"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when people succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes."
-Psalm 37:7 (NIV)

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On last week we explored Psalm 91:1, which encourages us to place an emphasis on our ability to dwell in God. When we "dwell" in God it places a covering over us in which NOTHING can harm nor destroy us. Psalm 91:1 reminds us that, "[When we} dwell in the secret place of the Most High [we shall] abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (NKJV). God promises to cover those who find refuge and place their trust and hope in Him.

 

As we navigated last week's discussion, we expounded on David's instruction in Psalm 37:3-4 which reads, "Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart" (NKJV). David encourages us to remember the faithfulness of God. We don't have to worry about the evil that surrounds us or the attacks that come against us because God is faithful to both shield and protect us. God is faithful to provide us with everything that we need when we make Him our priority and look to Him amidst all of our circumstances.

 

When we find ourselves under attack, our job is to place our focus and our eyes on God knowing that He knows all things. God knows every single thing that we stand in need of and He won't fail to answer us when we learn how to stop worrying about what is against us and find refuge in the fact that He is for us. When we "CHOOSE" to focus on God amidst our circumstances, because He knows our hearts, our needs, and our desires, HE WILL FULFILL all those things that we both want and need. It is not to say that we should ignore the priorities of our lives. This is not suggesting that we should ignore the fact that we have giants that are standing against us. What all of this is suggesting is that we don't forget about God. Despite whatever it is that we might find ourselves facing, it must be God in whom we dwell in and place our trust and hope.

 

Quite too often, when we are faced with trials, we dwell in our emotions. We dwell in despair, guilt, shame, embarrassment, pity, defeat, worry, resentment, anguish, and all those other emotions that are often brought about as a result of our tribulations. And if not our emotions, then many of us find ourselves dwelling in other people, looking to them to be our hope and our refuge. Many of us at times forget about God and dwell in other people looking for them to keep us safe from all those things that seek to destroy and bring harm upon us. However, WE MUST MAKE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO DWELL IN GOD AND GOD ALONE, AND STAY RIGHT THERE!

 

When we are faced with things that ALARM us and things that we consider "SUDDEN" or "AN EMERGENCY", we tend to panic. We tend to forget that God always has a plan and we begin to 'burst our brains' trying to develop our own plan and strategy to free us from what we deem an emergency. We tend to make quick decisions that are fueled by our reactions to what stands before us. When we get those test results from the doctor, those quiz results from the teacher, the bills and final notices, or that unexpected or unwanted news, we tend to flee. And at times because we "FLEE", we "MOVE" quicker than we should, causing us to move out of the place that God had us, out of that place that we fought so long and so hard to get to, only to allow what we thought was an emergency, cause us to run from shelter. Run from shelter? Yes!. 

 

When we dwell in God, we abide under His shadow as Psalm 91:1 reminds us. Our dwelling in Him places us under His covering, His care, and His shelter, which becomes our point of refuge. It becomes our safe place. We must understand that any time that we move without God's instructions because we have allowed what stands before us to place fear, worry, confusion, and doubt in us, causing us to run from cover thinking that we're running to cover, we REMOVE OURSELVES OUT OF OUR SAFE PLACE. We remove ourselves from the shelter of God's safe arms.

 

There is an emergency response move that we must learn to put into action. Many might have already heard of it or be familiar with it. When life hits us with the unexpected, the unfathomable, those 'I CAN'T DEAL' type of trials, instead of running, trying to fix it on our own, or depending on somebody else to fix it for us, "WE MUST LEARN TO SHELTER IN PLACE"! Let's Explore!

 

Shelter in Place?                                                        

 

If we were to look up the definition of what it means to "Shelter in Place" it is defined as:

• to remain inside in one's current location until a danger has passed,

• to temporarily take shelter in a protected space.

 

If we were to research what it means to "Shelter in Place", we would find explanations such as the following:

Sheltering in place is...

• seeking safety in the building where you already are rather than evacuating the area or seeking shelter somewhere else, such as a community shelter

• finding a safe location indoors until you are told to come out or given an all clear notification

• finding immediate shelter and remaining in that place until the emergency is over versus trying to evacuate

 

It is advised by many emergency preparedness guidelines that the "shelter-in-place" alert only be used when evacuation is not safe. Some of the situations that quite often use "shelter-in-place" warnings include but are not limited to, weather conditions, situations or accidents dealing with hazardous or chemical materials or substances, and active threat situations.

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Shelter in Place alerts are often use during earthquakes. On last week we discussed that there are two earthquake preparedness tips for what to do during an earthquake that are a reflection of Psalm 91:1...

