December 2013 – Page 2 – Old Paths Journal

Pitfalls to Depravity

Exodus 32:1
“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.”

It is confounding to see a nation that was delivered out of Egypt so quickly turning to other gods. It took less than forty days for this nation to completely turn away from God. That means in less than a month this nation went from being a nation that served God alone to a nation that was depraved. What are the pitfalls that caused this nation to turn away from God so quickly?

First, they had their eyes on man and not God. Because Moses was up on Mount Sinai for so long, they thought they needed someone or something else to serve, and that is why they made a golden calf. Throughout Christianity there are many people who are doing the works of God, but they are doing them for a man. If you’re doing what you’re supposed to do for a man, then you are doing them for the wrong reason. You are to serve God and not man. Many people have left what they were supposed to do because they were serving a man.

Second, they compromised the ways of the LORD. In verse 5, Aaron had them use the feast of the LORD to worship the golden calf. It’s amazing what we call spiritual. When you start bringing the world’s ways into the Christian life and justify it, you are on your way to complete depravity.

Third, entertainment became more important than truth. In verse 6, you see the children of Israel were playing instead of praying. Far too many churches have turned their church services into entertainment services. If someone doesn’t tell a funny joke, or the preacher or teacher doesn’t have a heart tugging story, then we think they are boring. When we classify someone as a great preacher because they are funny or their preaching antics are entertaining instead of the deliverance of truth, then we are well on your way to depravity.

Fourth, when clothing and music standards are dropped, then you are well on your way to depravity. The children of Israel took their clothes off and danced around the golden calf while music played. It was not godly music, but it was music that sounded like a war. You will always find that this is the final pitfall before someone completely changes how they serve the LORD.

You may wonder why this is so important to you. It is important because depravity starts with the individual. Churches go liberal because the people of the church go liberal. Churches leave the way of God because their members leave the way of God. Countries become depraved because the citizens became depraved. It all starts with you. If you are in one of these pitfalls, then you are influencing your church and nation to leave God.

I challenge you today to watch the very first pitfall of keeping your eyes on God. When you start doing right for man’s sake and not for God’s, then the following steps to depravity will come. Be careful that you serve God and not man. If you keep from the first pitfall, then you will never have to worry about the other pitfalls to depravity.

Appointment with God

by: Steven Heidenreich

Have you ever tried to do right and then face one the greatest trials of your life. One summer my wife, two daughters and I worked in the cornfields detasseling corn so we could help pay for our children’s school bill in the fall. There were a lot of teenagers from our church with whom our family worked in the cornfields. We worked anywhere from 10 to 15 hours in the hot sun. By the time you got home, you were so exhausted that all you wanted to do was eat and sleep so you could face the next day. Some of the teenagers with whom I was working with on a Wednesday asked me if I was going to church that night. I told him that we always go to church on Wednesday night. I got home that Wednesday night cleaned up and started for church. As I was traveling down the street, I saw a man walk across the street and go in between two cars. As I began to pass by where he went in, all of a sudden he ran back out. I swerved to the left to keep from hitting him. I did my best to avoid him, but he ran into the side of the car and he was seriously injured. He was drunk and had dropped a cigarette lighter and ran back to get it. I was terribly terrified and could not believe how this could happen to me on my way to church. Here I was trying to do right by setting an example for the young people and because of it I went through this great trial.

Later on trying to understand the what and the why of what I had just gone through, God used Job chapter 23 to teach me an invaluable lesson.

First of all, God pointed out verse 14. That night he was performing the thing that was appointed for me. There are times and places God has prepared for us to meet with Him so that He can strengthen us so that we can come forth as gold. To be truthful with you, this is one of the appointments I wish I could have skipped. Little did I know that this was just one of the many appointments He had for me in my life.

