These last two weeks I have been studying the first five books of the Old Testament. I was particularly intrigued by Joseph's words in Genesis 45:4-7.
"...I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance."
In previous readings I've always considered this passage to be just another example of Joseph's great character. But this time while I was reading, my attention was called to the words "God did send me before." I've always known that God had intended that Joseph go to Egypt to prepare a place for his family. But I'd never really considered how this kind of advanced planning could apply in my life.
It was God's will that a famine should come upon the land. It was also God's will that the House of Israel survive the famine. Had your's truly been in charge, I doubt anything would have been done until it was too late and the House of Israel would have perished. God on the other hand, knew what sort of obstacles there would be and planned how to overcome them so that he could achieve his goal.
It is unlikely that the House of Israel at this time had the resources to gather stores of food sufficient to outlast the famine. It is also unlikely that they had the resources to purchase food for all the years of the famine. The Egyptians themselves had to sell their lands to Pharaoh for food, and I doubt very much that Pharaoh would charge foreigners any less than his own people. Knowing this God planned ahead and prepared to obtain his goal. Most importantly he planned for obstacles.
So what does this have to do with achieving resolutions? Well it is an eternal principle that there is opposition in all things. If you have a resolution to push yourself to be better, I can guarantee that you will have things that get in your way. For example, I didn't foresee that my inadequate shoes during my daily mile runs would be an obstacle for my resolution about going to the gym. I didn't prepare for that obstacle and my resolution has faced a setback. However there is one resolution that I have that is going on strong.
I resolved that I would study the scriptures for an hour a day every day. Although I started this resolution on the New Year, I began preparing for this resolution weeks before. I knew that my biggest obstacle was finding a time which I could use to study consistently. The only reasonable option would be to wake up at 6am, and read before my morning classes. The problem was that I had a habit of staying up until 2am and sleeping right up until the start of my morning class. So I made plans to prepare.
Two weeks before the New Year I began going to bed earlier and waking up earlier. It was quite the adjustment. I would go to bed and lay their for hours feeling completely restless. Often times I would lie there for about 4 hours before falling asleep but little by little I started bringing my sleep schedule back in line. The sleep schedule is still hard for me, I still lie awake for a long time before sleeping, but I can guarantee that if I hadn't planned for this obstacle, I would have failed in my goal.
So here's what I'm trying to say. God achieves his goals, not only because he plans a way for success, but because he also plans for obstacles and how to overcome them. God foresaw the obstacle of sin and with his Son Jesus Christ planned how to overcome that. In a similar way if any of us wish to obtain our resolutions, reach our goals, or conquer our weaknesses, we should follow God's example of planning for obstacles and how we will overcome them.
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