2009 - Day 25 - Calming Response

January 25, 2009 … Swindoll’s Topic for Today: Calming Response

Passage of the Day: Genesis 43: 15 – 23 … 15 So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” 17 Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. 18 Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.” 19 When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food; 21 but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. 22 And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

My Journal for Today: Yesterday, we looked at intentionally moving toward and super-naturally developing a vertical perspective on life (i.e., a faith-based attitude) rather than reverting to one’s own natural, horizontal perspective (i.e., a fear-based attitude); and we noted that to develop the latter, we need to decide to surrender self to God and exercise faith over fear, first intentionally, and then long enough until a vertical surrender to God becomes our second nature.

In today’s passage (above) we read the result of both perspectives. Joseph’s brothers, having been returned to Joseph’s presence, certainly are illustrative of a horizontally developed, fear-based attitude which led to their guilt and anxiety in the presence of Joseph. And in Joseph’s servant, to whom the brothers poured out their story of fear, we see the results of being under the influence of Joseph, who was the exemplar of a faith-based, vertical perspective on life.

We don’t have the name of this servant, who listened to the story and recognized the anxiety of Joseph’s brothers. However, we read of his response to the men’s fears. He spoke words that would calm the men and dispel their fears. But how would such a servant of Joseph, and an Egyptian at that, be able to speak to them in this way, actually witnessing to them about the God of Abraham. Well, of course, it had to have come from the influence and teaching of Joseph, who had become a model of faithfulness to his God.

Here was a man who knew how to turn the men’s horizontal fears into a vertical perspective of faith. First, he invoked the Hebrew concept of “shalom” to these men. Note, in Gen. 43: 23, Joseph’s steward, after hearing of their fears, invokes the Hebrew greeting of “Shalom” (i.e., “Peace be with you), which had to have had a calming effect on these men. Then this faithful witness for Joseph, who very likely had become a believer under Joseph’s influence, knows exactly what to say – telling the men the truth – to dispel their anxiety; and in his words we read of the Egyptian’s witness of their own “Elohiym,” their God Almighty, which undoubtedly helped the brothers to see that they were in a save and friendly place. Then came to ultimate calming touch, as Simeon, who had been held by Joseph as leverage to promote Benjamin’s return, was returned to them unharmed (and likely relating how well he had been treated in their separation).

The point here is that the vertical perspective on life, as we discussed in yesterday’s devotional, which is grounded in surrender to God, yields faith rather than fear, dispelling anxieties which comes from our human-based horizontal outlook on life. Joseph – and in today’s case his Egyptian servant – are clear examples of letting faith dispel fear and living in such a way as to let God pour His grace into our lives, as He had into Joseph’s life for all the years he had been in Egypt. Joseph’s brothers are examples of the opposite, which is fear-based, horizontal thinking, developed out of years of trying to dispel guilt by denial and defensiveness.

I hope you, as I have, clearly see the difference; and we can become like Joseph and his servant, believing in God to the point we see things first and foremost vertically, in faith, rather than letting our very natural fears overtake us.

My Prayer Today: Lord, in the moments of life which produce anxiety, help me to see that You are in control and I am a child of the King. Amen