(1) Drop down on your knees and cover your head and neck with your arms to protect yourself from anything that might be falling: "HE WHO DWELLS IN THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH"

(2) Crawl under a desk, table, or a piece of furniture that is sturdy (unmovable). It is said that crawling under furniture that is sturdy, provides extra protection. "WILL ABIDE UNDER THE SHADOWS OF THE ALMIGHTY"

 

We went in-depth to explain how these earthquake preparedness tips related to Psalm 91:1 (view discussion), but this week, we're going to focus on that "Shelter in Place" alert that is sometimes sent out during emergency situations.

 

Shelter-in-Place (To Save Someone Else)                                      

 

"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.

At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up,

and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself

because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

But Paul shouted, 'Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

-Acts 16:25-28 (NIV)

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The story of Paul and Silas in prison is no stranger to our blog. We discussed how when God is on our side, "NO CHAINS CAN HOLD US DOWN!" However, let's look at Paul and Silas' story from a different facet.

 

In "SECURE THE TOMB: Can't Hold Us Down!", we pondered the thought of how many prisoners if finding themselves unbound, with open prison doors, and a guard who was asleep, would remain where they were versus trying to escape.

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When an earthquake occurred causing the prison doors to open, and Paul and Silas as well as the other prisoners found themselves unbound, they could have easily went their own way. Especially being that the guard was asleep. However, they all remained where they were. Paul and Silas understood what it meant to "Shelter in Place", and not because it was an emergency response alert but because they recognized that though in a catastrophic place, they were right where God wanted them to be.

 

If we consider what Paul and Silas were dealing with at this point in time, not only were they falsely imprisoned, but prior to them being thrown into prison, Paul and Silas were stripped out of their clothes and severely beaten with rods. And prior to that they had been dragged before the authorities. Now here it was, an earthquake occurring that would allow them to flee, but they instead stayed put. BUT WHY?

 

If we read Acts 16:16-40, we know that Paul and Silas were being targeted due to their encounter with a fortune-teller. After they "stopped her hustle", the town became furious. They wanted Paul and Silas to be punished without merit or warrant. If you were to read the account, Paul and Silas had committed no crime nor had they done this woman any harm. Paul and Silas had been on their usual mission of spreading the gospel, when this woman decided to pester them, not realizing that she would only end up aggravating herself.

 

Paul and Silas being wrongly accused and falsely imprisoned was going to not only further help them to spread the gospel, but it was sending them on a direct and personal assignment. Although the jailer had been given the task of making sure that Paul and Silas remained chained and bound, God had sent Paul and Silas to FREE the jailer, and his entire household. When the jailer awoke and realized that the prison doors were opened, he picked up a sword and was about to kill himself because he thought that the prisoners had escaped. However, Paul stopped him, making him aware that they were all there. This led to the jailer asking Paul and Silas, what must he do to be saved. Acts 16:31-34 reads:

 

               They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.' Then they spoke

               the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and

               washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into

               his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and

               his whole household (NIV).

 

Let's really reflect on this...

 

When the prison doors opened and they became unbound, Paul and Silas did not try to flee, they "Sheltered in Place". Even upon the jailer taking Paul and Silas to his house to lead his family to Christ, they did not try to flee, they "Sheltered in Place". Now here it is after surviving the earthquake, finding themselves unbound, having the prison doors swung open, and going to the jailer's house, they are then told by the officers that the magistrates have ordered that they be released. However, Paul responds to the officers as follows:

 

“They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out” (Acts 16:37, NIV).

 

Paul was going to continue to "Shelter in Place" because his job was not over. Paul was letting God fight this battle and he knew that God would vindicate them. Acts 16:38-40 reads:

 

                  The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens,

                  they were alarmed. They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave

                  the city. After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers                        and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left (NIV).

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The officials were unaware that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens because when they were initially brought before the magistrates the magistrates were told as follows, 'These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice" (Acts 16:20-21, NIV).

 

Paul and Silas could have stepped out of God's will during so many moments while on this particular journey. However, regardless of any chances that they had to escape or to be set free, they allowed God to fight for them, free them, and vindicate them. If they had simply escaped when the earthquake occurred, their chains loosened, and the prison doors opened, they would not have been able to lead the jailer and his household to Christ.

 

Perhaps the jailer always wanted to accept Christ as his Savior but hadn't come into contact with someone who could help him to understand what it meant to accept Christ, better yet to tell him how to do so. The jailer was amongst a culture of unbelievers. Therefore, it took for Paul and Silas to become imprisoned and make contact with the jailer in order for him to become connected with someone who could lead him into salvation.

 

Even when the magistrates told Paul and Silas that they were free to be released, Paul and Silas still did not get up and walk out of the prison. They "Sheltered in Place". Paul told the officers to tell the magistrates to come and escort them out for themselves. Paul wanted him and Silas' due diligence and God was going to give it to them. God was not going to let Paul and Silas be set free without vindicating them.

