We’ve been discussing Biblical stewardship. There are many examples of stewardship throughout the Bible. Most of the great figures of the Old Testament were called to steward for God’s purposes. Moses (Hebrews 3:1-6), Joshua, the Judges, and the Kings were all called to steward God’s people Israel. Some did pretty well – some horribly. Daniel and Joseph are excellent examples of stewards for our purposes because they were called to do God’s work in a foreign land. They had to serve the secular powers while first and foremost serving God. And they both did it extraordinarily well. They sought God and He blessed them.
Let’s look at Joseph’s life. Joseph was given dreams from God of the amazing life ahead. But instead of having a nice, easy, “blessed” life, he was sold into slavery by his brothers, unjustly accused of raping his new master’s wife, and thrown in prison for years. What a blessing! Yet all the while, Joseph sought the heart of God and was faithful in the small things that were given to him in his life. As a slave, his work was blessed by God and so he rose to be Potiphar’s household steward.
After the accusation of rape and subsequent prison, he remained faithful and God rose him to steward the prison he was held in. He felt ignored by God in these circumstances because they weren’t the great and glorious dream that he had seen in his youth. Yet, all this time he was growing in his abilities to as a steward. Because he was faithful in the small things that he was in charge of, he was later ready when God called him to manage the most powerful nation in the world, Egypt. He not only stewarded this country through horrible famine by following God’s leading, he secured the safe place for God’s people Israel to flourish as a people from a family into a million plus people strong nation.
Jesus taught the moral of the story over and over again. “He who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much.” God is training us and growing us through our meager circumstances. When we seek Him and are diligent in these areas, He will bless our work and give us much more to steward over. Don’t forget how important the little things are
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