Feelings or Faith
“When the message came to him, Joseph wept.”
This is from Genesis 50. It’s referring to when Joseph’s brothers for the “umpteenth time” mistreated him. Now, before I get into this record, I want us to consider that quote.
“When the message came to him, Joseph wept.”
Have you ever been harmed by someone to the point that you wept? I seriously doubt that any of us couldn’t raise our hand here. We have all been hurt one way or another in life. But, what we do from there is ALWAYS our choice.
Do you believe that you have been given power in this life?
→ Power to rise, power to win
→ Power to thrive
→ Power to think for yourself
→ Power to have peace
→ Power to calm storms
→ Power to heal-restore-reconcile
Those are big questions!
I believe we do!
Mainly because my Big Brother said so in Luke.
Luke 10:19
“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Consider this for a moment, if I have been given all power why is it that sometimes someone can say or do something to me that cuts to the bone and I am deflated and powerless?
Well, let’s look at Genesis and see the example Joesph set for us.
Genesis 50:15-18
And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
So, Joseph’s father dies, and the brothers who have harmed him since his youth get scared that without dad alive, Joseph, who is only second to the Pharaoh at this time, will take revenge on them for all the harm they did to him. Instead of humbly going to Joseph with apologies and an honest heart, facing their wrongdoings, they decided to lie to him in an effort to cover their butts.
Honesty is always the correct way to face anything in life.
I’m going on a tangent here for a second, but we will come back around to Joseph.
Have you ever heard “the truth shall set you free”?
This statement has multiple meanings. Being honest with myself is the first place I am to be honest, and by doing so, there is freedom that comes to me. It is not always easy to be honest with yourself. I promise you this! I have been on a journey for the past year of intentionally checking myself to see if I am being honest with myself. I have found that I have been in some really bad habits of lying to myself or allowing others' lies to become my beliefs, then lying to myself and making them my own.
For example, I was once told that if I looked anywhere else to find God and His will other than the church I was attending, I would be a “grease spot by morning.” So with this fear in my belief system, I limited my views. I did this by searching for truth, discovery, and even music in one source. Was I peaceful with this? Was this life giving to me? Nope, but I wasn’t “interrupting” this dictation of non-truth to face the truth that my God is not limited by man, churches, organizations, books, man-made frames, ideologies, or feelings.
When I began to be honest about the heart cry within my soul to rise to new heights, I began to see freedom that I never knew existed. This one example is one of the hundreds I am learning about myself. The point of this tangent? Get honest. Get honest with yourself in all categories of life, and then that honesty will spread to others.
Okay, back to our story. Why did Joseph weep?
Because, before his brothers “sent” a lying letter, he had met with his father. He was the one to bury his father according to his father’s wishes. He knew his father did not say this to them. He knew they were lying. So, here was yet another crossroad for Joseph to decide if he was going to be a victim of others’ harm or rise above it (and if he were a score-keeping man, his brothers had racked up a lot of harm points throughout his life). We too get to make this decision in our lives.
Joseph had several things in his past that he could have held onto and identified himself as a victim. He could have recalled that his brothers sold him into slavery and that they lied to his father. He could have explained how, when he worked for Potifer, he was wrongly accused and put in jail. He then could have wallowed in the fact that in jail, he was promised three times that others would speak on his behalf to get him out, but they did not. Yet, Joseph was never identified as a victim.
Look what he declared in verses 19-22
And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God.
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Now, therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
Several times throughout Genesis it says “but the Lord was with him”. Nothing anyone did to him trumped that fact that the “Lord was with him”. He was not a victim to others actions but was a victor who walked in his Spirit, who overcame obstacles, never wallowed in self pity, nor did he seek validation from others. Instead, he knew “the Lord was with him.”
Now, let’s circle back to my question above…
If I have been given all power, why is it that sometimes someone can say or do something to me that cuts to the bone and I feel deflated and powerless?
Simple answer, I gave my power away to the one who harmed me.
Feelings dictate that I am to be hurt, offended, and take it personally but faith dictates that:
No matter what, the Lord is with me!
What was meant for my harm will be turned into good!
I choose to STOP giving my power away to others!
I opened with Joseph weeping for this purpose. We all should acknowledge our feelings, but we do not have to allow our feelings to override our faith. Sometimes feelings spiral us down to a low place, but God says, “Rise up, honey, you’re never alone.”
I have also seen that sometimes feelings rise up too high emotionally. But faith says, “Peace – be at peace”.
