Posted on by intentional4christ

The lifter of my head

For the past few months, I have been following the Israelites journey from Abraham’s loins to becoming an independent nation in my bible studies. And a few days ago, something caught my attention in Joseph’s story.

Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers because they were jealous of him. While in slavery, his master’s wife tried to force herself on him which landed him in jail. Through all his woes, the favour of God continued to rest on him and distinguished him even in the jail cell. One night, two people in the jail had dreams and woke up quite disturbed because they did not understand what their dreams meant. And Joseph through God’s power, interpreted their dreams. Lets read together:

So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me; and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes. “Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer. [Genesis 40:9-13 NASB]

This is a long passage so lets pause for a second and pay attention to the bolded words: Pharoah will lift up your head. Got it? Ok let’s continue:

When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; and in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.” [Genesis 40 :16- 19]

This time, pay attention to the bolded statement: Pharoah will lift up your head from you. Same guy, Pharoah; same kind of dream for the butler and the baker; but very different outcomes. One’s head was lifted up and the other’s head was lifted up from his body. This is what God was drawing my attention to this week.

There is a psalm that I pray over myself every time I need to experience God’s supernatural favour in my dealings with people. And it is this:

But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

Psalm 3:3 ESV

And although I pray this prayer very often, I sometimes find myself seeking personal recognition and honour from people or find myself trying to curry favour with people using my own efforts. This week, I found myself in such a position and as I was walking away from that situation, I heard God’s rebuke as the scripture Psalm 3:3 came to mind. God was reminding me from His word that He alone is and should be the lifter of my head.

The baker thought that because the butler had received favorable news about Pharoah lifting the butler’s head, that he would receive the same news. However, his interpretation was rather grave (no pun intended): Pharaoh would lift up his head right off his body! You see, human beings are fickle. The bible tells us that the arm of flesh (human beings) will fail us but the One who created the arm is mighty to save (2 Chronicles 32:8). We are encouraged to not put our hope in any human being.

Looking to people to bestow honour on us, that is not God-sanctioned, can only lead to trouble. When we look to mere humans for our elevation and promotion, you never know what you will get: either your head will be lifted up or it will be lifted up from your body! But God’s promises are yes and amen: to be the lifter of your head.

This week, God reminded me that instead of praying this psalm as a request of Him, that I confess it as my positionality. GOD is my Shield. GOD is my Glory. GOD is the Lifter of my head. This confession delimits my tendencies and desires to chase after promotions and recognition. If God wants honour and elevation for me, it will happen. I do not need to chase after them. After all, God’s goodness and His mercies have been designed to follow me all the days of my life (Psalm 23: 6) and not the other way around.

Today’s post is a message for me. It is deeply personal. However, it might be a word of caution or a sweet reminder of God’s tender love for you. Which ever the case, God is always and forever for us, guarding jealously and fiercely our inheritance in Christ Jesus. He is a shield about us, our glory, and the lifter up of our heads. Amen.

Yours Truly

Posted on by intentional4christ · 1 Comment

My Bucket List of Requests

As the year draws to a close, Christians all over the world spend time either privately or corporately to pray; thanking God for a successful year and to lay a bucket list of requests at His feet for the new year and I am no exception.

I woke up this morning ready to compile my bucket list so that I could spell them all to God in prayer when I felt God’s spirit directing me to read the story of Joseph. Now, I have read the story of Joseph over and over again but I decided to obey God’s leading and do it anyhow and I can assure you I wasn’t disappointed. I will share with you what I learnt:

Joseph was a boy who was sold into slavery by his brothers. Through a series of incredible events, he went from being a slave to the ruler of Egypt, a superpower in his days.  As I read on I discovered one of the key secrets to Joseph’s success: The presence of God

As we journey through Joseph’s life, the circumstances and seasons of his life changed but the one constant was the presence of God. Joseph was successful, blessed, gained the favor and trust of men, experienced God’s kindness, and was entrusted with great responsibility because God was with Him. 

And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and made him prosper in all he did, Joseph found favour in his sight… Potiphar put him in charge of his household and entrusted him with everything he owned…the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s household on account of him. Genesis 39: 2-5 Berean Study Bible

The LORD was with him and extended kindness to him. He granted him favour in the eyes of the prison warden, who put all those held in the prison under Joseph’s authority, so that he was responsible for all that was done there. The warden did not concern himself with anything under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him and gave him success in whatever he did. Genesis 39: 21-23 Berean Study Bible

 Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?”… You shall be in charge of my house, and all my people are to obey your commands. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you. I hereby place you over all the land of Egypt…“I am Pharaoh, but without your permission, no one in all the land of Egypt shall lift his hand or foot.” Genesis 41: 38- 44 Berean Study Bible

If you are like me and your bucket list for 2019 is that you are asking God for success, for favour in certain endeavours of your life, for more responsibility (as in to be entrusted with more: spiritually, financially, in your job, with the fruit of the womb, etc.), or you are simply asking for God to smile on you and be kind to you, then look no further than the presence of God. What God was teaching me from Joseph’s story was that all my hopes and dreams are found in Him and when His presence accompanies me, all those things I am looking for will accompany me as well just as they accompanied Joseph.  It was God’ s presence which brought the elevation from slave to ruler and it is the same abiding presence that will usher in those things that you are asking for.

My encouragement to you today is to dare to ask for the presence of God to go with you into 2019 and be a constant throughout the seasons of the new year. I dare you to pray like Moses:

“If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favour in Your sight, unless You go with us? How else will we be distinguished from all the other people on the face of the earth?” Exodus 33: 16 Berean Study Bible

I can assure you that with the presence of God as your constant you will always come out on top like Joseph regardless of what 2019 throws at you. You will always win.