 

God could have allowed Paul and Silas to walk away when the magistrates told them that they were free to go, but he had Paul to demand that they be escorted out. The magistrates perhaps were not knowledgeable enough to fear persecuting followers of Christ. However, they most definitely feared the fact that they had wrongly accused, mishandled, and abused fellow Roman citizens. The town refused to reverence Paul and Silas as followers of Christ, but God still orchestrated it in a way in which not only were Paul and Silas vindicated, but the magistrates still had to bow to them and treat them with respect. In a sense, the magistrates had to eat out of the palm of Paul and Silas' hands and request that they leave the city. They could deny giving Paul and Silas the justice due a follower of Christ, but they could not deny them the justice due a Roman citizen, which God worked to Paul and Silas' advantage.

 

The magistrates found it better to appease Paul and Silas and escort them out than to have to deal with having to justify how they treated Paul and Silas as fellow Roman citizens. Even those who don't believe in Christ, God can still make it so that they have to bow to His children when they choose to mistreat and mishandle them. We might not always be vindicated in the way that we had in mind, but God will most definitely make our enemies bow.

 

God worked it for Paul and Silas' good, because they "SHELTERED IN PLACE". Paul and Silas dwelled in God. Amidst the persecution and slander, they stuck to where God had them at and did not relent from what God had called them to do. God had called them to preach and spread the gospel. Despite the mistreatment, abuse, and attacks, they stayed in the presence of God. And while they perhaps did not know that their imprisonment would lead the same one who guarded them to Christ, because they dwelled in God and were committed to obeying His instructions to them, they saw every opportunity as an opportunity to tell someone about who Christ was and about the salvation that could be found through him.

 

When the earthquake occurred at midnight, Paul and Silas were not in a corner of the prison wall shouting, "LORD, WHY ME?!" Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns. Paul and Silas were praising God. And because they were dwelling in Him, you best believe that GOD WAS WORKING ON THEIR BEHALF.

 

If we really reflect on it, scripture does not state that there was an earthquake and then Paul and Silas suddenly prayed. As it concerns the order of events, scripture states that Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns, the prisoners heard them, and then "suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken."

 

Paul and Silas did not pray as a result of the earthquake and then "SHELTER IN PLACE" until the guard woke up. When mistreated, beaten, and thrown into prison, Paul and Silas "Sheltered in Place" by dwelling in God. They then prayed and sang hymns, and as a result of that, an earthquake occurred which shook the foundations of the prison, opening doors, loosening chains, and awakening the jailer who was sleeping on them. And they continued to "Shelter in Place" both naturally and spiritually.

 

We must understand that at times, God will allow people to 'SLEEP ON US'! Whether it be our loved ones, naysayers, opinionators, haters, or our enemies, we will find ourselves being overlooked, disregarded, mistreated, pushed aside, talked about, judged, misunderstood, persecuted, slandered, degraded, laughed at, boxed, and all those other things that people at times do to us whether intentionally or unintentionally. However, if instead of trying to fight back based on who we think we are, we choose to let God fight for us based on who He is and who He has called us to be; if instead of trying to strategize our own way out, we choose to let God free us, we will get the victory out of the situation. If we keep focusing on God, praying, praising, and trusting, because God is watching, at the RIGHT MOMENT, He will respond to our prayers, our praise, and our despair. He will shake things up on our behalf in a way that's going to wake up all of those up that slept on us. God will cause an earthquake, and in doing so, He will destroy the foundations of every lie, insecurity, ill-intent, or any other harm that our enemies or anyone else have tried to inflict upon us.

 

God is SO ALMIGHTY, that He will even work it in a way in which He will make our haters have to be the ones that escort us out of the same mess that they drove us into, causing us to be vindicated and allowing their scandal to be publicly exposed and put on record for all those who 'GOT IT WRONG'! However, we MUST "SHELTER IN PLACE"!

 

We can't allow the fear, discouragement, wrath, anger, and pain that we experience as a result of our trials to cause us to run from under the one and only thing that TRULY COVERS US! We must remain in God amidst it all so that HE CAN SHAKE THINGS UP ON OUR BEHALF! It is important that we "shelter in place" and not try to escape where God has us at because He may have an assignment for us to carry out amidst where we are.

Shelter in Place (To Save Someone Else)                                     

 

"Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,

and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard,

in the same prison where Joseph was confined."

-Genesis 40:2-3 (NIV)

 

"The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them,

“Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you,

there is no one so discerning and wise as you.

You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders.

Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

-Genesis 41:37-40 (NIV)

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We frequently discuss the awe of how God orchestrated the events of Joseph's life. Joseph is one who indeed recognized what it meant to "Shelter in Place" during emergency situations.

