Blog Entry dated 25/01/2008 9:58

DON’T PANIC... TRUST
by Charles R. Swindoll

Read Genesis 41:41-46

This is an excellent opportunity to shift the scene for a moment and look at all this from the perspective of the guy who's out working in the fields, moving stones for one of those interminable, ever-ongoing pyramid projects. He knows nothing at all about what's just happened in the dungeon and throne room. All he knows is that some young upstart, some foreigner, has maneuvered his way into Pharaoh's good graces. And he is being told, "Bow your knee to this man!"

"Oh, man, look at that!" whispers the workman. "Who does he think he is? Who did he bribe to get all this? He must know somebody. That's the way it is up there in the court."

Given that same situation, we'd probably think the same thing. Back in the Vietnam era, we often heard the phrase, "Never trust anyone over thirty." Today, given the large segment of aging populace, we are more likely to hear, "Never trust anyone under thirty."

But what we can't see from our limited perspective is what God has been doing on the inside. That worker in the field doesn't know---doesn't have the slightest idea---what has gone on before in Joseph's life, nor is he even aware of his years in the dungeon. He doesn't know about Joseph's faithfulness when nobody else was around.

Joseph has been appointed, chosen, selected, prepared, and refined into gold by Almighty God. That's how he has come to wear the ring. That's how he has come to get the robe, the necklace, and the chariot. That's why others are saying, "Bow the knee." Joseph himself isn't saying that; others are.

I wonder what Joseph was thinking at that moment. I believe he was saying to himself over and over, "Praise be to God." I think he was tallying up all the things God had taught him in the past thirty years, things God also wants to teach us.

During the waiting period, trust God without panic. Count on Him to handle the cupbearers of your life, the people who forget you, the people who break their promises. It's God's job to deal with the cupbearers of your past. It's your job to be the kind of servant He has designed you to be. Be faithful during the waiting periods of life. God will not forget you or forsake you.

Reprinted by permission. Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Purchase "Day by Day" here.

Blog Entry dated 16/01/2008 18:18

Stepping Out
by Tim Archer

  It's called rappelling. It's the means by which you walk down a near-vertical surface with the aid of a rope around your body. I was fifteen when I did it. I don't think I'll do it again.

Let me state up front that I have some fear of heights. Not like the lady I knew in Argentina that couldn't stand up when she was on the ninth floor of an apartment building. But if I'm in a situation where I can picture myself falling, I definitely experience heightened anxiety.

My rappelling episode started off with me having to walk off the top of a cliff. Backwards. Slowly but surely I made my way down the rock face, with an ever-growing appreciation of the power of prayer. About halfway down, I saw one of the staff members from the camp that I was participating in; he was perched on a nearby ledge. "You need to go to your left," he told me. "That's easy for you to say," I thought to myself. I was near a protrusion; going to my left meant stepping out in space for a moment or two. Going to my right kept my feet on the solid face of the mountain. You guessed it: I went to my right. Later, when I was about fifteen feet from the bottom, I ran out of rope. By not following the staff member's instructions, I had gotten the rope snagged on a rock and could no longer reach my destination.

We have to go beyond what we can see and touch.

The ending to the story is less than dramatic; within five minutes or so, the rope was freed and I was able to get down. But I often think back to that moment of decision, when I had to choose between the uncertainty of stepping out in space and the safety of what I could see and feel. It helps me to sympathize with people who face that same decision in their spiritual lives. How much easier it would be if we could take God to the laboratory, place Him under a microscope and prove His existence once and for all. How comforting it would be to have an undeniable certificate of authenticity from God showing that the Bible is true in every way. How convenient it would be if faith were not required, if we could operate only on what we can see and feel. But it's not that way; to find God we have to step out in faith.

Let me, like that camp staffer years ago, encourage you to step out in space. Go beyond what our senses perceive and step out in faith. I and many others can tell you that God is there, that He is real and He is waiting for you. Take a chance, reach out and find Him; don't wait until you reach the end of your rope!