Summer Soul Care

It’s great to be out of school, to head to vacations, do Project Shine, and camps! It’s a time that can be relaxing, refreshing and recharging. But it can also be a time of drifting and struggling. Summer is a time when routines are broken, and free time is increased. Although there is a lot of excitement, there is also a lot of boredom.

Free time, especially when you are bored, can be the most dangerous time for believers. When routines are broken and you have too much time on your hands, you heart and mind are prone to wander. As the old saying goes, “idle hands are the devil’s playground.”

Often times we develop good routines for the school year, we have class, after school activities, work, homework, and quiet times. We have a schedule and we stay disciplined by holding fast to it. But when the routine is kicked to the curb, often times we allow ourselves to let things go.

Unfortunately, during the busy season we say we will focus on our spiritual life when we are on break. We believe the lie that we don’t have time to do a quiet time when we are busy, but we will make time when we are on break. And then break comes and we continue to forget about God.

Oh Christian, I want to encourage you not to take a vacation from God. Stay disciplined. Use your summer time wisely. Take full advantage of a relaxed schedule to read more of your Bible, to journal about your faith, to read Christian books, to pray and hangout with other believers.

You need it. Your soul needs it. Your soul longs for, thirsts for time with God. Listen to the Psalmist:

Psalm 42:1–2, 5–6

            ¹As a deer pants for flowing streams,

                        so pants my soul for you, O God.

            ²My soul thirsts for God,

                        for the living God.

            When shall I come and appear before God?

            ⁵Why are you cast down, O my soul,

                        and why are you in turmoil within me?

            Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

                        my salvation ⁶and my God.

            My soul is cast down within me;

                        therefore I remember you…

The Psalmist describes the soul thirsting for God, like a deer panting for water. Time with God is to be like a refreshing glass of cold water on a hot summer day, the kind that brings refreshment to your whole body.

He asks, “why are you downcast o my soul?” Have you ever felt like your soul was downcast? Maybe you’ve felt like your soul is dry, or apathetic? He says to put your hope in God by praising Him and remembering Him.

Do you have a desire to be with God? For God to be with you? Have you spent time with God in such a way that you found it to be refreshing? That’s His promise to you, “draw near to God and He will draw near to you!”

Here are some practical steps to draw near to God this summer:

1.     Read and/or Listen to the Bible. I know it sounds pretty basic, that’s because it is. But we overlook it all too often. Consider the “mastering 5 minutes” approach. Every time you have an extra 5 minutes, instead of Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Candy Crush, read a chapter of the Bible.

a.     There are several apps that you can read and/or listen to the Word.

b.     You could do the “Read the Bible in 90 Days” option. Here is a schedule for that, or you can even buy a Bible in 90 Days Bible. It is really devoting 45-60 minutes a day and you will work through the entire Bible in 3 months.

c.     Read 3 chapters of the Gospels every day and work your way through all 4 in 1 month. It’s a great way to fix your eyes on Jesus.

d.     Read one chapter of Proverbs every day for the month of July.

e.     Read through 5 chapters of Psalms every day and you will get through Psalms in a month.

f.      Read reflectively. Checkout www.Examen.me for some cool devotionals (may not open on Google Chrome).

2.     Retreat into nature. You on summer break, consider going for a hike w/o your phone. Just take a Bible and a notebook. Find a spot on the beach, by a river or lake, or in a hammock. Consider the nature God has made and talk to Him about it. Read, write, pray, sing. Try an hour, then two, work your way to a whole day alone with God.

3.     Find a good Christian book about God, life, friendship, etc. Don’t know what book to choose, consider this list – 27 Books Christian Teens Should Read (And Grownups Should Too)

4.     Serve Others. We are headed to Project Shine on Sunday, and it will be a great week to serve others. But we don’t need to be on a missions trip to serve, look around your house, neighborhood and community for ways to serve others.

5.     Share your faith. If your soul feels dry, there’s a good chance it’s because you haven’t shared with others about the goodness and kindness of God found only in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It might be scary, but it will be worth it. Watch your faith transform as you tell others about the God you serve.

There are so many other ways to take care of your soul. The most important thing is that you look to Jesus Christ in your disciplines. That you aren’t trying to do this on your own or to sound spiritual. Come to the fountain of living waters ready to learn, to drink deep, to encounter the living God and you will find refreshment to your soul.

JOSEPH: Forgiveness and Reconcilation

Genesis 42-47

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20).

The story of Joseph, as we have been learning, opens with brothers who are jealous and allowed that jealousy to turn into anger, bitterness, resentment, and then treachery as they sold him into slavery. In doing so, they “killed” their relationship with their brother and deceived their father.

