A crown

Something touched my heart as I read this, perhaps it will yours to.

The cell door slammed shut with a reverberating clang, echoing off the dank stone walls. The floor of dirt and straw moved with vermin as rats infested with fleas scurried aside to make room for the new prisoner. God's chosen man had arrived. Joseph was in jail.


In the Bible, Joseph typified a man who rose to the top under pressure. He went from being his father's favorite with a coat of many colors to being a discarded reject sold by his brothers to slave traders. The troubles kept coming. Through it all he kept serving faithfully, remained true to his God, kept his self-respect and his dignity. As a result of God's favor, he went from being a slave to running an empire, from being a reject to being a prince, from humiliation to exaltation in his own lifetime. He also saved his family from starvation while the world around plunged into famine. How could he do that? Easy. the Lord humbled him, trained him, and made him rich.


Joseph wasn't a self-made man. he was a God-chosen man, selected for a purpose. To fulfill his destiny he had to avoid disqualifying himself. He had to stay "in the will" if he was to receive his inheritance. God's word over Joseph had been revealed in dreams but the process of realizing it took time. Until then, the word itself put him to the test.


Read what the Bible has to say: "He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. They afflicted his feet with fetters, he himself was laid in irons; until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him." Ps 105:17-19 NAS


Who sent this man? God did. How did he send him? Ahead, as a forerunner, and by way of humiliation. He was tested, refined, matured, seasoned, and prepared for greatness by gross situations. To win, you have to endure! Patience and lack of grumbling are required to keep on track. (James 5:9-11) "For you have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." Heb 10:36 NAS


What about you? Do you have a word from God? Is it testing you? We need to realize that being chosen by God doesn't mean an easy life or fame and fortune as some might think. Instead, it may mean irrational trials, long delays, intense sufferings, and repeated tests of character. As Tevya lamented in the movie Fiddler on the Roof, "God, if we're you're chosen people, why don't you choose someone else?"


A few years ago I sat in a church in Georgia listening to a Bible teacher as he began to speak. All of a sudden the Lord spoke a word into my spirit with such crystal-clear clarity that I thought everyone around could hear it. It resonated with intensity as though thundered from a mountaintop. The words rang out, "Every crown in its first appearing is a crown of thorns!" I sat in shocked silence considering what I had heard.


If we can't wear our painful crown of thorns today, we won't be able to wear the pleasant crown of victory tomorrow. Thank God, Jesus our Savior endured the first crown to receive the latter. (Mark 15:17) He showed the way. Today, we see Jesus crowned with glory and honor, not with humiliation. (Heb 2:9) Is that how you see Jesus?


For Joseph, being chosen by God as a prophet outside the camp meant his own brothers rejected him, he was pushed out of the family, he was sold as a slave, he was accused unfairly, he was placed in prison, seemingly forgotten and abandoned. Yet, even in distress he was able to see by the Spirit and still had accurate prophetic dreams.


Through it all Joseph kept his integrity and kept his faith in God. He faithfully served ungodly captors and pagan leaders with the grace God had given him. He aimed to be a blessing despite his personal difficulties. He never grew bitter. Like his counterpart Daniel who also served pagan kings, nothing negative is recorded in the Bible about either man. Both were marketplace prophets walking out divine purpose. By God's gifts, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dreams and averted a disaster for Egypt and saved his own family. The dreams he interpreted for others caused his own dreams to be fulfilled!


Today the Lord is distributing great grace to many members of the Body of Christ, not to preachers in the pulpit. In fact, he is investing the greater riches of his grace in chosen anonymous vessels! Sadly, many leaders promote a kind of church life that keeps grace, truth, and God's power locked away behind closed religious doors. We need to take God's grace outside the safety of the sanctuary. Grace isn't meant to be celebrated in a sanitary environment-- it is meant to explode on sinners! Like an electrical current, power has to run to ground. God uses ordinary people, not religious professionals, to do this work. He equips them to be channels for his miracles and mercy. If the vessel is truly chosen, it has to go through a purifying fire. But what is this amazing grace we carry?


