Dear Small Church Pastor,
Let’s look for a moment at the Old Testament figure of Jacob’s son Joseph. God moved for Joseph by giving him two audacious dreams as a youth that became reality as an adult. He put Joseph in the right place with the right people at the right time. (Potiphar, the jailer and the cup-bearer were all connected to Pharoah, who was later introduced to Joseph.) God gave Joseph opportunities to reflect his faith in God to others.
God moved in Joseph through his trials. Romans 5:3-4 lets us know that “we can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” (NLT) God used his trials to develop Joseph’s character to prepare him to guide a whole nation.
God also moved in Joseph by giving him wisdom to be an administrator, wisdom which demonstrated itself as he was promoted by Potiphar, the jailer and, eventually, Pharoah. Additionally, God gave Joseph an understanding of God’s purposes that were working in his life. He realized God had set into motion events in his life that would lead to the saving of his own family.
Finally, God worked through Joseph to be a blessing to others. Every time he was promoted, his overseer was blessed by God. Joseph’s ultimate authority in Egypt set the stage for the whole country to be blessed when every country around Egypt was in famine. That action led to his own family being saved from the famine when they all moved to Egypt at Joseph’s invitation. When Israel’s family moved to Egypt, God’s plan to give His chosen people their promised land moved another step closer to fulfillment.
I’m writing this letter to admonish you and challenge you to create what I call an “Encourage List.” We all need to be reminded from time to time that God will work for us, in us and through us. We all need to remember just how far God has brought us, how much He has recreated us and how much He has accomplished through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I suggest you write down what God has done for you, in you and through you. It will be okay if you need more than one piece of paper. Then put that list on your refrigerator door so you can see it every time you open that door. Read it to yourself. Read it to your family. Remind yourself of all that God has done for, in and through you since you became one of His children. Encourage yourself with an “Encourage List.”
Sincerely,
A Small Church Pastor