Get Ready

Get Ready!!

Tidbit Text: "When his brothers saw that their father loved him more
than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him."
Genesis 37:4 (NIV)

How many of us have gotten mad at someone even though we knew that it was
not that person’s fault? In this week’s Tidbit Text we see this happen to
Joseph. His brothers hated him, not for something he did to them, but for
something their father did. Genesis 37:3 reveals that "Israel [Jacob]
loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him
in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him." Not only
did Jacob harbor this love for Joseph in his heart (inwardly), he expressed it
in a manner that all could see (outwardly). It’s almost as if Jacob could not
contain his emotions. And this is when trouble began for Joseph—when his
father openly expressed his favor.

Our text points out that the brothers didn’t hate Joseph until they
"saw." What did they see? Well I’m sure there were a number of things
Jacob did to show that his favor was upon Joseph, but the icing on the cake was
definitely that beautiful robe sparkling in all of their faces. If the brothers
couldn’t see the father’s favor before, they saw it then. They hated Joseph so
much that they even contemplated killing him.

So get ready Christians!! Your Father’s favor is upon you. You know what I
mean—-that new job that was just dropped into your lap, that promotion that
you weren’t even thinking about, that new house that you didn’t need one red
cent to close on—-God’s unmerited favor!! Joseph did nothing extraordinary to
deserve Jacob’s love. He was just born. And so it is with those of us who have
been born again. God loves us, sometimes to the extent that He doesn’t contain
Himself. Instead, He reveals his love for all the world to see.

And when this happens, we must be ready. Because when your so-called
friends, co-workers, relatives, etc. (of the world) "see" your
blessings, they’re not going to rise against the Father (‘cause they can’t!);
they’re going to rise against you. Get prayed up and filled with the Holy
Spirit. Put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-18) so that "no manner
of weapon formed against you shall prosper" (Isaiah 54:17).

Get ready, get ready, get ready!!!!