"Defining Moments"

"Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him." Genesis 45:15

In all our lives there are moments that "define" us- they define who we are and our character. This was one of those moments for Joseph when his brothers stood before him, the same brothers who had hated him, who wanted to kill him, plotted against him, had no mercy on him, sold him into slavery. At that moment he didn't just stand before them as their "little brother", he stood before them as the second most powerful person in all of Egypt; he stood before them as the "ruler of the world"; he stood before them having the authority to either imprison them, make them slaves or kill them.

At that moment Joseph could have taken revenge, he could have made them suffer, he could have persecuted them, he could have done to them what they had done to him. The moment defined who Joseph was. It revealed what type of heart he had. It revealed his character.

We have those moments too. Sometimes they come to us the way they did Joseph through what I call "big opportunities". Sometimes they come on a day to day basis through the "mundane" duties of life. For school children they may come by being tempted to cheat on a test. For an employee they may come when confronted by your boss about an issue and you're tempted to lie to make yourself look good. They come in many ways, through many avenues, through many forms and through many people. Regardless of how they come, the point is they come and when they do they will define you- you will see and others will see just who you really are.

When we talk about how "all things work together for the good", we don't usually think about it in the area we have talked about this morning. But when you are faced with a situation, when you are going through a trial, when things are happening in your life, if you can't "see" some tangible thing that looks good coming from it, remember this- if it reveals who you are and your character, what's inside of you, what's in your heart, then it has worked a "good work" because it revealed something to you about yourself. Did it reveal Christ's nature in you or did it reveal flesh? If it revealed something other than "Christ", then rejoice because that was a good thing, because now you know what's in your heart and you can work with the Holy Spirit to bring a change in you- a change that will ultimately cause Christ to be formed in you.

Have a great day. The things we go through define us, they let us know who we are and what's inside of us. How are your trials defining you?

For further reading:
Jeremiah 17:9
Mark 7:21,22
Psalm 139:23,24
Romans 8:28
Isaiah 6:5
Genesis 45:4-15