Where are you living in the "do zone" or the "done zone"

But they became anxious when they were brought into Joseph's home, thinking, "It's the money; he thinks we ran off with the money on our first trip down here. And now he's got us where he wants us-he's going to turn us into slaves and confiscate our donkeys." Genesis 43:18 (Message)
Joaeph's way with his brothers after they'd treated him as if he were an enemy pictures well the way God deals with his family. We're inclined to believe that our right versus wrong performance is our pass into God's presence; but the truth is nothing we do can guarantee access into God's presence. God is entirely holy and only the perfect can attain to lifetime privileges of His favor. Through belief in Christ to salvation though, we can be made perfect, bought and brought into a lifelong relationship with Christ, where we live not to earn favor with God but as living proof of our love for Him. As Joseph's brothers sat afraid eating at their brother's table in fear of his avenging their hurting him; many Christians sit in God's presence, fearing His holy side, living with their performance constantly in view rather than allowing God's immeasurable love to be catalyst and control in all they are and do. The call is to live in the love of God, allowing His holy devotion to us to leave us so spellbound and changed that we live to reciprocate His great love. Our concept of God has great bearing on the way we live; as Christians we may find ourselves seeking to live in the "do zone" where we do all we can to earn God's merit; or we may live in the "done zone," where we allow His love to show itself as life-changing in our experience, a love that changes inside-out. When we seek to please God, we fail; when God's love compels us we live pleasing Him.

Getting exactly what you want may carry the price tag of empty-heartedness

They only cared about pleasing themselves in that desert, provoked God with their insistent demands.
He gave them exactly what they asked for-but along with it they got an empty heart. Ps. 106:15,16 (MSG)
One of our challenges as Christians is maintaining a heart selflessly devoted to God's best for us. We often live for what we want with little or no wish for what God wants. Like Israel, we live inclined to please ourselves and irk God when the only time we relate to Him personally is to tap His reserve for what we "need." God, as he did with Israel, has a way if showing us how little satisfaction gaining earthly things brings. He may grant what we crave so that we get a renewed picture of the dissatisfaction many live with though they have many things. Real meaning in  life is in relating to God selflessly through our days and taking the light Christ pours into us to others. True nirvana is in walking with Christ. May you know the true contentment of having Christ at your center today.
Live for the needs of others not your own and find unfettered joy and your own needs met as well.
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. -Jackie Robinson

What if your part is key in their dream becoming reality

Without question God is the One, who facilitates the giving and realizing of dreams; but it's interesting how He fancies the worth of people helping others' dreams become reality. Joseph's time in prison was a time where he was given free rein to lead fellow prisoners as they did their prison time.  In prison, Joseph tapped God's wisdom to reveal the restoration of Pharoah's cup-bearer to his former prominence in Pharoah's presence. However, though the cupbearer was restored to his former glee; Joseph was left alone and estranged in prison for a good while, for the cup-bearer never made mention of Joseph's role in his restoration. Only after some time would Joseph too see his dreams take wing. There's a lesson here we each need to heed. In this world there is at least one person whose dream cannot become a reality without your help. Though God is God, one of his heart delights is using people to facilitate His great purpose in others' lives. As Joseph was key in revealing the eventual restoration of Pharoah's cup-bearer; He would prove key to the rescue of Egypt at large in the famine which followed. Joseph couldn't have been the blessing he was to Egypt as a nation though were the cup-bearer he helped unwilling to help him. There's a wonderful cycle of dream-reality, which we can either facilitate or impede by our willingness or unwillingness to help others in our power to influence. What you do today can make or break someone's reality. God help us be in God's place for us, where we can help more of those around us find their dreams become reality.

Connection with Christ brings with it the connections we need to succeed

We live in a world where who you know not what you do is key to promotion and favor many times. In the Christian sphere, the same proves true, ask Joseph. Transplanted in Egypt against his will, I'm sure he felt estranged from those close to him. Joseph's walk though allowed him to thrive as he served in Potiphar's place. As we walk with God, others will take notice of our transformed work ethic. Joseph's promotion would be accompanied by demotion as well. For no fault of his own; Joseph was landed in an offender's prison, though his relationship with Potiphar's wife was nothing but righteous. Through the highs and lows of Joseph's walk, he was learning how invaluable it is to not live for life's highs, but rather to live to walk with God. Knowing Him is the most enervating part of our life experience. I find it interesting that as Joseph was forced to better know God for being thrown into prison, God gave him the human connections he needed to do a greater work once more. In prison he met Pharoah's baker and Pharoah's wine-taster, who led him into Pharoah's presence, where Joseph  found favor was made second ruler in Egypt. The high call today is to weather life changing tides by growing the more close to Christ. This alone will prove a true anchor, steadying us in life's highs and lows. Our strong, growing walk with Christ will also bring with it the connections we need to realize the dreams God places in our hearts. God is all about our being interconnected with Him and He rewards those who'll seek Him with the connections they need to
succeed. Let your first step in loss not be hurry to get back up on your own, but rather rush
into His presence. He alone is the true Giver of all good things. Joseph's moving from
Potiphar's place to Pharoah's palace hinged on his willingness to know and praise God in
prison. How's your connection to Christ today?

