Devotion for Thursday, August 27th

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Kevin Peterson

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Aug 27, 2009, 6:33:22 PM8/27/09

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Devotional Text: Genesis 39 (To read and even listen to this text for free, click here.)

Verse in Focus: “The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field” (Genesis 39:2-5).

Related Verse: “For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints” (Proverbs 2:6-8).

Devotional Thought:

Ah, all is right with the world! Sure, Joseph was treated miserably by his brothers and sold into slavery. But look at his life now! I mean, he’s got a great place to live. His new master thinks so much of him that he puts Joseph in charge of everything. And everything he touches seems to turn to gold, so to speak. He’s a good, virtuous and upright man and God is clearly with him. And why wouldn’t God be with him? He’s a man of integrity and honor, surely God has to love that? Yep, because of Joseph’s right choices and always looking on the bright side of things, he’s living his best life now. After all, as someone has said, “choosing to be positive and having a grateful attitude is going to determine how you're going to live your life.” And God cannot help but bless that.

*cough* *cough* *gag* *shudder* ... OK. I think I’m OK now. ... *takes a deep breath* ... Sorry about that. I didn’t think Joel Osteen’s kind of drivel would affect me so quickly. I thought, “let’s have some fun with this.” So I started typing. And before I knew it, the gag reflex was kicking in. Whew!

Seriously, though. Those “prosperity gospel” types like Osteen actually believe that Joseph was blessed by God because of how he lived, because of the kind of man he was. In their view, the Lord rained down his blessings upon Joseph because he was, to use Osteen’s term, “favor-minded.” It seems that God has been just aching to pour out his blessings on someone and finally Joseph comes along. Joseph taps into that heavenly blessing with his virtuous life—living the way His heavenly Father would have him to live—and everything that he could possibly want is now his.

Of course, that’s a load of hooey and here’s why. First of all, it’s based on a really bad understanding of how things work with God. By that, I mean this: The prosperity gospel crowd would have you believe that God rewards those who do good and punishes those who do evil. All the time. In this world. With this as their foundation, they can then proclaim that if you follow their Biblical principles, living a positive and virtuous life, then God must bless you. For them it is the law. They even go to a passage like Proverbs 2:6-8 and claim it backs them up (among a lot of other passages). But the truth is that God and real life do not actually operate that way. Sometimes the wicked prosper. Sometimes the good guys get the shaft.

Since you likely know how the story of Joseph is going to go, you also know that, in a very short time, the fecal matter is about to strike the rotary wind device. And none of it will have been his fault—but more on that tomorrow. The second thing wrong with the Osteen crowd when it comes to Joseph is that they get it all backwards. God is not blessing everything Joseph does because of what kind of man he is. Joseph is becoming the man he is because the Lord His God is with him. And He will be with Joseph as his shield, watching over him and protecting him, even when—especially when—everything falls apart in his life. Blessings on your day!

Vaya con Dios!

Pastor Peterson

REMINDER: You can check out previous email devotions from Shepherd of the Valley Devotions by going to http://groups.google.com/group/salmonlutheran