MEMORISE:
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
READ: Genesis 37:5-11
5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
MESSAGE
Down through the ages, visualizing the future has always been one of the attributes of great men and women. Our Lord Jesus Christ is a perfect example of a person who kept His focus on the future He saw ahead of Him. Today’s memory verse reveals that this attribute helped Him to accomplish His task on earth. He endured arrest, humiliation and death, even though He had the power to prevent it all, because He knew the glorious future awaiting Him after His work on earth was done. When He was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane and one of His disciples tried to defend Him by drawing his sword, Jesus commanded him to stand down, saying in Matthew 26:53-54:
“Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?”
Those who can visualize their glorious future ignore the present obstacle in their way, forging ahead to reach their goals. An example of such a person is Joseph. Even though his childish disposition exposed him to the fury of his brothers, resulting in his enslavement and imprisonment, the glorious future he saw kept him undeterred. He kept faith in God of his fathers and would not be corrupted by the promiscuity of his mater’s wife. In Genesis 39:9c, His response to her evil advances was this:
“how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
Beloved, the ability to visualize the future will enable you work hard and live holy, even in the face of hardship, suffering and persecution. Students who catch a glimpse of the honor awaiting them at the end of their academic programme will ignore any suffering attached to their burning of the midnight candle. A pregnant woman endures the pain of labor because of the joy of another life coming through her. As a child of God, it takes seeing the glory awaiting us in the future to endure the attacks of the enemy. Having seen this future glory, Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 wrote:
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
We must not allow the present situation in the world to becloud our vision of Heaven. Our Lord said we should not let our hearts be troubled, for He will soon return to take us home (John 14:1-3). We must keep this vision of the glorious future alive in our hearts.
ACTION POINT:
Father, let the vision of Your glorious return continually burn in my hreart in Jesus’ Name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Job 25-29
Amos 3:3-4:3
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 8: MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE
1. My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!
2. May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!
3. While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.
4. When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold, sullen stream
Shall o’er me roll;
Blest Savior, then in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
Oh, bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!
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