Thanks for posting this. Very uplifting for many of us. The parable of Joseph is one of my very favorite 'lessons' from the Bible.
Posted on 11/08/2020 7:26:55 AM PST by Kaslin
As a boy, I remember “watching” the epic chess battle between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer. It was aired on channel 13, the PBS station in New York, and a bell would ring, announcing the latest move. This, in turn, would be posted on the screen, after which the experts would debate the reason for the move.
Sometimes, they would be utterly baffled. Why would Fischer do this? It makes no sense. What was Spassky thinking?
Then, after playing out a number of potential scenarios, sometimes a dozen or more moves ahead, they would realize the strategy. It was absolute genius.
When it come to the Lord, the one who inhabits eternity and who sees the end from the beginning (see Isaiah 57:15 and 46:10), He is always an infinite set of moves ahead. That should give us comfort and faith in the midst of the current crisis. (Make no mistake about it. No matter what side you’re on, we’re in the midst of a national crisis.)
Think about it.
The greatest crime ever committed by human beings was to crucify the Son of God. Yet that was the act God used to make salvation available to the world. And without the crucifixion, there would be no resurrection. Who saw this coming in advance? Only the Lord Himself.
The book of Genesis tells us how the sons of Jacob (also known as Israel) sold their younger brother Joseph into slavery in Egypt. They did it out of malice, plain and simple. They knew they would never see him again. They got rid of him for good.
Joseph then ended up in a dungeon in Egypt, falsely accused of a crime he never committed while serving as a slave. But it was there, in the dungeon, that he accurately interpreted the dreams of two fellow-inmates.
Sometime later, this resulted in Joseph being brought before Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, to interpret his dreams. And this, in turn, led to him becoming Pharaoh’s right-hand man. (Literally, he went from the dungeon to the throne.)
As a result of his position and the wisdom God gave him, Joseph ended up saving the region from famine, also saving the lives of his own brothers and their families.
Years later, when they were afraid he would retaliate against them, he said to them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20). God used your bad plan to accomplish His great plan.
In point of fact, what the brothers did to Joseph was downright evil, also causing their aged father years of mourning and grief. Yet God used this to save countless thousands of lives.
John 11 tells us when Jesus was informed that His good friend Lazarus was sick, He waited a few days before going to see him. Why? The Lord wanted him to die so He could resurrect Him from the dead. This would bring greater glory to God.
Had the Lord simply healed Lazarus by speaking a word the moment He learned Lazarus was sick, people would not have realized that Jesus Himself was the resurrection and the life (see John 11:24-25). And the event would not even be recorded in Scripture.
The worst-case scenario led to the best case scenario, which is often how God works. That’s just who He is.
What does this have to do with the elections?
Let’s say that there is massive corruption taking place in the presidential elections. Let’s say the pollsters were intentionally biased. Let’s say that there are forces in society that really are working against Trump.
Then the mess we are in right now, one which puts us precariously near an all-out war on the streets, will lead to the exposure of corruption on a level we have never seen before. Let the light shine brightly! Let the darkness be exposed!
Conversely, if the corruption and darkness are being grossly exaggerated, the light will expose our gullibility, our willingness to believe almost anything, our propensity to be blinded by our biases. And for Christian Trump supporters who proclaimed him uniquely chosen by God and therefore called to a second term, the light would expose the degree to which we were seduced by a partisan political spirit.
I personally hope that the seemingly impossible happens, that Trump is proven to be the rightfully reelected president, and that the prophecies about him prove true.
But what if a Biden-Harris presidency was needed to reveal how dangerously radicalized the left has become, leading to greater spiritual desperation in the Church, leading to a spiritual awakening in the society? What if the worst-case scenario for tens of millions of conservative voters resulted in the transforming of even more millions of hearts in the years ahead?
I shared some of my thoughts on this during a Facebook livestream if you’d like to hear more about the spiritual side of things. For the moment, though, I encourage you to put your faith in God to work out His best purposes in the midst of chaos and crisis.
Hysteria and frenzy are not fruits of the Spirit. Faith and peace are.
