Living in the Spirit
August 5, 2020
Scripture Reading:
Psalm 105: 1-6, 16-22, 45b
When he summoned famine against the land,
and broke every staff of bread,
he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
His feet were hurt with fetters,
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord kept testing him.
The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house,
and ruler of all his possessions,
to instruct his officials at his pleasure,
and to teach his elders wisdom. –Psalm 105:16-22
God is perseverant. Paul encourages all of us to be perseverant as we work in God’s service. The Psalmist today tells us that perseverance is part of being made in God’s image. Whatever numskull thing we do as individuals or as communities of faith or as nations, God does not give up on us.
Joseph was arrogant about his skills and abilities and particularly his place in his father’s heart. His brothers overreacted in their response. First threatening to kill him and later selling him into slavery. I doubt that neither Joseph nor his brother’s behavior, pleased God. Yet, God continues to strive with them. Joseph grew in wisdom in how to quell his abilities to address specific situations. His brothers had to live with the sorrow of their father until he was reunited with Joseph. But God persevered seeing the potential in this family, hanging with them through all the ups and downs of Israel from Egypt to Mt. Sinai to Jerusalem under David to exile and back again. God still perseveres with all God’s followers to this day.
That brings us to the question, do we give up on God? Throughout the history of God, humans have turned away from God and shaped gods in images they prefer. While walking through the ruins of Ephesus and several museums in Turkey a few years ago, I viewed the statues of the gods of antiquity. Today they are weather-worn and damaged. I could not help wondering why anyone would bow down and worship large carved pieces of rock? Today we worship fewer statuary things preferring the idols of money and power.
Jesus saw that even in his time on earth. No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Matthew 6:24)
1 Timothy 6:10 words it this way, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
And Paul addresses the various challenges of the world that beset us in following in Ephesians 6:12, For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
If God does not give up on us, we must not give up on God and fall into the traps of the world.
Prayer: Lord, as we look back over history, we recognized that you have saved your people from far worse than we are facing right now, but these trying times are the difficulty we face. Strengthen our perseverance in your services in the living of these days. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.