"Man has two eyes
One only sees what moves in
fleeting time
The other what is eternal
and divine".
The Book of Angelus
Silesius
21 August 2013
Whenever we read
reports of worldwide happenings, there is always a
tendancy to lock our minds on what is at hand, but
exclude the spiritual aspects that may be hidden
there. Most often, thoughts of God are pushed
aside as His having admitedly created our universe,
but was now retired to rest in His heavenly home as
mostly passive and indifferent.
Nothing could be
further from the truth.
Let's think about
that: Where does this universe end? Nestled
among zillions of planets, comets, galaxies, our
tiny speck of a "world" sits precariously held in
place by incredible odds. The genius mind of
God does not skip around working on one thing and
ignoring another. Everything that exists is
intertwined together, and that includes His reasons
and purposes.
When we read the
Bible, we can literally believe it or dismiss the
thought that the God who created everything ALSO has
had an intimate, personal relationship with mankind.
"For we know in
part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which
is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall
be done away". (1 Cor.13:9)
~~~~
Jacob had many sons,
but in his old age his youngest, Joseph, became his
very favorite. He even made him a beautiful
coat of many colors and spent so much time with
Joseph that the rest of his other sons became
jealous. The fact that Joseph had many dreams
did not help. Jacob knew of God's promises to
Abraham and Issac where all the land from the river
of Egypt to the Euphrates would be theirs, and
himself had once had a dream in which he climbed
into heaven itself and heard the same. So when young
Joseph shared his dreams, Jacob "observed them" as
well as did his brothers--- for they significantly
told of a day when all of them would one day bow
down to him in obesience--not something they wanted
to hear coming from their 17 year-old brother.
The fufillment of
those prophetic dreams is the miraculous story we
read in the book of Genesis. Joseph was sold
into slavery and later imprisoned, yet God prospered
him and throughout his young life, he gained the
favor of Pharoah. Again it was his dreams that
caused him to become prime minister of Egypt, and
the wisdom God gave him spared Egypt from starvation
and his family the same. For 400 years Israel never
lacked for food in the land of Goshen, until the
fufillment of time when God raised up Moses to bring
the children of Israel out of Egypt into the
promised land....another prophecy of God.
All a plan of God.
Did anyone see the
"eternal and divine" in all of this? Even the slave
labor imposed upon them in later years had led to a
small baby under sentence of death to be put into a
reed basket and floated down the river, then to be
found by an Egyptian princess and raised as her son.
His name was Moses.
Moses had a
very luxurious and priviledged youth. Yet he
saw his own people enduring the hardships of
forced labor in Goshen. Knowing the
spiritual promises to Israel, would they not
appreciate his ideas to liberate them and bring
them back to their land? No. And after
he slew one of them and fled to the land of
Midian, he became a lowly shepherd--and an old
man. For 40 years!! before
God brought him forth to lead Israel back to their
home....in His time.
Did Jacob know how
Joseph's dreams were to transpire? Did his
brothers have any idea it would happen in
Egypt? No. All they knew is that one day
they would bow before him. It was only when it
actually happened did they remember.
~~~~
Prophecy is given to
reveal the final chapter. But there are events
that happen before we see the end actually
fulfilled, and when they occur, it is hard to see
how they can possibly be of any significance, since
so many times they are hardships and heartbreaks.
Joseph spent much of
his youth in prison....IF HE WERE TO ONE DAY HAVE
HIS FAMILY BOWING BEFORE HIM, WHY THEN WAS PUT IN
PRISON?
Jacob and his other
sons were well established in their own land and
prospering. Yet years after Joseph's
prophectic dream, when famine came and Jacob sent
his sons down to Egypt for grain, little did they
know that this hardship was ordained by God to lead
them to their long-lost brother. Only when
they all bowed at his feet would they remember.
~~~~
Can the trials we
experiences in our lives actually be involved in the
fufillment of plans God ordained for us before we
were ever born?
Yes indeed!
Will Egypt today have
peace, or will it fall? Will the Muslim
Brotherhood regain power and side with Iran to
impose Islam over all of Europe? Will Damascus
be destroyed by Assad? Will the world become
bankrupt? Will we see famine as the food chain
gets radiated by the meltdown of a
Japanese nucleur plant?
True prophecy
will always stand. But unfortunately our
understanding of it seems to molt away like
chicken feathers. As world events change
things, prophecy teachers sometimes study the
Word, yet later admit they make mistakes. We see
through a cloud darkly...and fear of the unknown
can hasten the demise of our faith. The trials we
experience, the loss of all things, the
senseless brutality of demented minds that rob and
steal, murder and rape. Innocent children whose
tender lives are extinquished by a demonic mind.
As we see those things happen, we can sometimes
wonder, "where is God?"
But tho we sometimes
suffer with tears at life's dark side, there
is also reason and purpose for every event: Why? So
that we learn of God's faithfulness and power,
and having seen His word of promise come to
pass...we too will one day bow our knees before Him.
MARY ELIZABETH ADAMS
meamin@mtaonline.net
www.maryeadams.com