"But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you?" ~Genesis 50:19, NLT
The tale of Joseph is one we all know well - his brothers hated on him for a God-given gift of dreams, and so they beat him up and sold him into slavery. Joseph ended up in Egypt, serving a powerful leader named Potiphar. One thing led to another, and Potiphar's wife sent Joseph to prison, where he stayed for a long time. His gift of interpreting dreams came in useful for two prisoners, who had gotten kicked out by the Pharoah. One of the prisoners died, one was returned to his position in Pharaoh's house. The Pharaoh had a dream, and Joseph got pulled out of jail to interpret. Thanks to God, Joseph did, and he was placed as the Vizier of Egypt - second in power only to the Pharaoh!
There was a famine in the land, and Joseph's brothers came to Egypt, where Joseph had been set in charge of collecting food for seven years prior. They didn't recognize Joseph at first (being a Vizier and all... they still thought he was dead!) but when they did, they were terrified! But Joseph replied with what should always come to mind when we are afraid - don't be scared, I'm not God!
No matter who or what you're afraid of, unless it's God, you don't need to be. What can a mere mortal do to your body, as Jesus asked? God is the one who will have to send your soul to burn if you do evil, and your soul is immortal. The rest can't do that. So why be afraid of THEM?
Image: Fotopedia
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