indeed

Promotions in Disguise

I know a lot of people right now who are going through what Joseph experienced — a promotion that looks an awful lot like a devastating setback. Remember Joseph? He had God-given dreams, and as soon as he shared them, he was betrayed by his brothers, thrown into a dry well, then sold as a slave. He ended up in Egypt first as a slave and then as a prisoner. When it looked like he was finally about to be given an opportunity to get out of prison, he was forgotten and remained captive two more years. 

That's a lot of time to think about how you've been betrayed — by others or even by God. When God has given you dreams and then everything in life goes in the opposite direction, it looks like you completely misunderstood God, that somehow blew the opportunities He gave you, or that He somehow abandoned you. But every step of the way, Joseph was being promoted. Sure, it looked like slavery and imprisonment were steps down the ladder, not up. But in God's kingdom, each test of character and faith is a stepping stone toward the destiny He has designed us for. Joseph's last two years in prison were the ultimate test of his faith. And though he didn't realize it, he was closer to his dreams than ever. What looks like a setback is often the last stage in our preparation for a fulfilled calling.

Remember that if you're going through a hard trial right now. Be encouraged. Pass the tests of character and faith, and see what God does. You could not bear the weight of what God is going to do in your life if He did not refine you in the fires of time and trials. Those who inherit God's promises inherit them by faith and patience (Hebrews 6:12, a verse I mentioned in my last post that seems to keep coming up in my life). Even if you feel like you're confined in your circumstances, hold on. The next step may be the fulfillment of what God has placed in your heart. 

The Promiser

On a recent episode of The Office, the lead character Michael Scott had promised a class of third-graders that if they finished high school and got accepted to college, he would pay their tuition. That was 10 years ago, and now the promise was due. The students invited him to the school for a celebration of "Michael Scott Day," and they honored the man who would make their dreams come true. But Michael didn't have the resources to fulfill his promise—never did, even when he first made it—and he had to retract the promise in humiliating fashion. Afterward, a student approached him and asked a pointed question: "Who does that? Who promises that to a bunch of kids and then doesn't come through like that?"

Indeed, who does that? When an extravagant promiser doesn't come through, the result is tragic (or, in a sitcom, the butt of jokes). But do you realize how often we see God like that—as a promiser who doesn't come through for us? He has given us "very great and precious promises," according to 2 Peter 1:4, but we hardly know what to do with them. We assume they are accompanied by theological fine print and call them mysteries. That's simply a way of reassuring ourselves when God seemingly hasn't delivered on His word, a means to hold on to the truth that He doesn't lie in spite of the appearance that He might have.

But real faith is stubborn. It keeps pressing into what God has promised. No fine print, no theological caveats, no divine games of bait-and-switch. We have to remember that the Promised Land was inherited by those who endured through "faith and patience" (Hebrews 6:12). If God has made a concrete promise, expect a concrete fulfillment. No matter how long it takes, no matter how many obstacles you face, believe what He has said. Endure. Hold on. Why? Because God is not like Michael Scott. He means what He says, and He has the resources to follow through on it.

Giving Thanks

As you give thanks this week, consider the following benefits of gratitude:

• It cultivates a positive perspective.

• It starves a negative perspective and eliminates cynicism and pessimism.

• It acknowledges truth — that we have been blessed.

• It takes your eyes off of yourself and puts them on God.

• It brings us in line with God's will (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

• It transforms your attitude and puts you in a position to receive more from God with a right heart.

• It increases awareness of God's presence.

When life is hard, it's easy to get cynical — to focus on what God hasn't done rather than what He has done. The result is a glass-half-empty perspective that keeps getting worse; the more we look at the empty half of the glass, the emptier the whole thing looks. Gratitude may be the only way to get out of that downward spiral. The act of giving thanks has a transforming effect. It's an intentional focus on what God has already done. When we choose to give thanks, we are aligning ourselves with truth and fulfilling God's will. Gratitude reverses the negative snowball effect and spins it in the opposite direction. The result is a growing awareness of God's gifts and an increasing sense of His presence.

Remember that on Thursday — and every day, for that matter. God gives good gifts for our enjoyment. One of the best ways to honor Him is to actually enjoy them.

A New Resource

The new book is here! For the fourth time, past readings from indeed have been compiled into a devotional book: The One Year Wonder of the Cross: 365 daily readings to renew your faith. All four of the books coming from the magazine have been published by Tyndale. Check out the details at http://estore.rrd.com/WalkThruTheBible/product.aspx?guid=18c317cd-ca2d-4b97-9cad-b63ce836eca9& .