Faith is that balance inside of us that helps us not go too low or rise too high but walk in an even “peace beyond our understanding” pace.
In conclusion, we have the authority to choose how we respond to others' harm.
Honesty with oneself always brings freedom.
We have been given all power, and we get to live in it or give it away; the choice is ours.
No matter what, the Lord is with us
Faith is the balance in our life that tells us to rise and tells us to bask in His peace.
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The New Birth is the most wonderful Miracle to begin with! Romans 10:9-10 shows us how to receive the new birth.
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
This begins the first Miracle for you. NOW, you have unlimited resources available to you.
You now have the holy spirit inside of you, coursing through your veins and behind every fiber of your being.
You have access to all nine of the manifestations of holy spirit. 1 Corinthians 12
You are seated in the heavenlies. Ephesians 2:6
You have Christ in You, the hope of glory! Colossians 1:27
You have direct access with God! Ephesians 2:18
Let’s walk this journey together! God has called you for Such A Time As This!
1. We believe in one God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – Creator of all things. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
2.We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of Mary, crucified, died, was buried, resurrected, ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of the true God and Father. (John 3:16)
3. We believe the Bible in its entirety to be the absolute inspired Word of God and the infallible rule of faith and conduct. It’s a spiritual book, written by The Spirit for the spirit. (II Timothy 2:15)
4. We believe in the future return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ( I Thessalonians 4:13-18)
5. We believe in the personal salvation of Believers by believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth that Jesus is Lord. (“Romans 10:9 and 10.”)
6. We believe in sanctification, redemption, justification, and ministry of reconciliation and righteousness as sonship rights given at the time of the new birth through the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit.
7. We believe in divine healing, through faith in the Name of Jesus Christ, via the shed blood and broken body, and that healing is included in the redemption and available at any time during life.
8.We believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as outlined in Romans 10:9-10. We believe that every born-again person has the ability to operate all nine of the manifestations of the holy spirit. Also, we believe in the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit. (Ephesians 4:7)
9. We believe in the Christian commission (Matthew 28:19) by speaking boldly, tenderly, and lovingly to all of humanity.
10. We believe in the forgiveness of sins as outlined in scripture by confessing our sins to our Heavenly Father, God and that forgiveness is given at that moment. (1 John 1:9)
11. We believe the thief, the devil, comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy and credit any of these actions as belonging to him. In complete contrast, we believe that Jesus came so that we might have life {Zoe – life in all of its fullness} and have it more abundantly. He gets credit for this abundance in life. (John 10:10)
12. We believe that God desires greatly to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)
N.O.W – No Ordinary Woman
No Ordinary Woman.
N.O.W.—Woman, God created you to be more than ordinary.
He created you to be Extra-Ordinary.
When you received His gift of Holy Spirit you were no longer just a body and a soul, you became a three-part being of Body-Soul-Spirit; complete, a perfect work through the miracle of the New Birth!
This is our movement, daughter of God, to stand out from the crowd: to boldly proclaim I am His and He is mine. To see signs follow you, to see miracles performed through you, to be His Wonder! To rely only upon your God. To expect only from Him. To be independently dependent on Him alone. He is enough for you.
We are His masterpieces and we radiate with His divine love everywhere we go. You were created to live in this day-time-hour. Created for such a time as this and together we will move mountains!
In Him We Live exists so that women who love God can know and believe that they were born for such a time as NOW.
Our Code
1. Jesus is the center and the Head of The Body. It’s All About Following His Directive (Colossians 1:18)
2. We believe big and take action. It’s all about activated faith All About Activated Faith (James 2:14-26)
3. We honor one another to glorify God. It’s allAll About the Romans 12 Experience
4. We are Lovers, not Haters. It’s All About loving on others (Mark 12:31)
5. We think in Color. It’s All About how God inspires us by working in us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13)
6. We don’t back down. It’s All About submitting to God and watching the Devil flee in terror (James 4:7)
7. We stand approved before God. It’s All About knowing scripture and how to apply (2 Timothy 2:15)
8. We choose our thoughts. It’s All About knowing which thought to lead captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
9. We will express gratitude. It’s All About keeping a thankful heart (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
10. We move from a place of power. It’s All About using the right tools afforded us through Jesus Christ, His Father, The Holy Spirit, and The Bible. (Ephesians 6:10-18)
11. We speak to our mountains (ALL OF THEM). It’s All About the power of our words (Mark 11:23)