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While in the pit...Joseph "Sheltered in Place".
While being carried off to Egypt...Joseph "Sheltered in Place".
Upon being sold to Potiphar...Joseph "Sheltered in Place".
While in prison...Joseph "Sheltered in Place".

 

Most importantly, when standing face-to-face with the ones who betrayed him, who were requesting his help... Joseph "Sheltered in Place"...But why?

 

Many of us are familiar with Joseph's story. We discussed facets of it on last week and within many of our other posts. Despite where Joseph found himself, he did not run or try to find shelter in a safer place. In reflecting back at some of the explanations of what it means to "SHELTER IN PLACE" one of those explanations stated that "sheltering in place" meant:

 

seeking safety in the building where you already are rather than evacuating the area or seeking shelter somewhere else, such as a community shelter

 

We know that at some point Joseph begged for his brothers to spare his life. When Joseph's brothers went to Egypt during the famine and stood before Joseph not recognizing that it was him, due to what was being requested of them, they thought they were reaping what they had sown for what they had done to Joseph. Genesis 42:21 states, "They said to one another, 'Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us” (NIV).

 

Whether it was at the point of the pit or at the point of being sold, that Joseph pleaded with his brothers for his life, we are not made aware of. It could have possibly been at the point of the pit because Reuben in response to the other brothers thinking they were being punished states in part, "Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen!" (v. 22). We know that Reuben was not present when his brothers took Joseph out of the pit and sold him because if we read Genesis 37, it was Reuben's idea to throw Joseph into the pit in an attempt to prevent his brothers from killing him. Reuben had planned to rescue Joseph from the pit and return him to their father, but when Reuben returned to the pit, Joseph was not there. We don't know exactly what details Reuben was made aware of in regard to what his brothers did to Joseph, we only know that when Reuben returned to the pit and realized that Joseph was no longer there, he tore his clothes. Genesis 37:30 states that, "[Reuben] went back to his brothers and said, 'The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?" (NIV).

 

Although we reflected on the above facet in "The God of "AGAIN": Our STRENGTH & Our SHIELD", there is another facet to this.

 

We have once again expounded on this moment in which Joseph pleaded with his brothers for his life because it could have very well been at that moment that Joseph realized where he could find safety and who he could find safety in. Regardless of at what point Joseph begged his brothers to spare his life, we know that they did not relent. We know they did not respond to his cry because they both threw him into a pit and sold him, allowing their father to think that he had been attacked by a wild beast. Joseph's brothers never told their father the truth. Even when they discovered that Joseph was still alive, they simply told their father that Joseph was still alive without ever disclosing all that had really taken place.

 

When we think of Joseph's ability to "Shelter in Place" by remaining where God had him instead of trying to evacuate from where he was to find safety elsewhere, in reflecting on what began Joseph's series of unfortunate events, it all goes back to the ill-intent of his brothers. If we reflect back on "sheltering in place" in the context of "seeking safety where we already are instead of trying to evacuate and seek shelter elsewhere such as a community shelter", we can dissect it this way...

 

Joseph, at the point of the pit, realized that it was his 'community' who were putting him in an unsafe situation. It was the very people whom Joseph thought he could run to for shelter that were threatening his life. It was at the point of the pit that Joseph perhaps realized that the only shelter he had and the only shelter he would ever have, rested in God and God alone.

 

When Joseph was depending on his brothers to come to his aide, they refused. They showed no regard for his feelings nor his life. Therefore, after that pit experience, Joseph probably realized that his only means of survival was to "Shelter in Place". There was no need for Joseph to try to run from the Ishmaelites when he was being sold. There was no need for Joseph to run when the Ishmaelites then sold him to Potiphar. There was no need for Joseph to run from the prison. Joseph's brothers had already both showed and proved to him that "THERE WAS NO SAFETY IN MAN"!

 

Joseph's brothers put him in danger and brought harm upon him. Aside from Reuben and Benjamin, Joseph's other brothers had no desire to save him from harm. Judah might have persuaded the brothers to sell him instead of killing him, as he is the one who said, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood" (Genesis 37:26-27, NIV). However, Judah was still a part of the plot to get rid of Joseph. Whether he wholeheartedly agreed or not, He was still willing to sell his own brother, not as a means of simply saving him, but as a means of profiting off of him, as he saw no gain in killing Joseph.

 

Joseph was favored by his father and yet and still, Israel was not capable of shielding nor saving Joseph. Another reason his brothers perhaps allowed Israel to believe that Joseph had been killed was not just to cover up their wicked deeds, but also because they perhaps felt that Israel would have probably went to great lengths to find Joseph and bring him back had he known that Joseph had been sold. Israel would have perhaps gave up everything that he owned to bring Joseph out of Egypt. But God allowed Israel to know no more than he knew because God had His own plan as to how He was going to save Joseph. God needed Israel to "Shelter in Place" because the storm had only just begun and it was not yet safe to come out.