Secondly, He told me that night that even though I cannot see Him, He’s there. Verses 8-10 say, “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”

After getting out of the car and running over to check on the man, I saw that he was seriously injured. I cried out to God, “Where are you? Can’t you see I’m on deputation trying to go to the Philippines to reach those people for You? How could you let this happen?” There will be times when you cannot see Him and you don’t know where He is, but He’s there watching over you. As I looked up, the first person who was rushing to the scene of the accident was an off-duty paramedic. As I turned around, a lady came up and she was an off-duty nurse on her way to church.

Thirdly, the Word of God is what strengthens us and comforts us in our time of need. I could’ve never made it through that night without God showing me Job 23. Now for over 30 years I have depended upon God’s Word to strengthen and comfort me during the times of His appointments.

These appointments will come in your life, and He will be near you when He seems so far away. His Word will strengthen and comfort you if you will run to It in your time of appointments. Yes, you will come forth as gold.

Dr. Steve Heidenreich
http://missionsminutes.blogspot.com

God’s So Negative

Exodus 20:3-4
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:”

One of the common complaints I hear from progressive liberal Christians is that I shouldn’t be so negative in my preaching. They constantly say that being positive will bring more results than being negative. Now, I’m not saying that being positive doesn’t produce results, but only being positive will actually produce negative results.

Let me illustrate. Years ago I went to flight school to learn how to fly an airplane. Let’s say my instructor took on the mentality of always being positive and never saying anything negative. So, he takes the plane to get us into the air and turns the controls over to me. As I begin to fly, he compliments me on how I am so observant to carefully turn the wheel but never points out that I’m going the wrong direction. When I go to land the plane, he compliments me on my confidence in landing the plane, but never tells me that my descent is too fast and that I’m too low. If that was how he trained me, then I would not be around to write this devotional. Actually, my instructor was very negative in how he trained me. He constantly pointed out what I was doing wrong, but his negative training produced positive results.

God understood that we needed the negative so we could get a positive response in life. Several times through the Book of Exodus God tells us not to do certain things. Is God trying to take my fun away? Not at all! In fact, God is trying to make my life more enjoyable by warning me about things that will hurt the quality of my life. God knows that we need the negative so that life can be much better. If God was always positive, then we would never know what not to do, and not knowing our boundaries would produce negative results.

Leaders must be careful about thinking they must never be negative. Certainly you want to produce a positive atmosphere in whatever realm you lead, but you must understand that setting negative parameters is what helps you to have the positive atmosphere you desire. When you set the negative rules of what people can’t do, then that gives positive boundaries that everyone can live within.

Parents, don’t be afraid to be negative with your children. Though society may say that will run your children off, it will in fact help your children to know what they can’t do so you can have a good and positive relationship with them. If you don’t set the negative in the home, then you will never have the positive.

Preachers, don’t fall for the liberal mentality that you can’t be negative in your preaching. Negative preaching produces positive results. Certainly, there should be positive sermons preached, but don’t avoid the negative because you don’t want to be perceived as being negative.

Finally, no matter what area you may lead in, setting up the negative guidelines of what people cannot do will give you the positive results you desire. Weak leaders are always positive. Strong leaders understand that they must be negative at times to produce positive results.

Always remember that you must have negative before you can have positive. Certainly, you must have a balance of both in leadership, but if you don’t establish the negative, then you will find a negative influence that will be hard to remove.

What Did You Expect?

Exodus 16:3
“And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

The verse above happened not long after the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt. Before this verse, they saw God send the ten plagues upon Egypt to deliver them. They saw God part the Red Sea so they could walk through on dry ground. They saw God close the Red Sea upon Pharaoh’s army. They saw God turn bitter waters into drinkable waters. Yet, they quickly forgot God’s miracles when they faced a time of no food. Instead of praying and asking God to supply their need for food, they complained that they should have stayed in Egypt.

My question for Israel is, what did they expect when they left the land of Egypt? Did they expect the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land to be a journey of no hardships? I fear the children of Israel had unreal expectations of God’s deliverance. I believe they had the idea that once they left the land of Egypt everything would be easy. Their expectations of their journey to the Promised Land were not reasonable. They were going to face hardships, but they needed to trust that God could deliver them through them just like He delivered them from Egypt.

