CHAPTER NINE
156 BUCK-NAKED MILES TO BIGHORN
Another ambush
In football, you suit up, in running, you strip down. The
average footballer player wears pounds of equipment. Runners wear ounces.
The great question which in all ages, has disturbed
mankind and brought them the greatest part of those mischiefs which have ruined
cities, depopulated countries, and disordered the peace of the world, has been,
not whether there be power in the world…but who should have it.
Are you worried that you don’t have much of a network? Joseph
didn’t either. But he had a Friend in High Places. And if you have surrendered
your life to Christ, so do you. It’s all the network you’ll ever need.
John Colter was stripped of his clothes but not his
courage, his weapons but not his will, his provisions but not his purpose and
his comforts but not his composure. Joseph’s case was similar: he was stripped
of his coat but not his character, his family but not his future, his position
but not his purity and his accomplishments but not his attitude.
Joseph, like Jesus, was rejected by his bothers, loved by
his father, victorious over temptation, taken into custody because of a false
witness, suffered for doing right and promoted from the prison (of death) to
rule the nation(s).
You don’t have to be God to finish strong. You just have
to depend on God.
It’s hard to look up to a leader who keeps his ear to the
ground – James Boren
The stripping down
process is in two parts: Things that God strips from us (things God will take
away) and things that we strip from ourselves (things which we must put away).
Joseph put away the thought of trading his purity for his
position and turning his betrayal into bitterness. Joseph was a unique man and
that is why he was so greatly used. He had been tested. And he passed those
tests with flying colors because of his willingness to put some things away. In
responding to Potiphar’s wife, he said, “How then could I do this great evil,
and sin against God?” that’s the difference between finishing strong and
finishing so-so. Joseph was not willing to participate with her sexually
because it was a great evil. Yet to her, it was great fun. The man who finishes
so-so has kept back one or two areas of his life from the Lord. His theme song
is “I Surrender Ninety-Five Percent.” In
his heart, he knows what he is doing is a great evil, but he’s not willing to
give up his great fun. The man who finishes strong keeps back nothing from the
Lord. He is brutal in dealing with sin in his own life because he does not want
to dishonor God’s name and holiness. So when it comes to sin, or “great evil,”
as Joseph called it, he doesn’t coddle it, he doesn’t favor it, and he doesn’t
hold on to it. He gets rid of it. His theme song is “I Surrender All.” That’s
it. That’s the secret – I surrender all.
It’s tragic how many Christian men don’t stop to count
the cost before the opportunity presents itself. For sin will always cost you
more than you wanted to pay. Sin will always cost you, but sometimes purity can
cost you, too. But that’s a price that strong finishers are always willing to
pay.
Before a man falls sexually, he first falls emotionally.
Guys change jobs all the time. Some will change for promotion. Some will change
for power. Few have the guts to change for purity. But those are the guys who make
it all the way to Bighorn.
So what made Joseph great? Why does God devote more space
in Genesis to his story than to any other individual’s? Because of Joseph’s
attitude, how he responded to difficult circumstances. That was the most
remarkable thing about him.
The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure
(contemptuous treatment) without resentment. – Elbert Hubbard
Bitterness, like a burning match only burns the one who
holds onto it. – Steve Farrar
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to
test a man’s character, give him power – Abraham Lincoln
If you are focusing on some person or what he did to you,
you will not finish strong. You’ll never make it. You are being conned and you
are being set up. You can only finish strong if you fix your eyes on Jesus.
As you grapple with the hurt and humiliation and fight
off the desire to become a hardened, bitter person, you are actually building
spiritual muscle tone that it takes to finish strong.
Source: Finishing Strong by Steve Farrar
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