Wilderness and Destiny

I've been studying the life of David and am reminded that after he had received the promise of becoming king, he spent quite a bit of time in the wilderness -- protected and preserved, but also prevented from stepping into his destiny. Seems like a common biblical theme: Joseph's years in prison, Israel's years of wandering, etc. It appears that every Promised Land, even every promise itself, is preceded by a wilderness of some kind; and the greater the promise, the longer and more painful the wilderness. If you're in one of those wilderness times, let that be an encouragement. This is normal for someone who is called to a great destiny.

Prequel to Victory

God has been teaching me an extremely hard lesson—not a complicated lesson, but very unnatural one: Learn to see every negative thing that happens as a prequel to victory rather than as a sign of defeat. That's what faith does—it looks at adversity through those lenses. That's easy to understand and very difficult to do. But because faith is so vital to the kingdom of God, it's absolutely essential. 

Surviving Our Victories

I've heard two sermons from different preachers in the last couple of weeks that emphasized the same theme: "don't become a head case when God gives you a victory." The point is a good one -- we often cry out in desperation for breakthrough in some area of life, and then when God gives it, we take His response as an endorsement of everything we do and everything we say, as though the answer to prayer validated everything about us. The result is a lot of pride, which causes us to lose the very thing that God responded to in the first place: our desperation and dependence. It's no wonder God waits so long to give us what we ask for sometimes. We have a hard time handling victory.

Desperation and dependence are good attitudes to have. They qualify us to receive things from God that we wouldn't otherwise receive. The trick is to keep those attitudes when everything is going great -- when God is answering prayer and blessing us with our heart's desires. We need to remember our desperation after God comes through for us, not just before He does. It keeps us in position to continue to hear and receive from Him. 

'As We Are One'

Jesus declared in John 10:30 that He and the Father were "one." What does that mean? One in essence? in purpose? in character? From His other statements throughout the gospels, it's clear that He meant all of these. As Hebrews and Colossians tell us later, He is the exact image of His Father -- the high-resolution photograph of God. The "oneness" between Father and Son is as tight and intimate and united as a relationship can get.

So it's astounding later in the gospel of John when Jesus prays to His Father about His followers: "that they may be one as we are one" (17:22). In other words, Jesus asks that we would have the same kind of closeness with Him as He has with the Father. Wow.

Most Christians read this verse as a call to Christian unity. While I think that's implied and certainly a good message, I don't think it's primarily what Jesus had in mind. The focus isn't being "one" with each other; it's being "one" with Him. How? In the same way He is one with the Father -- in essence, in purpose, in character, in actions and attitudes and thoughts and feelings and everything else. (Some people may have a problem with the "one in essence" part of that last sentence, but if we're born of His Spirit, we are of the same essence just as we are of the same essence as our natural parents by being born to them physically.) This is a call to be as bonded with the Father and Son and Spirit as they are with each other.

Try to let that sink in. It has amazing implications for your life. Don't let it simply be a theory or a Christian ideal that's too high to attain. It's not meant to be a theological belief, it's meant to be an experience. Jesus wouldn't have prayed it if it wasn't possible for us. Ask for that, believe it, and experience it.

Battle Cry

One of my favorite Winston Churchill quotes is simple but powerful: "Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never -- in nothing, great or small, large or petty -- never give in." It was good advice in the context World War II. It's even better advice for whatever spiritual battle you're facing today. Just a reminder that regardless of what life throws at you, enduring is a victory in itself.

Hope-Colored Lenses

Have you noticed that you tend to look at life through whatever lenses you're wearing when you wake up in the morning? If you wake up discouraged, for the next few hours everything looks discouraging. If you wake up aggravated, everything gets on your nerves. If you wake up encouraged, life looks great. 

I think this is why a lot of Psalms speak of what we do "in the morning." For example, "I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble" (Psalm 59:16). It's a choice to reset your mind on truth. When you do, the rest of the day takes on a different flavor.

I'm not naturally a morning person, and I've always been annoyed at those who insist that meaningful time with God has to happen before breakfast. Those conversations can happen any time of the day. But I do believe in the value of getting our minds out of "default" mode as early as possible in the day. We need to put on the right perspective—lenses of faith, hope, and love—in the morning. All of life looks different when we do.