Do you have unreal expectations of the Christian life? Do you find yourself complaining when you go through rough patches in life? If you do, you are not alone. Oftentimes we have unreal expectations of the Christian life. We expect the Christian life to be easy, but that is just not a part of life. Just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean that hard times will stop. Hard times are a part of life, and you must not blame your hard times on God.

Moreover, when you do face hard times, you must keep yourself from the type of thinking that the world never has hard times. Really? All it takes is one day out soul winning for you to see the world has hard times as well. Walk through the hallways of a hospital and you will see that the world has hard times. Quitting on God and going back to the world’s lifestyle is not going to stop your hard times. Hard times are a part of life.

Furthermore, you need to remember God’s power when you face the hard times. Instead of complaining about what you are going through, take the time to stop and remember what God has done for you in the past. If God delivered you in the past, then He can certainly deliver you at the moment of your hard times. Complaining about hard times is not going to stop them, but going to God and asking for His help is what will deliver you from them.

The next time you are tempted to complain about your hard times, remember that God will help you if you will ask Him. Don’t have unreal expectations for life. Realize that hard times come to the saved and lost. The difference for the saved is we have a God Who is capable of helping us through hard times. I encourage you not to complain, but to pray and trust God. He alone has the power to help you, but you must ask Him.

Your End is His Beginning

Exodus 3:6
“Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.”

If there was one thing that epitomized the life of Moses it was that he had a close relationship with God. His relationship was so close that he knew God face to face. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in the Scriptures who talked face to face with God as much as Moses did.

In the verse above, you see that this was the first time in Moses’ life that he came face to face with God. Before he ever came face to face with God, he had to come to the end of a few things in his own life. Yet, when he came to the end of those things, the beginning of a relationship with God that lasted a lifetime began.

First, Moses had to come to the end of the world before he could see God. Egypt is a picture of the world, and Moses had to forsake his associations with the world before God would come to him face to face. Moses had close ties to the world. Pharaoh’s daughter was recognized as his stepmother. He was reared in Egypt’s education system. He easily could have taken the treasures and luxuries of his associations that came with being recognized as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Yet, he gave up the world and its pleasures so that he could have a close relationship with God.

You will never find yourself in a close relationship with God until you are willing to give up the world. The world truly has nothing to offer you. You may be thinking you are giving up a lot, but look at what you gain by giving up the world. You gain the presence of God. Until you give up the world, you will never have a close relationship with Him.

Second, Moses had to come to the end of himself. Moses tried to work things out himself when he saw his brethren being beaten. He tried to take things into his own hands. It wasn’t until he stopped trying to do God’s work and let God do His work through him that he had a face-to-face relationship with God.

You can try to work everything out yourself, but God will only come close to those who rely wholly upon Him. In and of yourself you don’t have the power to work things out. If you ever want to be close to God, then you must simply be a conduit for God to work through you. Stop trying to work everything out yourself.

Third, Moses had to acknowledge the deity, power and righteousness of God before he could have a face-to-face relationship with Him. In other words, all pride had to be gone. You will never have a close relationship with God until you truly understand the God Whom you serve. When you realize you are nothing and He is everything, then you will find that close relationship with God.

Do you desire to have a close relationship with God as Moses did? Then you must come to the end of these three things before you begin a walk with God like Moses. When you come to the end and begin the relationship with God, you will find your life will be forever changed. People will see you differently, and God will become your whole purpose for living.

Release Your Hostages

Genesis 40:1
“And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.”

One of the most memorable hostage stories of my lifetime was when Ayatollah Khomeini held fifty-two United States embassy staff hostage for four hundred and forty days. President Jimmy Carter unsuccessfully tried to negotiate with this terrorists. President Ronald Reagan issued a promise to the Ayatollah that when he took office his first act would be to do everything in his power to release those hostages. The promise was taken seriously and the hostages were released on President Reagan’s inauguration day.

