Thursday Thought -- October 10, 2013

Good Morning Friends,

"Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, 'Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.' His brothers said to him, 'Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?' And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. 'Listen,' he said, 'I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.' When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, 'What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?' His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind." (Genesis 37:5-11)

Jacob had 12 sons, but not all of them were given the same responsibility by God. Joseph would be a leader and the other 11 sons would be followers. That is what God ordained. Was it fair? That's not the question, it is what God ordained, that's all that matters.

Not everyone is given the same responsibility in life. Some are called to be leaders and others are not. Some are given great and obvious gifts and some people have gifts that aren’t as obvious or great. Are those things fair? That really is not the question, it is what God has ordained, that's all that matters.

Joseph's brothers were jealous of the position Joseph was being called to. Yet think of the position God had in mind for Joseph and the sacrifices God would require of him to make it a reality. Joseph would be sold into slavery, serve in the household of another, be thrown into prison on a false charge, and only then would Joseph finally be raised to leadership. And it was leadership away from his own family and away from all he knew and loved. The price of leadership was high for Joseph. The price of God’s call on his life was huge. I'm not sure he would have chosen it if he had known how much it would cost him! But it was what God ordained.

There will be those around you who will be given responsibility that you are not given. Some will be leaders, others followers. Remember – that is how God ordains it!

His, by Grace,

Steve