 

Joseph's father loved him and his brothers hated him. Yet, no matter how much people love or hate us, ONLY GOD TRULY HAS THE MEANS TO KEEP US SAFE! AND BECASUE GOD IS IN CONTROL, NOTHING CAN DESTROY US UNLESS HE ALLOWS IT!

 

In realizing this, perhaps Joseph had no desire to try to escape where he was and find his way back home because home was no safe place for him. The sad truth is that Joseph was safer in the hands of the Ishmaelites, Potiphar, and the prison warden, than he was under the confines of dwelling amongst his own family. There was no need for Joseph to run when he found himself in what appeared emergency situations because everybody that Joseph came into contact with proved to him that there was no safety in them. Part of the reason that Joseph had the ability to "Shelter in Place" amidst emergencies is because he recognized that only God could provide him true shelter. Everybody that Joseph trusted had a habit of failing him. When you find yourself being constantly disappointed and failed by man, that is your upmost signal to "SHELTER IN PLACE IN GOD"! 

 

Joseph's father could not protect him although he wanted to. None of Joseph's brothers could protect him. The Ishmaelites who bought Joseph from his brothers could not protect him. Potiphar could not protect him. And although Joseph had been done no harm by the prison warden nor Pharaoh, not even they could protect him. The only person that was capable of sheltering Joseph was God, which is why God allowed Joseph to go from person-to-person-to-person, going through trial, after trial, after trial, until He put him in the place in which He was going to bring him out. 

 

And what speaks to the necessity of dwelling in God is the fact that while Joseph was never safe in the shelter of anyone that he ever found himself having to dwell with, HE WAS ALWAYS SAFE IN THE SHELTER AND HANDS OF GOD REGARDLESS OF WHERE HE FOUND HIMSELF AT! We must recognize that even while in unsafe places amidst unsafe people, when we dwell in God, WE ARE BOTH SAFE AND PROTECTED BECAUSE WE REST UNDER HIS SHADOW, WE REST UNDER HIS SHELTER!

 

If we think about it, perhaps God was allowing Joseph to constantly be disappointed and failed by man so that he could learn to place his full trust in ONLY GOD AND GOD ALONE! Because of the plans that God had for Joseph, God needed Joseph to understand who his true support system was. Because of the plans that God had for Joseph, God needed Joseph to recognize who was his shelter. Because Joseph was focused on God, he was not trying to flee back to the place that God had allowed him to be taken from, but he was learning how to profit amid his pain.

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At times God may allow people to betray us, disappoint us, and abandon and neglect us, as a means of teaching us not to make any man out of our safety zone. However, we often don't grasp or heed the warning, because we find ourselves continuously pushing, begging, yelling, and complaining, trying to force those that we love to give us the feeling of security that we want from them when it is only God who can truly keep us. God knows that if and when we choose to place our security in man, when man changes, when man fails, when man disappoints us, when man abandons us or walks away from us, thus goes our security; and thus welcomes brokenness and that pain that causes us to take our eyes off of God chasing people who have no desire to be caught by us, although they love the power and ego boost of being chased.

 

If we are able to truly take a lesson from Joseph and persist while in the pit and the prison in order to make it to the palace, we would find ourselves moving further along on our journey to get to the place that God has purposed us for. However, the truth is that it is easier said than done, but our ability to dwell in and trust God helps us to get there.

 

If we reflect on the above scriptures, Genesis 40:2-3 and Genesis 41:37-40, there is so much revelation that speaks to the awe and power of God. In Genesis 40:2-3, Pharaoh becomes angry with his chief cupbearer and chief baker and throws them into the same prison as Joseph. This was not a coincidence. God knew exactly what He was doing. God put someone else in an emergency situation and placed them within the same confines as Joseph, who was in a situation of his own, and in turn used Joseph to be of aide to them when Joseph himself needed help. And because Joseph dwelled in God, he was able to look past his own situation in order to help someone else overcome theirs. And he depended on God to help him do it.

 

If there was ever any wonder as to if Joseph dwelled in God, consider Genesis 41:38, when Pharaoh says, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" Here it was, Pharaoh not even serving the same God that Joseph served but recognizing the power of the God that Joseph served that rested within Joseph. Potiphar, saw the God in Joseph. The prison warden saw the God in Joseph.

 

Although Joseph found himself in unfortunate situations, regardless of what he was facing, the people amongst him saw the God in him and acknowledged that it was the power of God that was working through him that made him successful. Everyone recognized how God both favored and prospered Joseph. Not only did Joseph dwell in God but everybody that Joseph came into contact with recognized that God also dwelled in Joseph.

