Psa 105:17-22 : He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.
Nobody starts off in life thinking of being a failure! Everyone wants to succeed at one point or the other. No one comes out in life and says ‘I want to be a failure’.
In life our travelling bags are so full and equipped for the throne (though this could mean several things to each of us). We have all the gadgets, tools and equipment for the palace. The crown we will wear in the Palace is ready; the way we will talk, walk and laugh when we have been promoted to the Palace has all been practiced. Our shoes are polished and shining. We are fully equipped for the palace as we should be but sometimes we find ourselves in the slums of life. All of a sudden we search through that big nice kingly bag of ours and are shocked to find out we were never prepared for this place!
The slums met us by surprise! We have no choice but to wear our kingly cloths here if we still have them.
Joseph was like that. Imagine dreaming big. Expecting a day to come when your mean big brothers are going to bow before you, your dad and Mum too but all of a sudden you end up in slavery!
Joseph started on top, landed at the bottom but got to the top again. How did he start at the top? Well He was the favoured son of his father. He stayed at home while his brothers toiled in the heat. He had a coat of many colours made just for him. As if he had not been blessed enough by his earthly father, God gave him big dreams about his future. He had it made and was still going to make it!
But in one day, he lost it all. His coat was stripped from him. He was sold into slavery, which took away the comfort of his father’s house; His dreams seemed aborted. Joseph was an example of a man that had gone from Hero to Zero! Well, at least for a while.
But please note that Joseph did not know how his story was going to end. He did not have the privilege of knowing that one day he will end in the palace except for the vision that God gave him. When he was sold into slavery, no angel told him he would end up a chief servant in Potiphar’s house. No one told him that his not giving in to Mrs. Potiphar would move him closer to his destiny. No one gave him the inside story about his life.
The only thing that Joseph had, just like you and I, was the word of God. He was just assured of God’s promise and word over his life. But unlike us, though he was not experiencing the reality of that word, he fought to keep his relationship with God!
Yet Joseph’s ability to respond correctly to the negative situation he found himself made him a candidate for the palace.
I really had a hard time choosing a scripture for this write-up because there are several examples of men who had similar experiences.
Moses went from palace to wilderness and then took up the occupation of being a shepherd (An occupation that must have insulted his Egyptian upbringing because every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians-Gen. 46:34, Ruth that decided to follow an old mother-in-law (who by the way may have been termed a witch in our day, just jokingly serious) or need I talk about Job.
Imagine you where Joseph after the tide had turned. What would you do? His mandate included to teach Pharaohs senators wisdom even to bind princes at his pleasure. Oh, left to me Mrs. Potiphar and her husband who put me in prison...I would just bind them up and if Pharaoh asked me I would tell him, I just felt like it.I know you get the picture.
The point I want to make here is that even though these men went through unpleasant places in their lives what made them exceptional was not only their actions in the slums that came their way, but also what they did when they came out.
What prepares us to enjoy the palace, which we packed for, is our response in the prisons or wilderness of life as well as when we come out!
Imagine you were Moses, would you be found going back to rescue the people that rejected your help in the first place? Think of young beautiful Ruth that was following a bitter old mother-in-law. Or Job praying for friends that had mocked him throughout his trials.
Are you equipped to respond accurately for those unpleasant situations of life or have you let them change you? What do you do when you hoped for the best and the worst happened? When you looked for comfort and ended up in discomfort? How do you react when you come into trouble and then out of trouble?
Some become bitter or angry at other people and try to pin their failure on every other person but themselves. Some fold their sleeves and go to work but with the sole aim that when they get back on their feet, they would revenge. Some reach broad classifications of mankind in other to avoid falling again. These are the ones we hear saying ‘men will always cheat or lie’, ‘I can’t trust anyone again cause they will disappoint, no am not bitter, am just being careful’ or ’People from that tribe are like that’
Some others lock up their hearts; vow never to give and the entire situation changes them. These are the ones who go through the slum but come out stained by it. They are out of the grave but are still dressed in grave cloths. The Slum has changed their attitude to God and their fellow men. They end up bitter, angry, unforgiving and irritated.
Everyone envies where they are but they are not able to be grateful for where God brought them to. They are unhappy with themselves and still ungrateful to God.
Have you met such people? Who are so blessed but are still so unhappy? They live in houses you envy, married to a man or woman any lady or man would die to have, drive the best cars, their children are doing so well but are still unhappy because of where they came from. They hold on to that negative experience and use it to determine their actions today.
These are people who have come out of their problems but have allowed what they have gone through make them worse than they were. Are you still bitter at people? Have you vowed never to forgive the one that lied against you? Are you still angry at those that left you when the storms came? Then you may have left the slum but the slum has not left you!
Some are married but act as though they are unmarried. Some are now working but still bitter towards their former employers; some have kids now but are still angry at their mother-in-law who once called them barren and suggested a second wife then.
These all are trying to move forward by looking at the rear view mirror, friend you are headed for disaster!
The first thing we do when we are about to enter a person’s home is to wipe our feet at the door. Some have those funny mats that tell us to wipe our paws and not our feet. But whatever the case the message has been passed across ‘Don’t bring that dirt into my House!’ Can you imagine going to a friend’s home with a bag of trash from your house and very filthy clothes? And the guy has white rugs and seats. When he opens the door I don’t think he will be too glad to let you in.
Stop destroying your future based on your past experiences! Some would have been in great relationships now but because someone has hurt them they have classified that everyone is like that. One pastor lied, so every pastor is a liar. One brother cheated you, so everyone cheats.
Friend, leave your trash outside! Clean up and come to the table. You are meant for the palace.
Leave the bitterness behind. Drop your anger. Stop plotting your revenge!
It’s time to let go of the slum. Forgive and leave the past behind you. There is no place for the slum in the palace. Some of you need to release those you had tied up in your heart.
John 11:44b Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
Friend it’s time to let it go!
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