The New Testament Greek word for grace is charis. It means more than mercy- it means unmerited favor. It means God's power at work in us who believe. It is unearned, never deserved, always based on God's mercy, not our efforts. Like an inheritance, it comes simply by being in the family. For us who believe in Jesus and are partakers of his life, it arrives as a gift because his name is on us and we belong to the Father.


Grace is always a gift of love. (Rom 12:3) It was sealed with the sacrifice on the cross, is received by faith, and is imparted by the Holy Spirit. Grace is free. For it to increase among us, it has to be broken, shared, and distributed to others who need it. You can't be stingy and have grace. Grace hoarded diminishes. Grace given out, increases.


Grace is evidenced by graciousness, not arrogance or legalism. Grace teaches us to live righteously, but it produces mercy in us toward others. (Titus 2:11) Kindness and generosity accompany real grace. It gives with no strings attached, no preconditions, no debt, just love in action. When people with power behave humbly, true grace is shown.


Joseph was mistreated but he didn't repay evil with evil as someone bearing a grudge. He forgave his brothers and gave forth of his treasure to save his family. Could this be the secret to his success? Maybe your setbacks are a setup! Maybe God is watching to see what you will do. Will you curse or bless? Will you respond with a Christ-like attitude?


Have you suffered rejection? Have you been dismissed, displaced, despised, passed over, or treated unfairly? Many who were once on the run-- having kept their faith and self-respect-- are now in the seat of power. Nelson Mandela, the heroic past president of South Africa, went down this pathway. He came out of prison justified, honored by all, and immediately halted all retribution for racial injustice. In America today, God's blessings are resting richly upon Blacks who've moved away from resentment toward reconciliation. Anyone who suffers injustice but forgives is a candidate for God's favor.


Your path to promotion might come through terrible ordeals. You may find yourself locked in the prison of resentment. You may feel like you are wearing a crown of painful thorns. How do you transform your crown of hurt into a crown of honor?


Follow the path of Jesus and be obedient to God no matter what the cost. (Phil 2) Follow Christ's example and forgive your accusers. (Luke 23:34) Pray until you are able to be at peace with your brothers. Go to the throne of grace where a Man sits who has suffered more than you ever could. He can help you! (Heb 4:16)


Jesus experienced the pain of rejection. "He came to his own and those who were his own did not receive him." John 1:12 NAS In the end, God honored him and exalted him making the one who was rejected the Chief Cornerstone! (Matt 20:17)


Many modern Josephs have been stationed by the Lord in odd arenas of life. Many are growing a business; others are training young leaders at home; some are employed in government, or media, or education. Why are they there? Because the Lord chose them, placed them, and endowed them with divine gifts. Their appointed hour is near. The time when their talents will be needed is at hand. The reason for their promotion is about to be revealed. (1 Pet 1:13-19) God doesn't waste resources. or people!


The Bible says concerning Messiah Jesus, "Behold my servant will prosper. He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted." Is 52:13 NAS This verse leads into the great Messianic description of Jesus suffering for our sins on the cross. Isaiah 53 is perhaps the greatest predictive text in the whole world as well as the most beautiful and loving language ever penned by even an inspired man. It describes what Jesus endured on the cross and then explains, by divine revelation, the precise reason for it. "But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors." 53:6; 53:12 NAS


By the Spirit, the prophet revealed that Jesus' suffering for was not for himself but for us.. "He will divide the booty with the strong." We can become partakers of what Jesus paid for. He included us in his will. In the New Testament, the Bible says that by God's grace we are joint-heirs with Jesus. (Rom 8:16-18)


Don't discard your crown of thorns just because it wounds your head. Wear it patiently. Instead, bow your head down before the real Head- the King of Glory- and let him replace those bloody thorns with a crown He fashions of jewels and gold.

Your Crown of Thorns © 2006 by Ron Wood