“23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled
not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him
that judgeth righteously:” – 1 Peter 2:23
Faith, the backbone of Christianity, the element of
accomplishment; without faith it is
impossible to please God. “For by grace are ye saved through faith,
and not of yourself it is the gift of God.”
In essence, the Christian lives by faith and the sinner by
sight. The Christian trusts in God’s
plan, in the merits of Christ, in the direction of the Holy Ghost; he is a pilgrim
here and a citizen there, living for a world not yet seen, by faith. The Christian has committed himself to Him
that judgeth righteously. They have not
seen God with their eyes or walked the hallowed halls of heaven, yet they trust
in the unseen and commit their life to the plan of the Father.
Joseph was/is a “hero of faith.”
His life (found in Genesis chapter’s 37-50) and story are a testimony to
faith and what it means to commit yourself to God’s plan. It may be that circumstances change and
difficult times come, but the question still remains: Do you believe that God
has a plan for your life? (As my wife says so often) Joseph went from being a favorite in is
Fathers house, to a slave, then servant in Potiphar’s house. From there, he was sentenced to a prison cell
for a crime he didn’t commit; and from that prison, called up to be appointed
second in command over the nation of Egypt.
He was second only to Pharaoh himself, Joseph was the second most
powerful man on earth. Wow, talk about a
pay raise. In all this, through trials,
temptation, success and power; Joseph remained faithful to God. He believed in God’s plan for his life and
committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. No matter what happens, when we walk by faith
and commit to God, ultimately, all things work together for good; and God receives
the glory. In contrast, when we walk by
sight and begin to reason out our own selfish desires, we take the blueprints
for our life and draft destruction. We
begin to do God’s job and by default affirm that we can do it better. If you want to go to heaven, if you want to
have peace in your heart, you cannot be in the driver seat and put God in the
sidecar. You cannot say “Lord I am going
to take it for now, but if things get rough I will need you to take back
over.” He has to be in the driver seat;
you have to hand Him the keys, title, and your driver’s license, saying “Lord,
take full control and wherever you want to go, I am with you, I trust
you.” This is the faith life, the faith
walk, the way of a Christian; because to be a Christian is to be Christ like.
The faith walk may not always be an easy walk. If you serve God on circumstances, you won’t
be a Christian for long. Jesus was
reviled, and suffered, but he reviled not again and he threatened not;
why? Because he was committed. He had committed himself to him that judgeth
righteously. He yielded His will to the
will of God, and trusted Him above all; including the circumstances evidently
seen around him. We may suffer as
Christians, we may experience: loss, neglect, loneliness, pain, even doubt; but
take courage and commit! Commit as
Christ did, and embolden yourself on that eternal truth that God is the
righteous judge who WILL do right. Walk
by faith and not by sight, trusting and believing in the will of God. Committing to God’s glorious plan for your
life, no matter what.
