Let the Weak Speak
Part 13 – Joseph – The Father’s Favour (2)
We have been looking at Joseph and the fact that his weakness was in the fact that he was his father’s favourite. However, when his father’s favour proved insufficient to protect him and provide for him he exchanged his natural father’s favour for the favour of God that can never fail to protect or provide! Joseph’s positive attitude of faith was the key to attracting God’s favour to his life!
Remember – we are no longer wearing ourselves out chasing signs and wonders – we are signs and wonders and so we are destined to be the most exciting thing that is going on wherever we are! Joseph became a sign and a wonder in Egypt and eventually – in the midst of a famine – he was the most exciting and relevant thing that was going on! When people are hungry the prospect of – and opportunity to – meet the person who holds the key to their next meal and keeping them alive becomes very exciting!
Isaiah 8: 18
18 Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the LORD of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.
Joel 3: 9 – 10
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for war!
Wake up the mighty men,
Let all the men of war draw near,
Let them come up.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’”
IT’S TIME TO LET THE WEAK SPEAK! LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”
Remember – a positive attitude will always take you UP! Your attitude will always determine your altitude! You can choose to peck around on the ground like a chicken – always in a flap but hardly getting off the ground! Or you can choose to exchange your weakness for the LORD’s strength and soar like an eagle – very little flapping (10%) and effortlessly rise to where no chicken has ever gone!
Eagles flap only 10% of the time that they are in the air – the other 90% of the time is spent soaring! Basically, life is 10% of what you make it and 90% of how you take it!
The freedom that God has given us is the freedom to choose! Before we were born again a lot of that freedom was perverted in our lives because according to 2 Timothy 2 we were caught in the devil’s snare and taken captive by him to do his will. Although we had the right to choose our natural inclination to sin generally caused us to choose wrong! That is why Jesus said that he was anointed to preach deliverance to the captives and to liberate the oppressed! That is why he said that those whom the Son sets free are free indeed!
Because we have freedom we also have responsibility to exercise our freedom wisely. As we have looked at Joseph’s life we have seen that he chose to maintain a positive attitude of faith even when his circumstances were negative.
LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”
Your attitude will determine your actions. Your perspective and how you see things will – more than anything else – determine how your life turns out. The person with the best attitude is the one who sees more opportunities than anyone else and who believes that every failure is simply a stepping stone to success.
You may have heard the story of the poor farmer whose favourite donkey fell into a deep pit that had been dug on his land. He didn’t have a rope long enough and couldn’t afford to hire anyone to help him pull the donkey out. Eventually he decided it was best to simply bury the donkey alive where he was. He might have been the donkey of a poor farmer but the man’s broken down and hopeless poverty spirit hadn’t rubbed off on him. Everyone hearing of the donkey’s predicament would no doubt have shaken their heads and sighed. But he was no poor donkey and so he wasn’t ready to be buried alive! Every shovelful of dirt that came down may have brought a fresh tear to the eye of the farmer but it was seen by the donkey simply as something for him to shake off and stand on so that eventually that which was supposed to bury him became the means of his salvation! No doubt the farmer – with his negative attitude – neglected to see the miracle and probably saw it as just another mouth to feed!
It was the same for Joseph. Every negative circumstance he faced was seen as an opportunity to move up! And it can be the same for us if we have the right attitude!
Every thought of discouragement must be taken captive because it is the enemy of our progress. Discouragement comes to rob you of the courage you need to move you forwards and upwards!
Remember what the LORD said to Joshua.
Joshua 1: 6 – 9
6 Be strong and of good courage… 7 …be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded you: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper anywhere you go. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. 9 Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be you dismayed: for the LORD your God is with you anywhere you go.
Your attitude will determine whether your thoughts will bring you down and keep you earthbound or take you up into the fullness of heaven’s plan and provision. That is why we pray that our Father’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That is why we must line up our thoughts with his high thoughts! Only his high thoughts can establish us in his high ways! His high way always leads to victory!
2 Corinthians 2: 14
14 Now thanks be to God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ
Remember – we don’t get to choose the circumstances we face but we get to choose our attitude towards our circumstances! We may not always have the opportunity to choose what we go through but we do have the right to choose how we come through it!
Paul put it this way:
2 Corinthians 4: 7 – 9
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed
troubled – beset by problems or conflict
Jesus promised us trouble in this world – not just a little trouble but much trouble! But he also promised us that in the face of that trouble we could cheer up because we can overcome the world in his strength!
LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”
We might be troubled but we don’t need to be
distressed – suffering from anxiety, sorrow, or pain
Our attitude in times of trouble will determine whether we are cheerful or distressed. The dictionary lists the antonym or opposite of distress as “happiness”. Remember last time – the blessing of God makes rich and adds no sorrow with it. According to Jesus in Matthew chapter 5, the blessing = happiness!
We need to see trouble as an opportunity to manifest the blessing! Remember – a good and positive attitude attracts the favour of our heavenly Father!
LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”
We may be
perplexed – feeling completely baffled
but we don’t have to give in to
despair – the complete loss or absence of hope
Our attitude in the midst of perplexity will determine whether we yield to despair or continue to believe that although we might not understand everything that is going on right now we know that God’s plans for us are always for good and never for evil, and that he always causes us to prosper and comes to give us a future and a hope!
The right attitude is always easier to maintain than regain! A positive attitude will always attract God’s favour and supernaturally turn the most perplexing of situations around! Can you imagine how Joseph felt as he was taken from Potiphar’s house to a prison cell? Only maintaining the right attitude could have kept him on course and attracted the continued favour of God.
LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”
There will be times when we will be
persecuted – subjected to hostility, harassment, and ill-treatment because of what we believe
but we can be certain that we will never be
forsaken – abandoned
Our attitude in the face of persecution will determine whether we feel forsaken and abandoned or we attract the supernatural favour and strength of God – who has promised to never leave or forsake us – that enables us to pray blessing on our persecutors. We are not responsible for how people act towards us but we are responsible for our attitude and how we react to their treatment of us. If you are dependent on man’s favour then you will fold under persecution but if you do as Jesus did and ask the Father to forgive them (even though you might be convinced that they are well aware of what they are doing) you will attract his supernatural favour!
LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”
We may be
cast down – thrown down forcefully
but we cannot be
destroyed – utterly defeated
Remember – the battle is in the mind! In a boxing match when someone goes to the floor the referee begins to count from one to ten. If the person doesn’t muster the strength to get back up before the ten count is over then he is out and the fight is over. But when we go down the count doesn’t stop until we get back up again! Our attitude needs to be, “I will arise!” That will always attract the Father’s favour and his supernatural provision to restore us! When the prodigal said, “I will arise!” he attracted his Father who ran out to meet him and completely restore him with his favour – the best robe, a ring, new shoes, the fatted calf and a big party! When Pharaoh refused Moses’ request to let God’s people go the ten count began – but it was 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – blast off! And guess whose bones went with them? Joseph’s! Our attitude prophesies our future! Joseph’s positive attitude of faith certainly prophesied his!
LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”
Thomas Jefferson said, “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
By maintaining the right attitude Joseph saw the visions that he had received as a seventeen year old come to pass many years later after many opportunities to let go of the vision and give up. When Joseph received his dreams I am sure he could never have imagined that they would be fulfilled in such a dramatic and phenomenal way.
God has given all of us visions and dreams and so if we are diligent to maintain a positive attitude of faith in the midst of all of the opportunities to throw in the towel then – just like Joseph – we will see what God has promised fulfilled in ways that are exceeding abundantly far above all that we can ask, think, or imagine! Who says so? God says so!
I have said it for years – “If you don’t quit you can’t fail!”
Abraham Lincoln said it this way, “Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed.”
Joseph’s positive attitude is what attracted the favour of God and caused every negative situation to turn around for good!
Look at how it worked in Jesus’ life.
Philippians 2: 5 – 11 (God’s Word Translation)
5 Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Although he was in the form of God and equal with God, he did not take advantage of this equality. 7 Instead, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant, by becoming like other humans, by having a human appearance. 8 He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, death on a cross. 9 This is why God has given him an exceptional honor– the name honored above all other names– 10 so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will kneel 11 and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Never forget that in the kingdom the way up is down! The natural law of gravity says that what goes up must come down – but the supernatural law of the kingdom says what goes down must come up!
James 4: 10; 1 Peter 5: 5 (God’s Word Translation)
10 Humble yourselves in the Lord’s presence. Then he will give you a high position…
5 …God opposes the arrogant but favours the humble.
Ultimately, only God’s favour can turn things around and only a positive attitude of faith will attract his favour. We should never attempt to gain the favour of men but instead we should do everything as though we were doing it for the LORD.
Ephesians 6: 5 – 8 (God’s Word Translation)
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with proper respect. Be as sincere as you are when you obey Christ. 6 Don’t obey them only while you’re being watched, as if you merely wanted to please people. But obey like slaves who belong to Christ, who have a deep desire to do what God wants them to do. 7 Serve eagerly as if you were serving your heavenly master and not merely serving human masters. 8 You know that your heavenly master will reward all of us for whatever good we do, whether we’re slaves or free people.
Remember – the freedom we have is the freedom to choose! We have the freedom to choose the right attitude that will always attract our heavenly Father’s favour that will bring to pass all that he has planned for us and fulfil all of the visions and dreams that he has given us!
IT IS TIME TO LET THE WEAK SPEAK! LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”
Are you ready to exchange a dependence upon the weakness of man’s favour for the supernatural strength of your heavenly Father’s favour? Are you ready to exchange a negative attitude of fear and unbelief that leaves you as a victim under your circumstances for a positive attitude of faith that will always make you a victor over your circumstances?
LET THE WEAK SAY, “I AM STRONG!”