Joseph’s journey began with favor from his father, treachery from his brothers, enslavement to Potiphar, unjustly imprisoned, forgotten, summoned to Pharaoh and elevated to second in the empire.  His journey from the pit to the palace is a story of persistent faithfulness and choices that honor God.

I am sure Joseph was angry at his brothers, but he did not allow anger to turn to bitterness and resentment. Somewhere along the route through the desert, in servitude or even in prison, Joseph learned to forgive his brothers for their sin against him. He began to see God working in and through all the events that transpired. Although the text doesn’t walk us through his thought process and heart change, we see in his responses to his brothers the result of God working forgiveness in Joseph.

Danger: Anger

Anger is a dangerous emotion and we have to learn how we can surrender it to the Lord. I personally am always suspect of my anger, knowing that "the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God" (James 1:20). When we don't deal with anger in a godly way, it has a way of turning into bitterness and resentment. These produce caustic attitudes and actions that destroy others and ruin our lives. Ultimately, it can lead to murder, not necessarily a literal murder, but the death of a relationship.

This was the course of action that Joseph's brothers took, and Joseph could have walked that same path. But his attitude and actions demonstrated that Joseph has allowed his knowledge of God to shape his life:

"But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing" (James 1:25).

Testing: Forgiveness and Reconciliation

As second to Pharaoh, Joseph was placed in charge of securing food for the famine season. Now the famine has come to Egypt and the surrounding territories. The world is coming to Joseph for food, and this included his brothers. The dreams Joseph had early in his life have now come to fruition.

His brothers come to get food for the rest of their family and they do not realize that it is Joseph whom they are asking for food. They have come to believe their own lie, that their brother is dead. Joseph demonstrated a form of forgiveness without their repentance as he acted kindly toward them.

Forgiving others is commanded by God for all believers. It is to become second nature to the forgiven. God forgave us of much, surely, we can forgive others the wrongs they committed against us (Matthew 18:21-35). Forgiveness is as much for you and your heart as it is for others. It is the act of surrendering it to God, open handedly laying it down at the foot of the cross and not holding it over another person. Just as God doesn’t hold our sins against us, we need to learn to let go of others’ sin and not hold it over them.

Now forgiveness is not the same thing as reconciliation. Forgiveness is needed to start the reconciliation process, but reconciliation needs both parties to participate in order to be successful. Reconciliation is a process of learning to trust and mend the relationship. It’s hard to “forgive and forget,” which I am not convinced we can do. We forgive and we learn, and only when both parties learn do we see them reconcile.

Joseph, though he has forgiven his brothers, doesn’t trust them. So, he puts them unknowingly through a series of tests to see if they are repented for their sins and have learned from their wrongs. The test required risks, but provided opportunities for Joseph to learn about his family, provide for his family and bless his family.

Trust is something that is earned. It can take a lifetime to earn it and only a momentary mistake to lose it. As parents trust their children, the give them more freedoms. As teens disobey they break the trust. When you find yourself in a place where you lost the trust of your parents, or someone else, understand that you need to earn that trust back. It can take time and diligence, but it is possible. Don’t just demand freedom and trust, demonstrate the fact that you have learned and have grown through the circumstance.

The testing Joseph gave demonstrated that indeed his brothers have changed and were no longer the jealous and angry mob they were. Now they have grown protective of their younger brother Benjamin and honor their aging father. It is only then that Joseph reveals his true identity to them with tears of compassion and a loving embrace.

Joseph’s forgiveness was not based on his own strength or compassion, but on the promises of God”

“And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life” (Genesis 45:5).

Joseph recognized that God was at work and used his brothers’ sin against him to further His plan for the world. He saw that God was faithful to His promises and gained the strength to overcome the hardships he faced and the sins of his family by trusting in God.

Redemption: Promised and Provided

God’s plan of redemption promised Jacob that his family would be a blessing to the entire world. The story of Joseph shows how God works through an individual’s life, the ups and the downs, and fulfills His promises. Although we can learn much from Joseph the man, we have far more to learn from the God who is orchestrating events for His glory and our greatest good. Joseph’s story shows how faith in God can give an individual power to overcome, but it points us to another Son who encountered injustice, imprisonment and death.

Jesus was unjustly arrested, tried and put to death by sinners whom He came to save. Unlike Joseph, Jesus knew what He was getting into when He came to this world to demonstrate His love for us. He lived a perfect and sinless life in order to provide the perfect sacrifice for sin. He willingly substituted Himself for us when He died on the cross and shed His blood for our sin. When He arose from the dead on the third day, He demonstrated power over death and sin.

