Pits Look Different Depending On Your Perspective

Day 37:  Genesis/Psalm 37, Judges 13

When I was a little kid, maybe three or four, my brother put me in a pit that our uncle and father had been digging.  I don't recall what it was for but it was big enough for me to fit into and was over my head.  Once at the bottom he and others kicked some dirt on me before I was rescued.  I've dug a lot of holes since then and am a little taller too, and I've noticed that no pit looks as scary from the top side as it does from the bottom.  At the top the sun may be shining and you look down and think, it's not that deep.  But from the bottom it's dark, the sun seems a long way off and the walls appear unscalable.

In Genesis 37 we begin to read of the story of Joseph.  I like Joseph's story.  Perhaps because I was the youngest child in my family and I had an older brother who liked to throw me pits!  Although, my older brother and my sisters would say it's because I was the favorite child.

What we hear of Joseph in chapter 37 is just the very beginning of his incredible story but I must say, he doesn't start off too well.  He appears to be a spoiled brat.  In verse two we find Joseph tattling on his 1/2 brothers.  In verse three we learn the reason for his tattling, he was his father's favorite.  And he knew it.  His father didn't even try to hide it!  In fact, he made Joseph a multicolored coat - a difficult and expensive thing at that time.

Joseph was so sure of himself that when he has a dream that clearly depicts him as a ruler over his brothers, he doesn't keep it to himself, ask his father for wisdom or guidance or just tell his friends, he runs right out and tells his brothers!  Who immediately hate him more!  And when he has a second dream that depicts not only his brothers but his father and mother bowing to him he tells them all!  The second half of verse eight tells us that his brothers hated him for his dreams (which they only knew about because Joseph told them) and his words (which he used to convey the dream).  All of that to say, Joseph made it easy for his brothers to hate him.

So when they are a long way from home and have the opportunity to get rid of their smug, dreamer of a brother they jump at the chance.  And later in the chapter we find Joseph stripped of his precious coat and sitting at the bottom of a dark, deep pit.  Instead of killing Joseph or leaving him in the pit to die his brothers make a bit of money off him by selling him to some merchants who just "happened" to be passing by.

And that begins the story of Joseph.

God gave Joseph a dream.  And because he chose to share that dream with his brothers he ended up in a pit, the first of two he will find himself in.  He was there because verse 20 tells us that his brothers were trying to keep Joseph's dreams from coming true.  They thought if they got rid of him by selling him into slavery that his dream of ruling over his brothers would never come true.  In reality, their treason actually created the opportunity for his dream to be fulfilled!  God used Joseph's favorite child status, his smug tattling and dream telling AND his brother's attempt to be free of him as the means by which He accomplished the result he had revealed to Joseph.

What this means to you and me today is this, when God gives you a dream it already INCLUDES every obstacle, challenge, detour and scheme of Satan.  God knew Joseph was a spoiled brat and would smugly tell his brother's the dreams.  He knew that the brothers would attempt to leave him for dead and he knew that at that exact moment the caravan would be passing by and the brothers would try to make a buck.  And God used all those twists and turns to grow Joseph into the man he eventually became.  The pit actually perpetuated the promise - it didn't destroy it!

Isn't that amazing?!  God gave Joseph a picture of the end result knowing every event, pit and peril and prison that would lead Joseph exactly where God wanted him to be.  The pit and even (as we'll see later) the prison are not detours they were part of God itinerary to get Joseph exactly where God wanted him to be exactly when He wanted him to be there.  God had already chartered Joseph's course through the pit to the promise.

Are you in a pit?  Is it dark and damp and stinky?  Does it look impossible to get out of?  Are you forgetting your dream because of the dilemma you're in?  God knew you would be exactly where you are right now.  He wants you to learn to trust Him.  He wants you to learn humility and a servants heart like His Son Jesus.  And He wants you to know that He knew you would be in the hole you're in.  He knew exactly how deep and wide your pit would be and He already knows how you're going to get out.

Don't lose hope, but seek His help.  Let your pit become your platform.  Because while you're at the bottom in the dark, He's at the top shinning His light on the rest of your journey.  Your perspective may be bleak, but His perspective is beautiful.