In the verse above, I find that Pharaoh had a hostage crisis of his own. No, he was not holding people from another country hostage, but he held a butler and a baker hostage because they offended him. How ridiculous! He was the leader of Egypt. Arguably, he was the most powerful political leader of his day. Yet, two of his staff offended him and he had them thrown into prison. Eventually he restored the chief butler to his position, but he had the baker killed.

This story about Pharaoh surely shows the pettiness of this leader. Yet, I find that people daily hold others hostage simply because they are offended. Christians hold preachers hostage because they were offended by another pastor. Christians hold fellow Christians hostage because they were offended by what someone did to them. Family members hold their own relatives hostage because they were offended by something that was said or done. No, they are not being physically held hostage, but they are being held hostage in the mind and heart of an individual. It is time that the hostages be released. It is time that people get over their pettiness and release those whom they hold hostage in their hearts.

Let me remind you that the person who offended you may not even know what offense they committed. I recall several years ago a friend who was offended by something I did. I tried to call this friend and find out what I had done so I could get it right. Though we have moved on from that situation, I was held hostage for something I knew nothing about. Just because you think a person knows how they offended you does not mean that they do. If you are not careful, you will strain many relationships because you hold people hostage for an offense that they don’t even know about.

Furthermore, stop being so petty. When I read the story about Pharaoh, I am amazed that a leader was so petty about a butler and a baker. Yet, because someone offended you, you are holding them hostage because your feelings were hurt. Friend, life is not about you. Stop carrying your feelings on your shoulders and holding people hostage every time they offend you.

Let me ask you, are you holding someone hostage because they offended you? Is there someone you stopped associating with because they offended you? It’s time to release your hostages. The only person you are truly hurting by holding people hostage is yourself. Don’t let your pettiness destroy your spirit. Move on! Let God take care of your situation. When you release your hostages, you will find that your life will be at more liberty to be a help to others.

Free/Controlled Speech

by: Allen Domelle

Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty show, was suspended indefinitely for anti-gay remarks he made in an interview with GQ magazine. A&E, the network that hosts the show, issued a statement to USA Today, “We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty.” “His personal views in no way reflect those of A&E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community. The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely.”

In the interview with GQ magazine, Robertson simply explained his beliefs on sodomy. When reading his comments, he simply pointed out how unseemly sodomy is. He claims to be a Christian, and points out that his beliefs come from the Bible.

Though I am personally not endorsing the star or his program, it is troubling how someone can simply state their personal beliefs that go against the controlled media, and he loses his job.

Make no mistake, this has nothing to do with infringing on the free speech of sodomites. Though the news media and liberals alike want to say this goes against what the American people want, this is a farce. They don’t want free speech, they want controlled speech!

President Obama on Wednesday revealed that he would send a group of sodomite athletes as representatives for the United States in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Russia, which many believe is a jab at Russia’s recent anti-gay laws. Where are the calls from the news media for the President to retract his endorsement of this lifestyle?

On Wednesday’s edition of ESPN’s Around the Horn, Bill Plaschke, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, applauded the President’s decision to send a sodomite delegation to represent the United States in the Winter Olympics. Where are the calls for his job?

This is more than a free speech issue, it is a Gospel issue. If we lose free speech in America, then we will lose the right to freely preach and spread the Gospel. The controlled speech crowd will not stop with silencing anti-sodomy speech, but they will try to silence any person from saying anything against sinful lifestyles. They will not stop until it is illegal to preach that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven. Make no mistake, their agenda is to silence the Scriptures.

If Christians silently sit by while our freedoms are eroded by the controlled speech crowd, there will be a day when preachers will not be able to preach what the Scriptures teach. This issue is not about free speech, but it is about controlling what we say. Leviticus 18:22 makes it very clear what God thinks about sodomy when it says, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” If the controlled speech crowd have their way, preachers will no longer be able to preach against sodomy without the threat of going to prison.