 

We must recognize that it is very much possible to prosper amidst unfortunate circumstances, but we can only ever do so if we..."DWELL"! For Protection...WE MUST DWELL! For Prosperity...WE MUST DWELL! For Vindication...WE MUST DWELL! We can only get there...IF WE DWELL! And perhaps that's the hard part, because at times the famine causes panic.

 

"Shelter in a Place"! (To Save Ourselves)                                           

"Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while

because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai,

'I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’

Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake

and my life will be spared because of you.”

-Genesis 12:10-13 (NIV)

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We love Abraham! And one of the reasons that Abraham is one to be loved is not just because of the inheritance that we are benefactors of because of him, but it is because Abraham gives us hope. And not just hope because of the promise, but Abraham gives us hope because his life shows us that faith is a journey in which we won't always get everything right along the way. However, if we keep at it, God won't stop working with us to get us to where we need to be, neither will He fail us in the process.

 

When God first called Abraham to go to the land that He promised to give him, Abraham picked up, left his father's household and went to the place that God had promised to show him. Abraham trusted God enough to pack up and embark on this unknown journey. Abraham took his wife, his nephew, his servants, and his possessions and set off as God instructed. But then when Abraham got to the place that God instructed him to go and got settled, when a famine came, Abraham did not trust God enough to "shelter in place". Abraham went to Egypt to escape the famine. And then upon arriving in Egypt, he came up with his own survival strategy that consisted of persuading his wife to lie and say that she was his sister as a means of protecting himself.

 

If you read the account found in Genesis 12, Abraham and Sarah had much provision in this place that they evacuated to. However, there was no need for Abraham to go looking for provision in Egypt because God had promised him land and had also promised to make a great nation out of him. Perhaps it never occurred to Abraham that the same God who he trusted enough to give him land and make his name great was also capable of giving him provision amidst the famine. There was no need for Abraham to evacuate from where God had told him to go to find supply elsewhere because there is no doubt that if Abraham stayed where he was and trusted God as he had initially done when he departed his father's household, that same God that got him there, would have also provided.

 

Now it was not uncommon for people to flock to Egypt during famine. After all, Joseph's brothers went to Egypt as a means of getting what they needed to survive the famine. However, it was not God's plan for Abraham to do so. Now we can all have our different opinions as to if God wanted Abraham to flee to Egypt during the famine or not. However, we do know that God did not intend for him to stay there. Just as Abraham had thought, Sarah was taken into Pharaoh's palace and both she and Abraham profited off of it. However, Genesis 12:17-20 reads as follows:

 

               But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. So

               Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?

               Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and

               go!” Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything

               he had (NIV).

 

God did not intend for Abraham to dwell in Pharaoh, but He needed Abraham to trust and seek Him for what he needed. God was not going to make a great nation out of Abraham just so that he could go and find refuge in Pharaoh and the things of Egypt. However, because God always has a plan and a purpose and because He never fails to give us grace and show us mercy, He did not allow Abraham to come out of Egypt empty handed. Even in Abraham doing it on his own, and finding both safety and provision for himself, God had to show Abraham that He was still in control. God will sometimes allow us to venture off and do things our way and then do something to remind us of who knows best. God will allow us to do things our way thinking that we are saving ourselves, and then He'll turn around and do something to remind us that the only stability that we'll ever have is in and through Him.

 

Reflecting on Abraham at this point in his life also reiterates to us the fact that God knows the intents of our hearts. God knew who He created Abraham to be and He also knew who Abraham would become. Therefore, although Abraham's trust wasn't fully there, God knew that at some point it would be. God held it not against Abraham when he panicked, because He knew Abraham's heart. God knows that we are human and while being human does not give us a pass to not trust God, it does give Him compassion, grace, and mercy towards us.

 

We all say we love God and that we know He is omnipotent, and omnipresent, and can do all things. We say that He is a Mighty God that cannot fail. However, when we find ourselves in a famine or potentially facing one, we forget about all of those things that we reverence God as and we flee from under His shelter and we flock to Egypt.

 

We all find ourselves either needing something or wanting something, and before we give God a chance to do it for us, we go and do it for ourselves because if we were to be honest, at times, our thought is that, "WE ARE NOT TRYING TO WAIT ON GOD"! At many times because we know that God sometimes takes too long, we go and act upon our own plan and still have the nerves to wait on God to do what He is going to do. We act upon our plan as a safety measure just so we at least have a head start doing what we think we are going to have to do if and when God does not respond or work it out for us. We do it our way to be on the safe side while expecting God to still act upon our wants and needs His way because we know that His way is better, but we just don't want to have to wait on Him to do what we know He is capable of doing!

