28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?

Joseph's brothers, had of course, many years earlier, sold Joseph into slavery. No doubt they thought that their deed would never be found out. After doing such a thing as this, no doubt they were still living with the guilt of it, when famine hits their land and forces them to go into the land of Egypt and buy food.

Never in a million years would they have ever dreamed that the person at whose mercy they were was actually the brother that they had sold in to slavery so many years before.

Now they are faced with this problem. They had to leave their brother in Egypt in order to be sold the food and now when they look in their sacks the money is restored! So they asked the question., What is this that God hath done unto us? It is not "What is this that God has done for us"

In one sense this was a question that sprang from faith. After all they were not like a lot of people in our day, who don't even acknowledge that the things that are happening in their lives are in fact the activity of God. But in another sense it was a question that sprang from guilt, and dout. They assumed that God was doing something to them, no doubt because of the guilt that they were feeling, and because of the adversity that they had faced in Egypt. But in reality, God was not doing something to them. He was doing something for them!

He was preserving their lives. He was preserving their posterity. He was ultimately going to reconcile them to the brother that they had treated so shamefully.

Dear Christian reader, it may seem like God is doing something to you today. But remember that God is actually doing something for you. He is causing all things, both the pleasant and the painful to work together for your good! Trust Him, and refuse to focus on the little picture, but rather focus on the big picture of HIs grace!

Some Encouraging Words from a Minor Prophet

“Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts,” (Hag 2:4 ESV)
“My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not” (Hag 2:5 ESV)
“and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts.” (Hag 2:7-8 ESV)
“And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.’ ”” (Hag 2:9 ESV)

The Essence of Complacency

“I will punish the men who are complacent,* those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’” (Zeph 1:12 ESV)

“She does not trust in the LORD; she does not draw near to her God.” (Zeph 3:2 ESV)

In the book of Zephaniah the Lord is leveling charges at Judah, making promises of judgment and then of restoration.

It is interesting to note that in the above texts we have a rather vivid description of complacency. These complacent people have become complacent because they do not believe that God will do anything. Therefore they do not trust God, or draw near to Him.

From this I gather that complacency is grounded in unbelief. What is it that makes life excitig and fresh? Living with the expectancy that God is going to act in our lives. It is drawing near to Him, trusting Him, watching what He is going to do for our good and His glory.

"Lord give us the faith that we need to be delivered from complacency"

What it means to Live by Faith

““Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith” (Hab 2:4 ESV)

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed* instruments.” (Hab 3:17-19 ESV)

God's Accomplishments in our Storms

“Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god.” (Jonah 1:5 ESV) “Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.” (Jonah 1:16 ESV)“Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish,” (Jonah 2:1 ESV)

I believe that the Lord always accomplishes more than one thing in everything that He does. Such is the case in this fierce storm that was threatening the lives of Jonah and his shipmates.

As is the case with most of life's storms, God brought this storm in order to teach men about Himself. It is very obvious from 1:5, that Jonah's shipmates had a theological problem. They believed that there was more than one true God, hence when they became afraid, "each cried out to his god." It is interesting to note that their crying out made no difference in the intensity of their storm. It wasn't a problem with their passion, rather it was a problem with their theology. But in and through this storm, their theology was corrected. By verse 16, they were no longer crying out to their gods, but were rather fearing the one true God, offering Him worship, and making vows to Him. Thus God used this storm to deliver idol worshipers from their idolatry, and bring them into a relationship of worship with Himself.

But these shipmates were not the only ones who needed a correction in their theology. Jonah thought that He could run from the presence of God. (v.3). How foolish to think that a geographical change, would result in an escape from God! In Jonah's case it would take something more dramatic than a life threatening storm to bring him to repentance. It would take being cast into a stormy sea, and then being swallowed by a great fish. Once in the belly of the great fish, Jonah's theology was corrected, and he realized that even there, the Presence of the Lord that He he had been trying to escape, became the only comfort that he had. He cried out to God, and was delivered to fulfill the assignment that He had been given.

May we remember that our storms are never without purpose. God brings them in our lives to accomplish many things, not the least of which is teaching us something about Himself.

"Dear Lord, Thank you for the storms that you have brought in to our lives. Thank you that they are indeed evidences of your mercy to us, in showing us our wrong thinking about you. Help us to learn what we need to learn, and change what needs to be changed through these difficult times."

Rev. 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

It is interesting, that in this scene from eternity, the fact that God created everything is the reason given for why He is worthy to receive glory, honor, and power. We must understand that the meaning of receiving glory, honor and power, is actually ascribing glory, honor and power.

We cannot give glory to God in the sense of making Him more glorious, but we give glory to God in the sense of recognizing and speaking of His Glory.

The King James Bible says, "and for they pleasure the are and were created." Creation exists for one reason only, to reveal the glory of God, and thereby to give Him pleasure. God's greatest pleasure is in His own glory! Creation mirrors back God's glory to Himself, and brings Him pleasure.

I am thankful this morning that God chose to give me existence, and then chose to save me and make me part of His Family. I must confess that my life doesn't always reflect His glory. I "come short of the glory of God" often. But when I confess my sin and repent, God's glory is manifested in that He shows me grace and mercy and forgives me.

I am thankful that my standing is in Christ this day, and therefore no matter what I am guaranteed acceptance with God.

Truly He is good!

Precious Practical Truths about The LORD

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. “ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” (Rev 3:7-8 ESV)

There are several truths about the Lord Jesus Christ that I want to meditate on from this text.

• The Communication of the LORD- The Lord Jesus Christ communicates with His people “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write" In this case and in our case, He communicates with His church in writing. The very life blood of the Christian is communication with and from the Lord Jesus Christ. If we fail to read that which He has written to us we will shrivel up, spiritually and be very susceptible to sin. If we had time we could spend an entire session on how the Lord communicates with His people, and the effect of His communication in their lives.
  
• The Character of the LORD. ‘The words of the holy one, the true one," He is Holy, meaning that He is pure, sinless, and uniquely one of a kind. He is the "different"one. He is true, meaning that He is faithful, and what He says is accurate, and dependable. He will never forsake us or let us down, we can depend upon him moment by moment explicitly.
  
• The authority of the LORD. "who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens." One who has the key is the one who has authority. When the LORD opens the door, no one can shut it, and when he closes the door, no one can open it. If it were not for the Lord opening doors for us, we could not proceed along the road that He would have us to walk down. It is wonderful to realize the no one, not even Satan, can close the doors that the Lord opens for us. It is also true that when the Lord closes the door behind us no enemy can get through it to us, unless He permits them.
  
• The Awareness of the LORD. "I know your works... I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” The Lord know what we have done, and he knows that we have little power. He knows us! Thank God we don't need to have much power, because He has all power! Maybe you are feeling particlarly weak today. That is not a bad thing that is a good thing. In our weakness, His strength is made perfect.

"Lord thank you that you communicate with your people. You are Holy and true. You have all authority, and you are aware of what we have done, and how little our power is."