47 Days of Justice 2024 - Day 43: Compromising your relationship with the Lord to get “justice” (or anything else), is a terrible deal.

“And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." Joseph answered Pharaoh, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭41:15-16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

A great portion of the modern church has set up an idol and put the name of the Lord on it. This idol is “the here and now.” What do I mean by this?

Fearing that people would be lost to the church, the emphasis has been taken away from the coming of Jesus Christ and His eternal Kingdom that is to come.

This gravitation from the expectation of the coming of Christ and His eternal Kingdom, is certainly not biblical. However, it was prophesied as a sign of the Last Days before the coming of Jesus Christ.

“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed. But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.”

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Indeed, focusing on the here and now (in terms of our reward-seeking), gave a space for the whole “name it and claim it” church, where the goal is riches and position rather than obedience to Christ.

Don’t misunderstand me, I believe in speaking the word of God, and seeing the power of God revealed through the declaration of His word. But I do not believe that we should go through our Christian walk, trying to use God’s word to store up earthly riches, while ignoring the fact that we will face trouble, trials and persecution. These things don’t happen (necessarily) as a result of a bad confession, but happen because we are identified with Christ.

Now, in our obedience to Christ, we may be taken to sit in a throne of power. But it may also take us to being the one standing before that throne, speaking truth to that power.

Obedience to Christ make take us to great riches in this world. But it may also take us to persecution and suffering.

Make no mistake, there is not a hard choice to be made where we must choose to neglect the life we have here on earth (in terms of our responsibilities), in order to focus on eternity. However, there is a hard choice between loving the world and loving God.

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Yes, when the emphasis is on what you can have now, what you can be now, what you can do now, that concept becomes an idol and replaces the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Lord, however, did promise us this:

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.””

‭‭John‬ ‭16:33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Wow! The Lord PROMISED that we would have trials and trouble in this life. But look! He also said that we can be encouraged because He has already won over the world, the flesh, and the devil!

No, we don’t go running around looking for trouble and tribulations, or accepting whatever the devil throws our way. But—if in the process of serving the Lord—we are subjected to trouble (because of our service), we can be encouraged, knowing that—in the end—we will be able to share the victory Christ has already won for us. To forfeit an eternal life of ruling and reigning with Jesus Christ in order to be comfortable, powerful, admired, etc., in this life, is the worst deal possible…ever.

Consider Joseph: He was sold into slavery by his own brothers. He was then falsely accused and put into prison. On top of all that, a person whom he helped, forgot about him for two years! Now, as we see in our opening scripture, he stands before Pharaoh, the most powerful person in his day.

Think about it, Joseph could’ve seen this as the opportunity to get back all that had been unjustly taken from him. Why should he now rock the boat by bringing the name of the Lord into this equation? Isn’t Joseph deserving of a “me moment”?

Rather than choosing to bask in his own glory, Joseph chose to boldly tell the truth about the Lord being his source, even if it would cost him being put back into prison.

Child of God, may we never sacrifice our steadfastness, our commitment to the Lord, to get temporary relief from injustice or any other of the temporary “goodies” the world offers.

Remember, this life isn’t all there is. And, the next life is eternal.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

#resolveforhim #47DaysOfJustice