A "God's-Eye-View" Of Life

SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 50:15 - 21

“When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?’  So they sent word to Joseph, saying, ‘Your father left these instructions before he died:  This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly. Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.’ When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. ‘We are your slaves,’ they said.

But Joseph said to them, ‘Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.  So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.”

OBSERVATION:

Life is so much better when you live it with a “God’s-eye-view”!  If you don’t have the perspective of God as life happens you become trapped as a victim of circumstances.  You have no choice but to be bitter when bad things happen.  You are stuck with sorrow when you are wounded and hurt.  Your default is feeling is fear when faced with the unknown.  You are stuck, or at best have very limited options on how to feel and respond to your negative circumstances.

Imagine Joseph’s circumstances with his brothers.  If he did not have a “God’s-eye-view” of his life things would have played out very differently for him and his brothers.  His father’s death would have been the perfect opportunity for him to exact his revenge.  His brother’s did not like the prophetic dream that they would bow down to their little brother - they hated it.  That hatred transfered from the dream to Joseph himself.  They sold him into slavery which set a course of painful, hard, and hurtful circumstances.  Circumstances that did not reflect the word/dream that Joseph had.

Joseph stayed open to the fact that God was behind this and sure enough found himself directly in the center of God’s plan for his life.  God used this extremely difficult path to lead Joseph into his God given purpose - one of huge influence in world affairs; one that saved many lives and propelled the people of God into the future God had for them.  This act of anger from their brother’s is what set things in motion to accomplish God’s big picture and small picture - it is also what caused them to bow down before their little brother just as the dream depicted. God is so clever!

APPLICATION:

I need to have a “God’s-eye-view” as well.  To put up with my negative circumstances while looking for God behind the scenes - orchestrating, working, moving me closer to His “big picture” purpose for my life.

PRAYER:

Father, thank you that you are always close.  You are never removed from my circumstances but always working in the midst of them.  Help me to not give up hope or come to the end of my rope before I find your hand at work.  Holy Spirit, reassure me that there is a bigger purpose than I can see, then help me see it.  In Jesus name - Amen!