Archive for the 'Bible Studies for Life' Category
Overcoming Bitterness
Satan is alive and well, always strategizing to bring you down. One of his greatest ways to attack us is by convincing us that that being bitter is acceptable. Yet here is reality:
“As you go through the emotions that we have, hostility is not from God; bitterness, unforgiveness, these are all attacks from Satan.”1
“Relationships can only move forward with forgiveness.”2
Many people live their lives being consumed on the inside. Sometimes the outside looks fine, sometimes it doesn’t, but their inside is burning itself alive. To paraphrase an old saying, “Bitterness is like drinking poison hoping it will kill your enemy.” While some are consumed by bitterness, others find the deliverance that comes through the power of Jesus Christ.
Choosing against bitterness
Recently, we have been looking at the life of Joseph, the Old Testament patriarch. Sold into slavery, betrayed by his master’s wife, and forgotten in prison, Joseph, from a human perspective, had every right to be bitter. He had every right to hold a grudge. He had every right to live a life of silent seething, awaiting the opportunity to exact revenge on those who had wronged him.
Yet, Joseph chose against bitterness. There is no evidence in the Bible that Joseph harbored any desires for revenge. On the contrary, when he was able, he helped his family out of great distress.
After being promoted by the Egyptian Pharaoh to a very powerful position, Joseph was able to provide for the physical needs of the entire country. His family, also feeling the effects of a terrible famine, was blessed by Joseph’s wisdom.
It bears remembering that Joseph could never have been forced to help his brothers and their families. And because they did not recognize Joseph, they never would have known it was their long lost brother who sent them to their doom. But, because Joseph had not allowed bitterness to control him, his brothers were blessed instead of cursed.
Lessons from Joseph about overcoming bitterness
What can we learn from Joseph? Here are three lessons from Joseph about overcoming bitterness.
1. Joseph always remembered God. Joseph recognized God’s hand at work. It was this attitude that allowed him to forgive.
2. Joseph took the opportunities God placed before him. Whether leading in Potiphar’s house, leading in jail, or leading in Pharaoh’s palace, Joseph did not waver. With every open door, Joseph moved forward. Bitterness would have made it difficult for Joseph to have found favor at every turn.
3. Joseph chose to bless those who had hurt him. When the brothers who had sold him into slavery showed up in Egypt hungry and in need of food for their families, Joseph made sure they received provision. He did put them through severe testing, to be sure, but they, their families, his father, and a brother he had never met received enough food to survive.
Question: Will you choose to overcome bitterness by remembering God, taking the opportunities God brings your way, and blessing those who have hurt you?
Being consumed with bitterness is no way for a follower of Jesus to live. Bitterness intrudes on the peace that Jesus died to give us. Forgiveness releases us to enjoy peace and freedom in Christ.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
General Editor, Bible Studies for Life
President, Southern Baptist Convention
1– Dr. Charles Stanley
2– BSFL Fall 2014, Overcome, Alex Himaya
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
God is Working Even When Things are Falling Apart
“Sometimes we can see a crisis looming in the distance. Yet other times we’re caught totally off guard by something huge that changes our lives in a moment. Thankfully, that’s not the case for God. No matter how shocked we may feel in moments of crisis, He’s never surprised or unprepared,” writes Alex Himaya.1 God knows the end from the beginning and all the details in-between.
God knows everything
It’s probably a good thing we are not omniscient; we wouldn’t know what to do with the knowledge. It’s one thing to know everything. It’s another thing entirely to know how to use that knowledge. What if we could tell the future? What if we knew every difficult thing that was to come our way far enough in advance to change it? Would we make the right decisions?
Only God knows the future unerringly. We might guess right at times, but God knows everything, all the time. Disasters, death, job loss, wayward kids, aging parents, relationship fractures; nothing catches Him by surprise. The life of Joseph in the book of Genesis reminds us how God works even when things are falling apart around us.
We do not see what God sees
After being sold into slavery and framed by the wife of his employer, Joseph was eventually elevated to a powerful position in the government of Egypt. From that position, Joseph was able to save his family from the effects of a seven-year famine. All’s well that ends well, right? That’s how the old saying goes. But that isn’t always clear when you’re at the bottom of the well or wasting away in jail.
Twice in Joseph’s life he found himself in hard times. His brothers threw him into a pit before selling him into slavery. Later, he was left in jail due to a forgetful government employee.
In hard times, it is sometimes difficult to see God at work. Discouragement comes easily when we forget that God sees the big picture, that He knows the end from the beginning. Our limited perspective makes us wonder whether God is actually watching over us. We wonder why God allows bad things to happen to us.
God works in circumstances we may not understand
In the life of Joseph is a key verse explaining things from God’s perspective. In Genesis 50:20 Joseph says, “You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result–the survival of many people” (HCSB).
The life of Joseph teaches us that God works in circumstances we may not understand. A related verse in Romans also talks about how God works in the lives of His children. “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, HCSB). Not some things, but all things.
God’s people need to remember that we are not immune from hard times. We live in the same fallen world as our ancestors in the faith. If they suffered, we will suffer. But, on the other hand, God knows the ins and outs of our future just like He knew about Joseph’s. Not only did He know, He planned to bring good out of it all along.
Are you in the middle of hard times? Do not lose heart and do not give up. God is working around you, and most likely in you as well. Continue following Him until His plan is revealed.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
General Editor, Bible Studies for Life
President, Southern Baptist Convention
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.