It is because He rose again that we know that we can be forgiven and reconciled to God. It is because of His resurrection and forgiveness to us that we can have the power to forgive and be reconciled to others. It’s not an easy task, but persistent faithfulness and choices to honor God will lead to seeing His power overcome the most impossible circumstances. God brought Joseph and his family back together, will you trust Him to do the same in your life?

A Story of Reconcilation

JOSEPH: Persevering in Faithfulness

Genesis 40-41 Joseph Interprets Dreams

It is easy to get discouraged in life, isn’t it? I am prone to think negatively and defeated thoughts when life circumstances don’t go my way. I can become self-focused and develop an Eeyore mentality if I am not careful.

I guess that is why I find it comforting when someone I respect as an ardent follower of Christ admits to struggling with similar feelings. I shouldn’t be surprised by it because it is very human to have emotional responses, doubts, fears and struggles.

But we are tempted to read about Biblical characters who did amazing things for God and think, “there is no way I could do what they did.” We read the short story and assume they are super believers who don’t struggle the way we do.

I find it easy to read through the story of Joseph and think that being faithful to God in tough circumstances was so easy for him. But we need to caution ourselves not to forget that he is human too.

Joseph would have had bad days too. We read about how Joseph depended on God and rose above the bad days. Consider what he says in Genesis 40:14-15, I’ll paraphrase. “When you see, Pharaoh tell him what I did and get me out of this dump. I don’t deserve this. I didn’t do anything wrong and I want out.” In that we can hear his pain, his emotions that resonate with us all.

If Joseph would have allowed negative feelings, depression and fear to overcome him in prison then we would not be reading about him today. Instead he chose to do something, to stay active and to trust God.

When I feel depressed, I know that I will feel like doing nothing, sleep all day and try to forget things. But knowing myself, I make myself get up, hit the gym, get out of the house and do something so my thoughts and feelings don’t overwhelm my day.

That’s what Joseph did at the end of Genesis 39 when he was in prison; he got to work. It’s because of his faithfulness to God and his work ethic that gave him the opportunity to meet two of Pharaoh’s officers.

Two Dreams Two Years

The cupbearer and the baker did something to offend Pharaoh, so he threw them in prison. While in prison, on the same night, they both had dreams that troubled them. Joseph sought to care for them and asked them what was wrong, so they told him they didn’t understand their dreams.

Joseph used this an opportunity to point them to the one true God and he declared that God has the power to interpret dreams when he asked them, “Don’t all interpretations belong to God?”

They told him their dreams and he rightly interpreted both. The baker would be put to death for his crimes in 3 days. The cupbearer would be returned to Pharaoh’s side in 3 days. Joseph asked the cupbearer to speak kindly of him to Pharaoh that he might be released from prison.

Three days later all these events transpired as Joseph predicted. Yet the cupbearer forgot about Joseph.

Better Late Than Never

Again, we encounter another reason for Joseph to be discouraged. He was forgotten by the cupbearer, but not by God. It’s so important that we remember in times of discouragement that God doesn’t work according to our plans, but his purpose is greater and his ways are deeper then we could imagine.

What if the cupbearer in his excitement from being released from prison, told Pharaoh right away? We don’t know how Pharaoh would have responded. He could have completely dismissed the cupbearer and told him he wanted nothing to do with a Hebrew slave.

But two years later, Pharaoh had two dreams that none of his wise men could interpret. That’s when the cupbearer remembered what Joseph had done for him. Joseph was remembered and was brought before Pharaoh.

God’s Wisdom Trumps Man’s Wisdom

Long story short, Joseph tells Pharaoh that God gives the interpretation of dreams and informs Pharaoh that his dreams were a message from God about what is about to happen. Seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of famine. Joseph instructs Pharaoh to assign a wise person to oversee the years of plenty so that they will have enough food for all the land during the years of famine.

Pharaoh sees the wisdom of God in Joseph and appoints him as second in the kingdom. And Joseph did what he always does, he got to work.

From being a betrayed brother sold as a slave, to a unfair imprisonment, to forgotten in jail and now the second most powerful man in the Egyptian empire, Joseph continued to remain faithful to his God.

His story is a reminder to us that God doesn’t call us to do the miraculous, he calls us to be faithful. What we will see is that when we are faithful to the little things, trusting God, remembering Him, giving glory to Him, telling others about Him, surrendering to Him, we will see Him do the miraculous through our lives.