In my post Silence the Noise, I wrote about the struggles with feeling inadequate. I’m absolutely certain that I’m not alone in experiencing the types of feelings that leave a person with a sense of not being enough or feeling unworthy. We can beat ourselves up better than the worst bully, am I right? It’s because we know all the dirt about ourselves – not just the dirt others have been able to get a glimpse of. This all leads to the game of who’s better – who has the better house, the better wardrobe, the better ride, the better paycheck… and so the spiral goes.
It shouldn’t be in us. This identity of lack shouldn’t be in us when the great I AM resides in us. But here we are, wondering where our yes is – where our provision is, where our approval is, and why are we doubting the One who died for us? This train of thought got stopped on the tracks the other day when I was answering a question regarding the lunch menu. Yes, God used a simple lunch menu to point out a very important truth.
My almost 8-year-old had just finished making sandwiches for herself and our 3-year-old. But what is lunch with only a sandwich? We don’t typically have chips or veggie straws or the goldfish crackers because they’re so bad for you, but I get them as a treat for the long road trips we occasionally take. We still had some lingering after our return home from our most recent jaunt out of state.
She skipped over to me and asked if she and her sister could have some goldfish with their lunch. I responded with yes, and she pumped her fist with another yes! We appreciate the little things. A few minutes later, my son came and asked the same question: Can I have some goldfish with my lunch? I have a tendency to be a bit sarcastic at times, and this was one of those moments. I responded by telling him that I was only letting his sisters have them, but I was going to have to tell him no. He just looked at me and smirked. They know me all too well. I took it a little further and asked him a question: If I told your sisters yes, why would I tell you no?
And God whispered to my heart: Exactly.
As I said, I’ve been struggling lately and God certainly knows this. Our temporary home has been temporary for almost 4 years, our country has been made into a laughingstock, there always seems to be a need for healing in our home, and I’m constantly questioning my calling – all while seeing others making their house a forever home, they don’t seem stressed about the future of our nation, they barely get the sniffles when the weather changes, and there’s one success mentioned after another. Why do they get a yes while I’m stuck here with a… well, not a yes?
But then I heard His whisper.
If you’re not familiar with the story of Joseph, I’ll sum it up for you – but check it out in the Bible, too (It’s a few chapters – Genesis 37, 39-45). Joseph had 11 brothers, but he was the favorite. It actually says that in the Bible! He was favored by his father, and he had dreams about his brothers bowing down to him. Okay, so have the dreams, but then he shared it with his family – if he wasn’t despised before, he certainly was after that!
His brothers decided to kill him, but lost their nerve at the last minute, so they sold him into slavery and told their father that he was killed by a wild beast. Joseph was sold into slavery! He landed in the home of Potiphar (the captain of Pharaoh’s guard). But God was with Joseph and everything he did prospered. Potiphar couldn’t help but notice and put Joseph in charge of all he owned. Well, Potiphar’s wife also took notice. The Bible says Joseph was quite handsome – and everything he touched prospered.
When Joseph refused Potiphar’s wife – literally ran away from her advances – she accused him of trying to take her to bed. Needless to say, she was pretty convincing, and Joseph wound up in jail. But wouldn’t you know – God was with Joseph and he found favor in the eyes of the chief jailer. He was put in a managerial position there and nothing he did was every in question.
But he was forgotten – he probably felt as though he was left there to rot away in prison, supervising other prisoners, but never to carve out a life for himself. One of the prisoners was released, Joseph requested that he speak highly of him, but he was forgotten. Why did others get a yes, but not Joseph?
The story continues on. He was eventually brought before Pharaoh to interpret a dream, God was with him and the Pharaoh gave him the highest position in all of Egypt (just not higher than the throne), and he ended up saving his family and forgiving his brothers.
It turned out alright, but he went through a few seasons where it would be considered normal to have a few doubts on the end result. Or is that just me? Joseph could have looked around and questioned why, but God was with him. Did he question it – did he ever doubt or falter in his faith? We don’t know – but we do know that God was with him.
These times of questions – these seasons that we struggle to see the light at the end of the particular tunnel we’re in – are normal. And God isn’t just with us, but He is in us. Joseph had God with him, but we are in a superior covenant, and He is in us – never to leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
In all of the escapades of the Old Testament, God was with his people, but He’s in us.
Your yes is coming. My yes is coming. If you’ve placed your faith in Jesus, your yes has activated His yes. If it’s a promise made in scripture, His answer is yes (II Corinthians 1:20). It’s time that we take Him at His Word – that we believe what His Word says is true (I recently wrote about this in At His Word).
What God has done for others, He will do for you and for me – God shows no favoritism (Acts 10:34-38, Romans 2:11-16). From the very best of mankind to the very worst, the sins of the entire world were forgiven on the cross (I John 2:2). Everyone who came to Jesus received their healing and deliverance (Matthew 4:24, 8:16, 9:35, 12:15, 14:14, 15:30, 21:14 – there are so many others, this is just some from Matthew). There was no stress in feeding over 5,000, so why would a family of six be an issue (Matthew 14:13-21, Matthew 6:25-34)?
The yes God has given as a promise in the Bible is for you, it’s for me, and it’s for all who place their faith in Him (Acts 17:28, Ephesians 1). I needed a side of goldfish crackers to remind me that my yes is coming. Are you needing that reminder as well?
If you’ve never said yes to Jesus, now is the perfect time. No matter the season you’re in, no matter the obstacles you’re facing or have faced – a yes to Jesus is the most pivotal yes you’ll ever make. I would be honored to pray with you. Send me an email ohblessitgrace@gmail.com if you’re making that decision or have more questions.