God is not done!

The other day I was listening to a pastor being interviewed on the radio and, at some point during the conversation, this pastor started repeating the phrase "God is not done!" as he told the story of Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. He pretty much interweaved this phrase with the critical parts of Joseph's life. Let me retell that story in my own personal words. Joseph was Jacob's favorite son and he was a dreamer and not about regular dreams like you and I have. They were messages from God that he, at his very young age, probably didn't understand very clearly. One of his dreams was about the fact that his parents and his brothers will one day bow to him. That didn't sit very well with his brothers so when they had the opportunity, they conspired to kill him. But, Reuben, his older brother told his brothers to not kill him but to just throw him into the empty pit and leave him there. Then Judah had this great idea of selling Joseph into slavery after they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites going towards Egypt. Apparently, this wasn't Reuben's plan since he tore his clothes when he realized his other brothers, led by Judah, sold Joseph into slavery for twenty schekels of silver. Was God done with Joseph? Absolutely not! Why? Because after that, his buyers sold him to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh in Egypt. And what happened at Potiphar's house? Since Potiphar saw that "the Lord was was with Joseph" and "the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands", Joseph found favor with him and was put in charge of his house and all of his possessions. Potiphar had so much trust in Joseph ability to lead his household that "he had no concern about anything but the food he ate". Now, that's a mighty example of God not being done with you! He literally took Joseph out the pit and eventually made him a house manager of one of Pharaoh's captains. Joseph was in a very low place but God didn't keep him there. He promoted him from an apparent failure to a very honorable position. But God was not done yet! He allowed more things to happen in this young man's life.

It happens to be that Joseph was a very handsome man, and Potiphar's wife had an eye on him. Several times she tried to lie with him but Joseph's character and his love for God every time kept him from doing such a horrible thing. In fact, he says:My master "hasn't kept anything back form me except you, because you are his wife" "...How then can I do this wickedness and sin against God? However, God still allowed more trouble in his life because He wasn't done with him! Potiphar's wife, frustrated that she couldn't fulfill her sexual desires, got Joseph in trouble. In her last attempt to sleep with him, one day, when he came into the house, she grabbed him by his garment but he was able to flee and left the house. In their struggle, she got a hold of his garment and kept it. She then used that to make the servants and her husband  believe it was Joseph who initiated the whole situation. Of course, with his garment in her hand, it was kind of hard to believe she was not telling the truth. So, Joseph was put in jail, but God, still, was not done with him! Why? Because "... the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison".

It is very gratifying and encouraging  to see that no matter what happens in our lives, the Lord is always with us, loving us and giving us favor in the sight of whomever we're dealing with. God honored Joseph obedience to Him. How is your obedience towards Him today? Are you still expecting His blessings when you continuously and purposely contradict His ways? Some of us are like that but the Bible says: "If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it" (Deuteronomy 30:16). The opposite is true as well: "But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish..." (Deuteronomy 30:17‭-‬18a)

God was not done with Joseph! Once again, the Lord allowed him to find favor with the keeper of the prison and he was put in charge of all the prisoners, and the Lord gave him success. Now, there were two interesting people in this prison who had two different dreams. They were the king's chief cup bearer and the chief baker. Giving the credit to God, Joseph told them he could interpret their dreams but pleaded with them to kindly talk to the king about him so he could get out of jail. That didn't happen right away but one day the king had a dream and the name of Joseph came up. Joseph interpreted the dreams for the king and guess what? The king said: “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh ( king) said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”(Genesis 41:38‭-‬41)

Joseph came from a place of hatred to a place of honor. He came from being a slave to being the second in command in all of Egypt. He came from a place where all of his brothers disrespected him to a place where everybody showed the utmost respect. Joseph let go and let God. He could have chosen to be hateful for all the things that were done to him. Instead, he chose to let God to be the architect of his life. Can we all do the same thing? If you continue to read his story told in Genesis, chapters 37 to 50, you'll soon find out that God still was not done! In fact, He's never done with you until you get to glory. "....He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6 ESV)

When you start believing God is done with you, start looking the other way. He'll have some other things for you to do. I remember a story one my former pastors told in one of his sermons. He talked about how one of his pastor friends thought God was done with him because he had been diagnosed with a terrible cancer. My pastor, being a good friend, encouraged him by telling him God could still use him and guess what? He lived 15 more years which he used to continue to work for the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I thought I was done when I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease but guess what? God told me: "Don't even think about it!". I started teaching a Spanish class in my church. I got to preach again after a very long time and I finished my Masters degree which I never thought possible. Got shut my mouth and showed me there's always a place and a job for broken people like you and me in His Kingdom. Do you still think God can be done with you? You should say: "Absolutely not". He's always working! You have a blessed day!