Friend, when a society makes sodomy an accepted lifestyle, then that society is showing its depravity. It’s amazing that we are the only society since Sodom and Gomorrah to freely accept the sodomite lifestyle. There are those who say we are an enlightened society, but I contend we are a darkened society.

Animals have more common sense than our society. You don’t see male animals chasing other male animals. As the Book of Romans says, it is “unseemly.” For “educated” people to push this lifestyle and indefinitely suspend a man for saying the truth only reveals their true agenda is controlled speech.

John 8:32 says, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Free speech is at the core of freedom. When truth is silenced, freedom will be squelched. I encourage every reader to not only make your beliefs known that you are against this controlled speech agenda, but I also encourage you to let your opinion be known to the A&E network.

Though I am not endorsing the program, I am endorsing free speech. If we lose the freedoms to say what we believe, then the controlled speech crowd will continue to silence anything that will hinder their abominable lifestyles.

Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.

Exercise

by: Robert Ullo

1 Timothy 4:7-8

I am not much of a health nut as one could easily see by my physique. Every once in a while I will get inclined to walk for a few weeks, but it is not really something I do on a regular basis. I have an elliptical machine at my house. I have tried it before, but once again it is just not something for me. I used to lift weights with some guys in Texas. We used to gather together on Tuesday nights, but really it was more of a good time of fellowship than a time of exercise. I pulled a muscle one night and while it was in the process of healing, we moved away. It was no fun doing it by myself, so I used that as an excuse not to be motivated to exercise anymore. I am sure at sometime in the future I will get some sort of a short time epiphany and start to exercise again, but honestly, I do not expect it to last that long considering my history.

What is exercise anyway? The typical definition is just what you heard a few minutes ago. It is generally considered physical activity done over and over to make one stronger. A more basic definition would be a little more broad in its scope. It is regular or repeated use of a faculty or something that is done to develop a particular skill. For instance, a friend of mine, Bro. Matney can honestly say he exercises. Why? Because I know that he regularly practices the piano in order to continue to be a fit player. I have given you an excuse to use now for the rest of your life. Wow! That means that I exercise too. I put a lot of repetitive time in on purpose – you could call it training – in order to study the Word of God so that I can bring messages. I continually exercise my mind by mulling over and over the same thoughts in sort of a mental push-up or pull-up. As I was performing one of those exercises, I came up with this article about exercise. But what about you? How can the average Christian exercise? Yes, you can do it as well. As a matter of fact, we can all do it. We can exercise our Christianity on a daily basis. In short there are some things we should do repetitively and habitually in order to strengthen what God has given us. I am not talking about push-ups, but I am talking about spiritual exercise and it is in the Bible.

We must exercise godliness.

1 Timothy 4:7 says, “But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.” Now before I give this example, I want to put to bed the previous type of exercise biblically. Here it is in the very next verse: (1 Tim 4:8) “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” I know it agrees with my statement, but in all reality I want you to look at the verse in reference to the article. The reason this verse is in the Bible is not to tell you not to keep yourself healthy, but the context is really in the last part of the verse. It says, “having the promise of life that now is…” Exercise has proven benefits to increase length of life. But at the end of the verse the Bible says “and of that which is to come.” We are to put more emphasis on exercising godliness because in the life to come we will not have to worry about our bodies. We need to spend more time on exercising for the eternal than for the temporal. That is true godliness. I am not telling you not to take care of yourself, but I am telling you if you want a greater benefit for life that will truly last, then exercise godliness on purpose. Exercise it regularly. Make it a repetitive movement like jumping jacks or sit-ups. Do it over and over until you have the greatest spiritual abs around.

