“God never said the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.” Max Lucado

Joseph had a dream that one day his entire family, including his parents, would bow down to him. As Joseph was not the firstborn, this would not come about through any natural succession.

So, if this dream was from God, it would have to come from another direction. And oh boy, what a direction (Gen. 37-50) that would be!

First, his bothers sold him into slavery and faked his death. Then he passed a seduction test, only to be thrown into prison. Finally, he does a favor for someone who could get him out of prison only to languish in prison for another two years.

Scripture says that the LORD was with him, but did Joseph see slavery, imprisonment and betrayal as something that God was using to fulfill his dream?

We possibly see a glimpse of understanding God’s perspective with the naming of his children. But we know with 100% certainty that he got it when he tells his brothers, “You meant it for evil, but God used it for good to save our family and many others.”

Joseph didn’t have God’s perspective until the end of his ordeal. He went through the unfairness of life to reach the point where God’s purpose did come true. It most likely didn’t happened as he would have wanted, but it did come about.

Perspective informs perception. The way you think will be the bases for how you interpret life as it unfolds. Perspective: God is in control, despite what others do or don’t do. Perception: life may seem out of control and/or unfair, but I can still praise God in the midst of it because He will work all things out for His good in my life in the end.

How you interpret life starts with your perspective. Does Jesus owe you anything, or do you owe Him everything? The more your perspective lines up with God’s Word, the greater you’ll be fulfilled despite life’s disappointments.

Being a follower of Christ is not a one-off decision, but multiple.

Let me run a scenario by you. You’ve always wanted to work for BossTops, which requires a high security clearance. If caught lying, you’ll automatically be fired.

You’ve been preparing to work at BossTops your entire life. It’s your dream job. And now, you hired! You’re pumped. There is only one thing left to do: pass training, which you are doing when “it” happens.

On the last day of training, you’re about to handle a service call, when your training officer tells you to wait. While waiting, though, another employee helps that customer.

After the customer leaves, your co-worker asks, “What in the world happened?” Before you can answer, your trainer pipes in, “Oh, he didn’t see the customer come in.” Your trainer threw you under the bus.

You say nothing. Put your head down; and, finish the day. Everything is cool, right? Well, in order to successfully complete training you must meet with BossTops’ owner. During the interview, she asks, “Were you ever put in a compromising situation while on training?”

You’re thinking, “What kind of question is that? Does she know about what my trainer did? If she knows and I lie, I’ll get fired. Maybe this is simply an integrity check. I’ve got to tell the truth.

“But, what if she doesn’t know? The success of BossTops is based on being a team player. And if I don’t have my trainer’s back, who might have just been having a bad day, I’ll never get the best assignments and/or promotions. If this happens, my dream job becomes a nightmare.”

This scenario illustrates Romans 5:3-5. Our hope that knows that it knows where we’ll spend eternity starts in suffering that produces Christ’s character in us.

This process is not a one-time decision for Jesus to be your savior. No, it’s a decision-by-decision process to let Him save you from yourself. Will it be easy? Nope. Can there be consequences? Yup.

It does, however, produce in you the reality that you’ll spend eternity with Jesus in heaven even while your hope is being sorely tested here on earth. By faith, continue to do what Jesus would do. It’s not a cliché, but a life changing truth.

“Your thinking drives your feelings, which drives your choices, which determines your character.”

This statement drives to the heart of the battle within our current Western culture, which wants to reverse the order of thinking and feelings. If I feel it, it must be true.

Jesus’ in the Garden of Gethsemane fought this battle. He was feeling depressed (Matt. 26:37 – “troubled”), which led to the thought of not going to the cross. Yet, He got the order back in line with the truth and said, “Not My will, but Your will be done despite how I feel.”  

No matter how much we hear the opposite, Scripture, the source of truth, says that we become more like Jesus through changing the way we think (Rom. 12:2), not by changing the way we feel.

Let me illustrate. Let’s say you and your 14-year-old son are at restaurant when he asks permission to go the bathroom. You nod your head and he’s off.

Five minutes later your waiter tells you, “You should see what your teenager is doing. He’s stuffing toilet paper down the toilet that is flooding the bathroom floor. You should be ashamed.”

What are you feeling at that moment? Incredulous that anyone would say that, a little embarrassed or a tad bit angry, maybe all the above?

You quickly head to the bathroom to discover it’s not your son! In fact, he’s using the toilet behind the locked stall! Now what are you feeling? You get the point. Change your thinking, you change the feeling and choice.

As followers of Christ, we can’t make decisions based on our feelings if we want to be more like Him. Feelings, though real, are not the truth that will set you free from the behavior ruining your life.

Change is not easy, which Scripture never said it would. In fact, it reveals that it will be a fight! Your freedom is a battle worth fighting, regardless of how you feel at the moment.

“Be sure to put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” Abraham Lincoln

This is what we saw while returning to our secluded mountain cabin after a morning’s hike to a beautiful lake with a day’s haul of fish. As we approached the cabin, where we were all imagining a cold or hot shower and a scrumptious Salvadorian fish fry, we noticed this broken window in the dinning room.

At first, we thought someone broke into the cabin. Yet, after entering, we knew it wasn’t human. Why? The “person” left the “valuables” while exiting back out the window instead of unlocking and leaving by the back door.  

It was a bear alright; and, you should have seen the mess. Needless to say, some of our food supplies were on the floor and on the hill behind the cabin. But this was just the beginning.

The next day, the bear came back through this same window while we were in the cabin! But you should have seen my daughter. I couldn’t have been a prouder dad than I was at that moment.

She knew the truth of what to do and did it. She literally took a stand. And the bear, who was standing on the dining room table at the time, high tailed it right back out this window when it saw her.

This is exactly what we are to do in our fight to become more like Jesus. The enemy can be just like that bear, big and intimidating. But, Scripture (Eph. 6; 1 Pet. 5:8-9; James 4:7) tells us that we must stand our ground and apply the truth when the attacks come.

As you face your attacker and his accusations/lies head on with the truths the Spirit gives you, he must back off. Why? He can’t stand the truth.

“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston S. Churchill

Have you ever been in a wrestling match for your life? I have. It’s a story for another day. But it was a match that would cost me dearly if I quit.

Jacob was in such a fight. He was returning home from a long journey caused by his own doing: He and his mom thought they could fulfill God’s plan their way. They cheated. And, their plan backfired big time!

Jacob had to runaway to his Uncle Laban’s place where his past came back to bite him: Jacob gets cheated. Ten times his uncle rips up the contract (including a marriage contract) and rewrote it without Jacob’s agreement.

Jacob finally had enough and decided to face his past – his brother. On the way home, Jacob saw God work out His plan for his life by saving him from his uncle. God spoke to Laban and told him to back off, which he did.

Now was crunch time. He had to face his brother. Can you imagine the inner turmoil? In fact, Jacob rolled around in the dirt and dust with a man, who changed Jacob’s name to Israel because he had wrestled with God.

How that took place is another story. But for now, there will be times we struggle with our walks with God. Our choices begin to catch up to us; and then, we start to wonder how we will ever get through the obstacles of our own making.

How? First, don’t quit! God is big enough to handle your doubts, your fears, your weaknesses and your failures. He is God and will never break His promises, like “I will never leave or forsake you.” He was there for Jacob when he fled from his past/brother and when he returned to face his past/brother.

And second, keep fighting! You might be wrestling with your past, but it’s time to go forward in the present like Jacob did. Face it and defeat it with the joy of the Lord (see June 26),

As you do, you might have to get a little dirty, but instead of being called a failure, you’ll be called a victor in Christ! Victory comes to those who don’t quit, but keep fighting.