For me, this week's devotions have really reminded me of the fact that God is in control. It may seem like your world is falling apart; it may seem like it is impossible to forgive, forget, and move on into the plan God has for you, but when reminded of the TRUTH of GOD's infallible word, the lie of the Devil is exposed.



It kind of reminds me of the sermons that Ps. Nick preached about these past two weeks. About the falsity in the so-called Christian term, "spiritual warfare". The thing is, when Christ died on the cross & rose again, He already WON the battle. Which means that there is no more spiritual fighting going on. The Devil has already LOST, big-time. And you know what THAT means? He no longer has power over you. The only way he DOES have power over you is if you LET him.



Christians get the idea that the Devil has so much power, is all-knowing, etc. And so, they become AFRAID of the Devil. And this is all a result of the Devil. He doesn't want you to know that he doesn't have power over you. So he LIES. And many times, his lies fool us.

But the reality is, when Christ died and took the punishment for us, and when He overcame the grave, that was IT. The Devil was defeated. FOR GOOD.



Now, it is important to realize that. That God DEFEATED him a LONG time ago, and we have the power to defeat the Devil and CRUSH his head with the soles of our feet. :)

What an awesome God we serve! :) How He can just be IN CONTROL even when bad things happen to us, is just SUPER incredible!

My devotions talked about the story of Joseph, and how he went through all these trials, false accusations, slavery, etc. Yet he still was able to forgive his brothers in the end.

How he was able to say,

"Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but Go intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children."

Joseph suffered immensely because of his brothers. His own flesh-and-blood SOLD him into SLAVERY for MONEY. He then endured SLAVERY. When he got to Egypt, God's favour was with him, so he began to succeed. But then, yet again, Potipher's wife got him into trouble. This time he went into prison. Yet God's favour was still with him. And through all this time, through all the difficulties, the trials, God remained with him. And all came together for good,
just like it says in Romans 8:28,

"and we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God and are called according to His purpose."

The amazing thing was that even though the brothers intended for HARM, God used for the good. Not only did Joseph become the 2nd most powerful in the land of Egypt, but he also became a man of godly character. When he was in Canaan, with his father and brothers, he was a spoiled brat.
He bragged about being his father's favourite, and he was self-conceited; proof? he told his brothers the dream of them bowing down to him.

Anyway, so he was this immature guy who didn't think much for anyone but himself. But what happened after? You see a new character emerge. He was able to forgive his brothers, for one thing. That takes maturity to do that. Secondly, when he was able to continue to rely on God despite all the bad things that were happened, THAT was amazing.

I guess this was a really good reminder to me :) I'm glad i read it. hehe.