We must exercise humility and maturity as a Christian. (Psalm 131:1-2)

Here in one of the shortest chapters in the Bible, we find an exercise of humility. We find out what David thinks is really important. He gives a an exercise program here. The first exercise on the list is not to be haughty. After you have taken a rest and gotten something to drink then let’s move on to the other humility station. Just like haughtiness, loftiness is a problem with people who hang around in gyms. They are constantly standing in front of the mirrors flexing their muscles. They are not really looking at anything. They want you to look at themselves. That is exactly what David is saying here. Our spiritual maturity level should be such that we should not have to flex our muscles in front of everybody. People should walk by and say, “Wow!! Did you see that guy? He must be a Christian. I mean look at the way he acts in public. What an example he is!” Then comes that station every weightlifter likes to go to. You know the one where he can pick up the most weight. That is not what David said. David said we do not need to worry about the great matters or high things. Look at the next verse. It is low weight and lots of reps. That is the best way to tone. That is the truth of Christian maturity. (Psalm 131:2) “Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.”

We must exercise our hearts.

Ecclesiastes 1:13 says, “And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.” We can also go back to the book of Proverbs for a lesson in this. People who are in exercise competitions like big belts and shiny awards. Proverbs 4:7-8 says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.” Exercising wisdom is one of the greatest exercises of the heart. It shows what condition your heart is really in. Every time you go to the doctor, what is the first thing he does? He checks your pulse, your blood pressure, and then uses a stethoscope to hear your heart. A Christian who uses godly wisdom to make choices in life is spiritually fit for the work of God. This is an exercise that we must all get good at.

We must exercise a good conscience

Acts 24:16 says, “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.” A spiritually strong Christian has a good moral compass. They are concerned about what other people think. Sometimes we exercise pride, but unfortunately that does nothing more that break down the muscles. A Christian should never have the attitude – I don’t care what other people think. That is the wrong attitude if you want to be a witness to them. That is the wrong attitude if you want to be a good example. That is the wrong attitude if you want to have a good testimony and a good reputation. It is an important part of your exercise regimen. That exercise not only affects your conscience in not offending others, but as the verse says, it is an exercise in your relationship with the Lord.

You should exercise your ability to discern good and evil.

This is why the repetitive, consistent, faithful attitude of a Christian is so important. The Bible says in Hebrews 5:14, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Every good Christian needs a diet of fresh meat that will keep them healthy. You need that time of mental exercise in the Word of God. You need that time of spiritual exercise in prayer. You need that regular or repeated use of purposely staying away from those things which are bad for your spiritual health and eating more of that which is good for your spiritual health.

I may not like a lot of physical exercise, but this stuff is right up my alley. I may never have big muscles or flat abs, but I can look good in front of that spiritual mirror. That is really the important thing. I am the man I have to look at in the mirror every day and that is what I want to see.

Robert Ullo
Pastor
Bible Baptist Church
Spanish Fork, AL

Living in a Pit

Genesis 37:24
“And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.”

What a hopeless feeling Joseph must have felt as he was in this pit surrounded by those who wanted to see him die. Joseph had done nothing to deserve to be thrown into the pit, but sadly his brothers hated him so much that they threw him into this pit so they could get rid of him.

If the verse above is all that we had on Joseph’s life, that pit would have been the tragic end of a good young man’s life. Yet, the story continues in Genesis 39:2 when it says, “And the LORD was with Joseph…” Though this pit had no water and was empty, it was filled with a presence, and that presence was the LORD. Though others forsook Joseph, the LORD was with him. Though the pit was lonely and without human interaction, it was filled with heavenly interaction with the LORD Himself. The LORD didn’t send an angel to be with Joseph, but He came Himself to be with him. It was the presence of the LORD that helped Joseph live through that pit.

Has life cast you into a pit? What is the pit that you face today? Maybe your pit is a family member who is breaking your heart. Maybe your pit is the doctor’s report of a deadly health issue that only a miracle of God can fix. Maybe your pit is a lonely home that you go to each night because your spouse has graduated to Heaven. Maybe your pit is the single life that you wish you could leave for a spouse. Maybe your pit is facing your schoolmates on a daily basis. Maybe your pit is that the home in which you live is filled with drugs and alcohol. We could try to mention every calamity that people face, but what we all must understand is that we all will have a pit that life has cast us into.

