Your Turn-Around

Joseph’s turn-around in the pit happened suddenly.


Verse 28 "Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt."

One minute he was in the pit, one minute he was in the dark, one minute it was terminal, one minute it looked like the end, and suddenly everything changed.
 Suddenly he was standing in the sunshine and he was lifted out of the pit.

 God is saying that you are standing on the verge of a sudden turn-around that is going to change everything you ever anticipated or expected.



Peter fished all night and caught nothing, but in one act of obedience (suddenly) he went from nothing to too much.


-He went from empty nets to breaking nets.


-He went from an empty boat to a sinking boat due to the size of his catch.

-He from loss to profit.

-He went from weeping to rejoicing.

-He went from a loser to a winner.

And it all happened suddenly. Just like that at the lowest point in Josephs life physically and spiritually, God stepped in.

Psalm 27:5 "For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock."



Acts 16:16-26 “And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.”

One minute in prison, but the next set free. God is the master of turn around. Will you let Him do it for you?

Praise Your Way Out Of Your Pit (Part 2)

One man was responsible for Joseph’s pit and it was his brother Rueben. 

Verses 21, 22 "And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again."

It was Rueben, the eldest brother, that suggested they throw Joseph in the pit rather than take his life. Rueben was there when Joseph was thrown into the pit, but he was not there when he was lifted out.



Verse 29 “And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.”

Rueben was surprised and shocked because he saw him go into the pit. He saw him struggling and begging to be delivered from the pit, but now he’s looking into that same pit expecting to see Joseph full of fear and confusion crying and begging to be delivered only Joseph wasn’t there.

 There are some people who saw you in the pit. There are some people that even helped put you in the pit, and they have watched you struggling, and pushing, and scratching and clawing trying to climb your way out.  When they left you were in the pit and the last time they saw you were in a mess.



I don’t know what that pit is for you today:


-It may be a pit of debt. 


-It may be a pit of sickness.


-It may be a pit of bondage or addiction.


-It may be a pit of despair or depression.


-It may be a pit of marriage problems that looks so deep and so dark and impossible that you feel like giving up.


-It may be a spiritual pit and you just don’t feel God like you used to, and you’re dry. 

-I don’t know what your pit because they come in all different shapes and sizes.


-I don’t know what that pit is for you; but I want you to look at your neighbor and tell them I’ve spent my last night in the pit.



Psalm 30:5 “Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.”



Rueben came back to the pit where he last saw Joseph and Joseph wasn’t there. He was distraught because he thought the worse had happened and that Joseph was dead. 

There are some people that thought they knew you pretty good. They thought they knew where to look for you. They even talked about your pitiful condition to other people. But that was yesterday.


-Yesterday you were in the pit.


-Yesterday it looked like you were going to die in the pit.


-Yesterday you felt like you were going to die in the pit.



Hear a Word from God.


-You hear Joseph say: Don’t you dare die in the Pit.


-You hear Joseph say: The fall doesn’t have to be fatal; it just delays the blessings.



-Don’t quit dreaming.


-Don’t quit believing.


-Don’t quit trusting.


-Don’t quit expecting.



It looked like Joseph was going to die in the pit, and it felt like Joseph was going to die in the pit, but through a turn of circumstances in a matter of minutes Joseph was up out of the pit on solid ground.
 I want to tell you God is going to turn it around:


-I don’t know how He’s going to do it
,

-I don’t know when He’s going to do it
,

-I don’t know who He’s going to use to do it

, 

but God’s going to turn it around. 

If you learn anything from the Bible it is that God is a God of the turn-around. From Genesis to Revelation God is always turning things around for those that trust in Him. 

Proverbs 3:5, 6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

When You Are At The Bottom Of The Well(Part 2)

When you are in a well the best view is up. You can look at the mud at the bottom of the well, but that’s just plain depressing. You can focus on the barren walls that have no foothold and that is discouraging. But looking up can help you see a lot of things. It helps you to see God. You know too often God is an afterthought in the good life. When everything is going well, you have a great job, healthy kids, a loving spouse, you kind of figure that you deserve it. After all you are a nice person, you’ve worked hard. But when things take a turn for the worse, you lose your job, your kids get sick, or your marriage starts to fail then it’s a horse of a different color. Then you have God on speed dial. 

Sometimes it takes a turn for the worse in order for us to discover the truth that David acknowledged in Psalm 121:1, 2 when he said, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth."

And so if being at the bottom of the well teaches us to rely on God then it’s a cheap lesson. But looking up also causes us to see beyond the present reality to a preferred future. It’s easy when you are in the well to look around at the dark walls and the murky bottom and think: this is it, it will never get any better I might as well just give up and die. But if you look up you see the blue of the sky above. You can look beyond the bottom of the well and beyond the walls and see where you could be and should be. Visualize what it will be like to be out of the pit, walking around enjoying the sunshine and getting on with life. You can’t dwell on the negative forever, so look up. Things will change is you trust God.



Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."



There are worse places to be then at the bottom of the well. When you look down and see the ground let it remind you that you are still on the right side of the grass. I tell people if when you look in the mirror in the morning and there’s someone looking back that’s not a bad way to start the day. 

Matthew Henry was an English preacher and Author in the late 1600s one day while travelling he was robbed and I love what he said in response to his misfortune “I thank Thee first because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth because it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed.” 