Thrive with God at the wheel of your life

There's a wonderful irony to walking with God. To live in a growing relationship with God  is almost a guarantee that our lives will be turned upside down in some way. Joseph was sold to the Midianites for a mere 20 Shekels. Journeying away from family and familiar friends maybe he wondered does God hate me? While his soul was torn, while he wondered if God was worthy of his life allegiance; God showed up showing him His sincere concern for his well-being. God hand-picked Potiphar to serve as a pipeline of unrelenting blessing to Joseph in his darkest hours. Potiphar's house would be leadership training for Joseph, teaching Joseph to shoulder responsibilities in God's strength to guarantee God's outcome in all He did. Blessings pursued Joseph along  with the evil which came his way, and blessing followed those who were touched by His life.  Praise God for a God, who literally loads us with benefits. He is not a "Checklist God," constantly purveying our lives for our right versus wrong performance; contrarily, He is a gracious God, who is over-committed to wowing us with the reality that He simply cannot get enough of us. His love language is quality time. Nothing satisfies Him more than a reciprocated friendship with us, where we too can't get over Him. God would weave even more trouble into Joseph's life, landing him in jail for his righteous stand; but it would prove all good. Amazingly, our gumption through great trial is our qualification and vindication to serve in greater capacities. Each day of blessing and burden was equipping
Joseph to be the servant he was born to be. Servants aren't born in the ice-cream parlor; they must feel the fire of God's hot pot, if they're to ably fulfill God's purposes for them.
That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.Romans 8:28 MSG

God is Healer, but we must be intentionally moving toward healing.

 
Time passed. Judah's wife, Shua's daughter, died. When the time of mourning was over, Judah with his friend Hirah of Adullam went to Timnah for the sheep shearing. Gen.38:12
Time teaches us that we are very vulnerable to yield to sinful pleasures and dark escape routes after times of deep hurt or difficulty. On his daughter Shua's death, Judah mourned for some time then sought to return happily to work. As he journeyed to Timnah to shear sheep; he slept with a "prostitute," who he later found to be his daughter-in-law, Tamar. Giving in to the unthinkable, Judah slept with his close relation and soon was father of twins, Perez (Breakout) and Zerah (Bright). God would have you understand the need to move from mourning to healing. We need to handle our hurt and disappointment in a way that places us on path to healing; a steady spa treatment of Scripture, heart-felt prayer, legit recreation, and time with friends, who are good at listening and super empathetic is needed to help us get back to working diligently and not fail miserably as Judah did. Interestingly, his twins were named Perez (Breakout) and Zerah (Bright). They received these names because Zerah was on path to being born first but Perez beat him to birth, so the name (Breakout). When we fail to focus on healing well, depending on the Spirit and His options; we too will fail as Judah did. The "Bright" paths of right decisions will elude us as they did Judah and we will inevitably "Breakout" in sinful escape. Harm follows our failing to heal well.

Life's better, lived before the face of God.

But Esau ran up and embraced him, held him tight and kissed him. And they both wept.
 Then Esau looked around and saw the women and children: "And who are these with you?" Jacob said, "The children that God saw fit to bless me with." Gem. 33:4,5
I'm learning practically that living in God's presence is key to peace, soul prosperity, and daily favor; if there is one mighty motivator to living barnacled to Jesus, it's our enemies. As Jacob had his haters so do you. Jacob felt tangibly the hatred of Esau. He lived with the shadow of Esau in his rear view mirror, wandering when Esau would pounce destroying him, his wives and progeny; I believe Jacob's fear was his friend; for his helplessness against the hatred of his brother Esau, allowed him to find home in Beth-EL, God's house. Enemies are God's messengers to lead us into a life of trust, to knowing God intimately, they're a means to our growing the more close to Jesus. Jacob lived to see and be seen of God, he was impassioned with the possibilities he'd find for living in God's presence partly because of His enemies. Will you allow the dark realities of your life to fuel your passion to better know God. To prosper you within is God's desire; let Him do this. As you prosper within; you'll find the things you need as well and your enemies will watch in wonder and crave what makes you prosper within and without... Peace, soul-prosperity, and favor follow those whose delight is to live where the help is-in the presence of God.

Journey into true worship

They turned over to Jacob all the alien gods they'd been holding on to, along with their lucky-charm earrings. Jacob buried them under the oak tree in Shechem. Genesis 35:4 (MSG)
The place where we lay down our idols can be a place that moves us into a lifetime of worship. Shechem may not have been Beth-El, but it was so symbolic. There Rachel handed over her idols, which symbolized Laban and everything evil and moved toward Beth-El, the place her husband met with God and found his bad self (the Israel God-Wrestler, he was born to be). To Beth-El they would travel, where the man once Jacob (Heel, Cheat) would find a God so willing to take him damaged goods and make Him a man with a mission. Shechem though was so important to his finding his place; for without a Shechem (a place where we lay our idols down), we'll never make it to Beth-El, the place that bleeds with God's presence and authentic, soul-deep worship.

On kicking temptation

A bear chased after two men but one of them stopped suddenly to get his running shoes from his bag. When scolded by his friend for his sudden stop and what might happen next; he said, I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you. What a strategy for overcoming temptation. Victory over temptation is not a year-end event but a daily, moment-by-moment one. Choose to outrun your temptation to _______ by using the running shoes (way of escape) the holy Spirit provides you whether it's Scripture, holy grit, or the accountability of good friends.