 

Our truth is that many of us want to wholeheartedly abide in God, but we don't want to be broke or be in lack while we're doing it. We don't want to be lonely while we're doing it. We don't want to be attacked while we're doing it. We want to abide in God but without having to endure. There is a reason that Psalm 91:1 states that, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadows of the Almighty." Dwelling in God covers us. We are not just dwelling in God for the purposes of celebrating our joys and happy situations. Part of the reason that we dwell in God is to be brought under the covering of His protection. Protection from what? Protection from all those things we don't want to have to face.

 

It is easy to dwell in God when there is nothing being presented before us that is persuading us to evacuate. But when we find ourselves standing in need of something that doesn't seem like it can be gained in the current place that God has us at, thus comes our dilemma. It's those "emergency" situations that make it hard for us to dwell in God which is why we don't like them. We don't like those emergency situations because they place us in a "to dwell or not to dwell" dilemma and we know that we just might choose the more appeasing way out, which in most cases is not God's way.

 

Dwelling in God from our happy place in full supply of everything that we both want and need does not challenge nor build our faith in the way that having to dwell in God and trust Him in the dark amidst our brokenness, lack, pain, and despair does. If we think back to the story of Job, when God first asked satan that infamous question of "Have you considered my servant Job?". After prompting that question, God then states, "There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8, NIV). And satan replies, "Does Job fear God for nothing?'...' Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?  You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land" (Job 1:9-10, NIV). Satan was suggesting that it was easy for Job to live upright and trust God because Job was living 'the good life'. Satan told God that if He took all that He had blessed Job with away from him, that Job would curse Him to His face.

 

Satan is very much aware of the safety and provision that occurs as a result of our dwelling in God. Even satan recognized that it is easy to place our hope and comfort in God when there is nothing to challenge us from doing so. ​In the same sense, we can all preach "FAITH" to somebody else but find it difficult to exercise that same faith that we inspire and motivate others to activate. It is easy to tell someone else to trust God to work it out until we get an emergency alert of our own. It is easy to judge someone else's wavering not realizing that we ourselves, are hopscotching all over the place. 

 

God wants us to dwell in Him out of reverence for who He is. God wants us to dwell in Him as a means of giving Him the praise, honor, and worship that He deserves. God wants us to dwell in Him so that He becomes our focus and so that we become more concerned with what He wants from us versus what we want for ourselves. God wants us to dwell in Him so that through Him dwelling in us, He can then give us the knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and discernment to navigate life according to His ways. However, we must recognize that one of the other reasons that God tells us to dwell in Him is because He knows what we are up against and what we are going to need to make it through. God tells us to dwell in Him so that we are under His covering and protection. God tells us to dwell in Him so that we are benefactors of His rewards and provision. We must realize that the storms are inevitable which is why God wants us to dwell in Him. God loves us and is compassionate and faithful enough to give us the warning that unless we choose to dwell in Him, all those benefits that we seek from Him that He so graciously gives us, ARE NOT ACCESSIBLE APART FROM HIM!

 

Abiding in God is not just about celebrating our victories and basking in our provision and blessings, but it is also about our ability to find refuge in God when the victories are not apparent, we appear to be lacking, and we stand in need of a miracle. Abiding in God should not be a circumstantial thing that we do, but dwelling in Him is something that we must do amidst all our circumstances. Paul and Silas did not wait until after they were set free to pray and praise God, but they did it amid their captivity. Joseph did not wait until He made it to the palace to reverence and acknowledge God, but he did it while in the prison. Job did not wait until he was restored to worship God, but he did it as soon as he was stripped of everything that he had. Relationships are easy as long as nothing is testing them, but the woes that follow when the challenges arrive. OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IS NO DIFFERENT! 

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Abiding in God is not about how we feel. While "sheltering in place" is an emergency alert warning, "abiding in God" is a command. It may not appear to be a command because it is not one of those that might be singled out with the word "command" attached to it. However, let's think about it as such. Salvation is indeed a choice. God does not force salvation upon us. We each must do much like the jailer in the story of Paul and Silas and seek salvation for ourselves. Upon choosing salvation, we choose whether or not we will abide in God. However, the only way for us to have the strength to live out our salvation in a way that is pleasing to God is by allowing His Spirit to dwell in us. Well in order for His Spirit to dwell in us, we must confess and repent of our sins with a belief in His Son (he was born, crucified, and resurrected). That is the passage way for us to receive salvation. It is through that process that we are cleansed of our sins. In order to remain cleansed, and in order to live our lives accordingly, we must remain free of all those behaviors, actions, sins, and temptations that are contrary to God. The minute we step back into sin, God's Spirit no longer abides in us (and won't abide in us again unless we go through that same act of repentance accompanied by that same belief in His Son). The minute that God's Spirit is no longer in us, we no longer have the ability to live life according to the Spirit, which means that we are living life according to the flesh, which puts us out of the will of God, out of alignment with God, and out of the shelter of God. Therefore, in order to please God, and have the strength, will, and ability to walk according to what He instructs and commands of us, we must allow His Spirit to abide in us so that it can direct us, which means WE MUST ABIDE IN HIM, which makes abiding in God A COMMAND because maintaining our salvation is IMPOSSIBLE UNLESS WE ABIDE IN HIM! The only way we will be able to overcome our flesh is to allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit.