The good news about this pit is that you are not in it alone. You need to understand that just like the LORD was with Joseph in his pit, He is also with you in yours. Friend, the pit that you face every day of your life is truly not empty if you will look beyond what your pit took from you and look to the presence of the LORD that is with you. Though nobody may quite understand the depths of your pit, you must understand that God understands it because He is with you while you are in it.

You have a choice. You can either let the pit take your life or you can decide to live while you are in the pit. You can look at the emptiness of your pit, or you can look at the presence in your pit. How you face your pit will ultimately determine what comes out of that pit. If you let your pit take your joy, then your pit has become your casket. If you realize you still have a reason to have joy in your life because of the presence of the LORD, then that pit is only a stepping stone for greater usefulness.

Because Joseph did not let the pit that he faced destroy his spirit and obedience towards God, it became a stepping stone to propel him towards great position in Egypt. What was supposed to be a death bed truly became a stepping stone all because he did not focus on the emptiness of human accessories, instead he focused on the presence of the LORD. Your pit can be the thing the LORD uses to propel you into a greater ministry for Him if you will simply keep doing right. I don’t know how long you will have to live with your pit, but you must look beyond it and keep serving the LORD with a good spirit. Until your pit is taken from you, I encourage you to console yourself in the presence of the LORD, and let His presence take you to greater heights for Him.

I Will Be With Thee

Genesis 28:15
“And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”

The promise God made to Abraham was, “I am with thee.” What a promise! To know that God is going to be with you as you pursue the life of faith is comforting to the believer. With the promise of God being with Abraham came many other promises that He would fulfill for him.

First, because God was with Abraham, He would “keep” him wherever he went. Notice it says, “…and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest…” This was good to know because Abraham was leaving his family to go to a strange land. He was leaving everything he knew to go to a place where he had never been, and to a people whom he did not know. As long as God was going to be there in this foreign place with these foreign people, that was all Abraham needed.

My parents used to tell me that the safest place to live is in the middle of God’s will. They told me that if God sent me to the deepest parts of Africa that I would be safer there than in the safest neighborhood in America. The reason they could promise this is because when God is with you, He will also keep you no matter where you go. That is why you can go soul winning in dangerous neighborhoods and still know that you are safe because God is with you. If God calls you to go to foreign soil to spread the Gospel, then you will be safe because He is with you.

Second, because God was with Abraham, He never had to worry about God leaving him. God said to Abraham in the verse above, “I will not leave thee.” When Abraham faced battles and famines, God did not leave him. It didn’t matter what Abraham faced, He was assured God was staying with him.

When God is with you, it doesn’t matter what you face, He will not leave you. When the going gets tough, God will still be with you. God will never leave you just because you face hard times. When your health is leaving you, God is still going to be with you. When you face the attacks of the enemy, God is going to be with you. When finances are drying up, God is going to be with you. When family criticizes you for doing something they don’t understand, God is going to be with you. When other Christians forsake you and question your stand, if you are doing God’s will He will be with you. He promised He would not leave you no matter what you face.

Third, because God was with Abraham, He promised He would fulfill the purpose of why He sent him. What confidence this should give to every person who is living in the will of God. If God called you to do something, He will not leave you until He has accomplished the purpose of sending you. Christian, God is going to finish the purpose of why He placed you on this Earth. Don’t despair when you think you are going nowhere. If you’re doing what God has called you to do, then it doesn’t matter what others think of you, God will make sure that you accomplish the task He called you to do.

The question I must ask you is this, is God with you? This is the only way you can claim these promises. As long as you are living in God’s will and walking with Him daily, you can be assured that God is with you. As Psalm 91 tells us, if we will dwell in God’s secret place, then we will live under His shadow. When you live under God’s shadow, then you are assured He is with you and these promises are for you to claim.