And so, while I am deeply concerned about the state of our nation and know that many lives are at stake, I have a great sense of anticipation as well.
The ultimate Grandmaster has a plan.
If Trump is practicing 4-D chess, he better make his attack now.
I suspect it is of zero interest to Him whether Trump or Biden wins an Earthly election. It is only of interest to Christians, who must deal with the wreckage created by a profoundly stupid and evil collectivist movement.
View on Facebook. No way
Hillary must be climbing the walls hearing that Joe and Kamala “beat” Trump.
What’s this I hear about Kushner telling him to concede? Infuriates me.
Thanks for posting this. Very uplifting for many of us. The parable of Joseph is one of my very favorite 'lessons' from the Bible.
God seems to love a good drama when it’s an evil vs good fight. If prophecy messages are that Trump has 2 terms then take it to the bank.
We walk by faith and not sight. God has bigger plans behind the scenes.
What’s this I hear about Kushner telling him to concede? Infuriates me.
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1. What does that have to do with the article?
2. No credible link makes me think you’re just a trouble maker.
You should really read Johnathan Cahn, God’s fingerprints are all over America and even our predicament we are in right now.
“It is only of interest to Christians, who must deal with the wreckage created by a profoundly stupid and evil collectivist movement.“
What nonsense is this?
Good read.
SHUT the HELL UP. You do not own FR. I just read such an article about Kushner in the NY Post.
Reminds me a old Soviet Joke:
Two guys meet in middle of Siberia.
One asks the other. “Where can I get batteries here?”
“I do not know?” Why do you need batteries here?”
“ Well I would like to listen to the radio”
“ I would like to know who won the Fisher - Spassky chess match!”
“That’s easy, I lost!”
Chess player. Yes, now.
It’s nth degree chess with glass boards and no lines. The problem is that the other player has no way of knowing they lost. So they assume the win and everyone else validates it.
Yea right 4-D chess. It was checkmate when Trump started the clown parade that was supposed to be his cabinet.
Could it be that this election was like Noach’s Flood? If one looks at the description of ‘politics’ like a sea, indeed the whole world was flooded with an ill sea that has destroyed it in many ways. The fact that it occurred on Cheshvan 17 (in Israel it was November 4th) was significant in the fact THAT day was they day that the rains began. If my analogy to the current political flood is correct, then I expect that it will continue for 40 days and 40 nights, which would move us to Kislev 27, or the 3rd day of Hanukkah, or December 13-14th., followed by an entire year of receding ‘waters’. Pray for Messiah to come!
From the Congressional Research Service:
November 4-December 14, 2020:Counting Popular Votes and Filing Certificates of Ascertainment Following election day, the states are to count and certify popular vote results according to their respective statutory and procedural requirements.When the states have completed their vote counts and ascertained the official results, the U.S. Code (3 U.S.C. §6) requires the state governors to prepare, “as soon as practicable,” documents known as Certificates of Ascertainment of the vote.The certificates must list the names of the electors chosen by the voters and the number of votes received in the popular election results,also the names of all losing candidates for elector,and the number of votes they received. Certificates of Ascertainment, which are often signed by state governors, must carry the seal of the state.One copy is forwarded to the Archivist of the United States (the Archivist), while six duplicates of the Certificate of Ascertainment must be provided to the electors by December 14, the date on which they meet.
So the certification of the US Presidency is supposed to be 40 days from the election, just as Noach’s Flood lasted 40 days. It is interesting how the number ‘40’ pops up so often in the Bible, isn’t it?
It is only of interest to Christians, who must deal with the wreckage created by a profoundly stupid and evil collectivist movement.
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You condemn Christ and tell us what qualifies as evil. Who knew we had the real god right here?
Spend some time reading the New Testament and get to know God. He may open your eyes. What do you have to lose? Eternity is a long time.
And how hard is it to post a link?
Or better yet follow rules at Free Republic and start your own thread on a subject rather than troll someone else’s?
> It was checkmate when Trump started the clown parade that was supposed to be his cabinet. <
I wouldn’t say checkmate occurred that early. But yeah, you’ve got a point there. Trump made a lot of rookie mistakes.
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