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Just like many people ignore those "shelter in place" warnings, many of us ignore God's command to "shelter in place in Him", to abide in Him, to BE STILL AND WAIT ON HIM!

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When we abide in God will things still come that try to steer us away? Of course. Will temptations still come? of course. Will we still struggle to make the right choices? Of course. Will we still become weak, discouraged, tired, and frustrated? Of course. But when we abide in Him, His Spirit will help us to overcome all of those thoughts, feelings, and emotions that vex us. That is why it is important that we abide in God and allow ourselves to dwell in Him. We must abide without relenting!

 

Just because we experience those raw emotions of despair, sorrow, discouragement, agony, grief, and the many others that weigh on us, that does not mean that we are not dwelling in God. David dwelled in God and he had many of those emotions. Joseph dwelled in God and he had sorrow. Job dwelled in God and he had many emotions including agony, feeling defeated, and even struggling with hope. Dwelling in God does not prevent us from having those emotions, but dwelling in God helps us to overcome them. However, there will indeed be times in which because we dwell in God, we will find ourselves joyful when we should be sad. Optimistic when it seems like we don't stand a chance. Courageous when we might not have the experience or the qualifications to fight the giant that stands before us. We will have those moments in which because we are dwelling in God and relentlessly trusting Him, we will remain hopeful even in the darkness because we realize that the "Joy of the Lord is Our Strength" and "Our Refuge"!

 

Saving Who? And Why?                                                  

 

We discussed how our ability to "Shelter-in-Place" (Dwell in God and Trust Him to Work it Out), can help us to "SAVE" someone else as it was Paul and Silas' ability to "shelter in place" that allowed the jailer to get saved (receive salvation). We discussed how "sheltering in place" can help save someone as it was Joseph's ability to "shelter in place" that allowed him to save his entire family from the famine. We discussed how "sheltering in place" can help us to save ourselves as it was Job's ability to "shelter in place" that proved what God already knew about him. It was Job's "sheltering in place" and not relenting from his trust in God that brought him out. It was Job's ability to "shelter in place" that caused God to both restore and prosper him despite what it looked like and despite what those around him were saying. We also discussed how trying to save ourselves by finding shelter elsewhere can be detrimental not just to ourselves but to all those who are connected to us. Pharaoh's entire household was affected by Abraham's inability to "shelter in place", when he found himself amidst a famine. Abraham's running from what he thought was an emergency put others in an emergency situation. 

 

We must take Psalm 37:7 to heart... 

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when people succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes." (NIV)

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No matter what emergency we are presented with, we must be patient and wait on God to work it out for us. Regardless of the ill-intent, hatred, attacks, or pain that are being inflicted upon us, we must "Shelter in Place", trusting that God won't allow our trials to destroy us neither will He allow the weapons that are formed against us to prosper. God will always work things out on our behalf and give us the victory, BUT WE MUST LEARN TO DWELL IN HIM! WE MUST LET HIM DO THE FIGHTING!

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We must recognize that on our salvation journey we are not always going to choose the jail cell, the pit, or the dark place. We are not always going to choose the earthquake, but at times it will indeed choose us. While we don't always choose or welcome the emergency, WE CAN CHOOSE HOW WE REACT TO IT! When the emergency alert sounds, we must remember that our BEST MEANS OF SURVIVAL is to allow God to be our EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM, which we CAN'T DO UNLESS WE ABIDE! 

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And please keep in mind that while we don't choose the earthquake, when we trust God, pray relentlessly, and praise God NO MATTER WHAT, God will MOST DEFINITELY CREATE AN EARTHQUAKE JUST FOR US! God will tear apart the foundations of all those things that are trying to hold us back and keep us down. So, the next time you find yourself amid what you deem an "emergency", remember that nothing is an emergency to God because HE CONTROLS ALL THINGS!

 

While it might be hard, as you find yourself amidst the shock, the fear, the pain, the disappointment, the disarray, and the chaos...PRAY, PRAISE, and PLACE YOUR FULL TRUST IN GOD AND THEN STEP BACK AND WATCH HIM "SHAKE A LIL SOMETHING" ON YOUR BEHALF!