Save me, Lord

This will be the fourth time I have read the one year bible, and I always cry on today's reading. Always, at the same spot, even though I know it's coming.

When Joseph reveals who he is, finally, to his family, he states, "But don't be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives."

It could have been easy for Joseph to have been bitter, but Joseph never lost sight of God's actions in his life. It would be easy for Joseph to have assumed domination of his family, but by never losing sight of God, he learned how to have humility in his dealings with his family. He also learned enough to test character, to learn how his family had truly fared in his absence, but he did not practice cruelty. And at the end of the day, by never losing sight of God, his perspective had changed to have utter faith in the actions of God to preserve the nation of Israel.

He did not lean on his own accomplishments, but rather he gave credit to God having a greater plan for the salvation of Israel, and that he was simply a conduit for that plan, not the fulfillment of the plan.

A family reunites. Words of forgiveness are spoken, but the most important meaning in the words of forgiveness is the statement of faith. Family, forgiveness, and faith, all come together in this one multi-layered statement, one of the most profound points, for me, in the entire text. I cannot help but cry, it's all together in that family drama. And from this springs forth the entire nation of Israel, progenitors of all we know today. And all given with faith in the glory of God.

The two faith stories in the NT reading today show more descriptions of the power and lessons of faith. An "impossibility" occurs, 5000+ are fed from five loaves of bread and two fish. An "impossibility" occurs, a man walks on water. Our modern day mind rejects these stories, or struggles to come to some rational explanation for them.

So many "unexplainable" phenomenon have been explained by science, surely there is some explanation for this? Or it's simply a lie, a false story told to that never happened. Sure, think that way, but then look around. Do you see greater calm and peace in that thought, or do you look around and see the high waves and feel yourself starting to sink?

Why put limits on God? If God exists, why can't this have occurred? Faith is what stops my disbelieving mind from trying to find an answer to the "impossible." Peter's walking on water is such a compelling story, and so much has been written about this one short section already. I just find it a good example of two incredibly important things. First, what happens when one's faith wavers... One sinks... It's that simple. But even more sublime and orders of magnitude more important, what can we do when we start to sink? We express our faith again, and we will be answered. "Save me, Lord" and He does.