Remember it could always be worse.



While Jeremiah’s at the bottom of the well no doubt wondering if anyone cares about him there is someone who is going to bat for him. Ebed-melech a high official in the court heard what had happened to Jeremiah and goes to the king and says you can’t allow this to happen, and the King arranges for Jeremiah to be pulled from the pit. It’s when you are down that you find out who your friends really are. 
 It’s always disappointing to find out who doesn’t stick with you, but at least you know where you stand. But it is so refreshing to know that there are people who will stick with you through thick and thin. And if there are no friends waiting for you at the top of the well keep in mind Jesus’ words in John 15:15 "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you."

At The Bottom Of The Well (Part 1)

Jeremiah 38:6 “Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.”

Jeremiah was born in a small village about an hour's walk from Jerusalem. He was called as a young man to speak for God. During his life Jeremiah saw Israel turn from God and in turn it was defeated internally by immorality and externally by military might. He saw Jerusalem captured and pillaged and its residents forced into slavery or exile. He tried to warn Israel of their fate, yet they ignored Jeremiah’s warnings and pleas to turn back to God.



Now the problem with being a prophet is that it doesn’t necessarily make you the most popular kid on the block. You see the prophet’s message is not one of motherhood, apple pie and lower taxes. Prophets preach turn or burn messages, prophets don’t preach feel good sermons. After one particular sermon that Jeremiah preached the powers that be decided that he wasn’t doing a great deal for public morale and so they decided to do something about it. 

Here's what he preached:

Verses 2, 3 "Thus saith the Lord, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. Thus saith the Lord, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it."

Now in the church tradition of today if you don’t like the preacher you call the Head Bishop and ask for a change. Obviously this was a different time and different place because they threw him into an empty cistern, which is like a well. It wouldn’t have been right for them to kill a prophet of God, but if he was at the bottom of a well without food and starved to death, then whose fault was that?

So Jeremiah looks up and all he could see was a circle of blue. He looked down and watched the mud squish between his toes. And he wondered how he had ended up at the bottom of a pit hated by the very people he wanted to save.

Some people know what it’s like to look at the world from the bottom of a well.

-Maybe it was your fault and maybe it wasn’t that you ended up there, but that doesn’t change the fact that the bottom of the well is not a nice place to be.

-Maybe you did all you could to better things, but you still became a victim of circumstance.

-Maybe others made promises that people expect you to fulfill, but you just don't have those abilities and instead of understanding you received rejection.

Pardon the grammar, but it ain't no fun at the bottom of the well. All you can hope for is mercy and that someone will reach down and pull you up and out.

When you've fallen into the mire at the bottom of the well and you can't go any lower than you already are there's someone who can help you. His name is Jesus.

Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Count Your Blessings

Psalms 92:1 “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:”

Gratitude fosters true forgiveness, which is when you can sincerely say, “Thank you for that experience. It makes no sense to condemn or regret an important life lesson. Gratitude makes sense of yesterday, brings peace to the present, and creates a positive vision for tomorrow.

You never need more than you have at any given moment. The highest form of prayer is giving thanks.  Instead of praying for more things, give thanks for what you already have been blessed with. When life gives you every reason to be negative, think of one good reason to be positive.There’s always something to be grateful for and God can help you find it even in the worst situation.

Whatever you appreciate and give thanks for will grow stronger in your life. The more you are in a state of gratitude, the more you will attract things to be grateful for. Be grateful for what you have, and you’ll end up having more. Focus on what you don’t have, and you’ll never have enough.

Being happy won’t always make you grateful, but being grateful will always make you happy. It’s nearly impossible to sincerely appreciate a moment and frown about it at the same time. To be happy right now doesn’t mean you don’t desire more, but it means you’re grateful for what you have and patiently waiting for what’s yet to come.

Always count your blessings. You will find out they out number the things you don't have by a mile.

Yesterday

Psalms 90:4 “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.”

Whatever you do, don’t live with yesterday’s stress,  just live past it.  

-You cannot change what has already happened, but you can let it make you stronger and more determined in the new day ahead.

-The journey to emotional clarity requires that you review the events in your life to find the wisdom and purpose they contain and then press on.

A time will inevitably come in your life when in the midst of all your hesitation and frustration you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out, “ENOUGH!”  This is the turning point that ultimately leads to healing and growth from yesterday's disappointments and the promises of a new tomorrow.

So as you begin each new day, close the door on yesterday, open the door to your future, take a deep breath, take a step forward, and start a new chapter in your life.

Ecclesiastes 3:15 “That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”

Amazing Things

Isaiah 44:21 “Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.”

Easy days don’t exist when you’re doing amazing things.  

-God's goals require hard work. Your work for God may be enjoyable, but there will always be unexpected obstacles.  Expecting otherwise just leads to unnecessary headaches and heartache.

-You don't waste time. Each day you cherish the moments you rise above your difficulties and conquer goals of any magnitude for the Kingdom of God.

-You dream of the strength you find within yourself that allows you to achieve what once seemed impossible. Your hopes become reality as your faith increases. Every battle prepares you for the next one. With each conflict your spiritual strength grows larger as your trust in God becomes more anchored.

So don’t do what’s easy-anybody can do that. Do what you’re capable of today.  Astound yourself with the greatness God has placed in you. 

Philippians 4:13  “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”