Devo: A New King in Town

"Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." (Exodus 1:8-9)

Couple of lessons ...

1. We make enemies because we don't know much. Rameses made some rash and unwise judgment that resulted in the destruction of his nation. Because he failed to know "his enemy". Often times we are fighting and resisting who we thought are against us, but if we just scratch the surface (sometimes it's not enough to trust face value), we will find that this person or that is not an enemy, not someone to be judged too hastily. And by know one's enemy one has gained a friend.

2. Life's false securities bring out who we are, often times the worst. He exemplified some nasty insecurity. Every person is subject to the furnace of character one's he is handed over power. Like the Ring in LOTR, it can bring out the worst in you like a Hallmark card. Like a furnace life's privileges, responsibilities or circumstances can bring out the best in us or the worst in us. 

3. Over-assuming often lead to foolish actions and decisions. Rameses, in an attempt to overrun the Israelites, tried to "count the chicks before they hatch." He asked the deadly "what if?" He went from peaceful living to a vision of Israelites fighting against him in a war because they just can. Don't over-assume things, in our attempt to always get ahead, always marking our next steps, we lose life. Like someone has said, we'd be "living in the future, but not in the present." And when we think about the future, take wisdom on the journey.

In The Shack a character observes humas when they worry. Often times when we think about the future, its full of negativity--primarily, gloom and fear. She observes that despite our faith in Christ, we haven't included him to join our visions for our future. She calls it "imagination without wisdom." Our battle for our actions and our future starts in the mind. Let us be reminded that in everything, God desires the best for us and of us. He never leaves us nor forsakes us.