Author: Dr. Mark D. Flattery 

Chapter Fourteen

Choose Life!

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that! I’m always gonna love you, no matter what. No matter what happens. You’re my son and you’re my blood. You’re the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, you ain’t gonna have a life.” ― Rocky Balboa to his son in “Rocky Balboa” (I call it, “Rocky VI”).

When life knocked me down I was told with kindness and grace by an amazing Christian couple that the Lord would see me through the trial and that there will be better days ahead. Though it was impossible for me to see anything good while I was tasting the canvass after my knockdown, I took them at their word. They had experienced a similar trial. They stood firm in their walk with the Lord and He empowered them to rebuild their lives. They were, and are, a “success” story!

So, be encouraged! No matter where you are in your personal drama that knocked you down, I want to encourage you to stand firm, God is with you, and better days are ahead! I can say this because throughout history that were others who endured your same trial and yet stood

firm in the Lord. God is faithful and is the same “yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He is faithful to you, as well!

As the title of this book is, “Stand Firm: A Biblical Response When Life Knocks You Down,” it seems right to provide a biblical testimony of one who survived being knocked down by the grace of God and whose life was rebuilt to serve a greater purpose. I leave you with an example from the Old Testament and the story of a man named Joseph. You can relate to his personal drama on some level. Be encouraged that God is on your side, He will never leave you or forsake you, and He will rebuild your life, for His glory.

Here are some events of the life of Joseph:

· Joseph was born into the family of Jacob who was the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. Joseph was the eleventh son of twelve sons. Spending most of his childhood as the youngest of eleven sons could not have been an easy life for Joseph.

· When Joseph was seventeen years old, “his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him” (Gen. 37:4). The actions of his brothers to him had to have been very hurtful to Joseph especially when he did nothing to deserve their hatred.

· Joseph tells his brothers his dream given him by God and they “hated him all the more” (Gen. 37:5). Joseph complicated his relationship with his brothers when he reveals this dream. This did not endear him to them in the slightest.

· “His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind” (Gen. 37:11). The passage does not mention how their jealousy was revealed in daily life but it had to have impacted Joseph negatively. No doubt, they belittled him at every opportunity and did whatever they could to make his life miserable.

· His brothers “plotted to kill him” (Gen. 37:18). How crushing it must have been for Joseph to learn that his brothers were actually plotting to kill him! This goes against everything they believed and valued. This was a devastating nightmare from which one seemingly could not return.

· Reuben suggested a plan to throw Joseph into a cistern instead of killing him (Gen. 37:22). Reuben’s intent was to get Joseph out of sight so this brother would calm down and then rescue him by returning him home safely. One wonders what is going through Joseph’s mind while trapped in a dry cistern. Did he know Reuben’s plan? Did he take seriously his brothers’ plan and think that he was going to die? Did he cry out to his brothers to end this nightmare and get him home? Did he call out to God? He must have felt rejected, scared, and alone. The very ones who were supposed to protect him had now turned against him.

· His brothers sold Joseph into slavery for twenty shekels of silver to Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt (Gen. 37:28). Rather than kill Joseph, Judah sees and opportunity to get rid of him by selling him to Midianite merchants. While the brothers would live with the consequences of selling their brother into slavery, they would try to appease their guilt by saying that at least they did not kill him. Joseph’s nightmare goes from bad to worse as he is sold into slavery and taken to a foreign land. Rejected, threatened, and sold into slavery. I wonder if he cried out, “God, where are you?” His life was altered forever as he was forced into an alternative reality created by the sins of his brothers.

· The Ishmaelites sell Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard (Gen. 37:36).

· Joseph is in a pagan land and is isolated and alone. Yet, he thrived in the role as being in charge of Potiphar’s house as God’s blessing was on them (Gen. 39:1-5). Rejected, abandoned, and forgotten by his loved ones, Joseph could have gone into a deep depression

and turned away from his faith. Instead, he used his faith as a strength, a way to survive being knocked to the canvass of life, and rebuilt his life based on his new circumstances. The result was that “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered” (Genesis 39:2). Instead of blaming God, Joseph stood firm in his faith in Him and this resulted in everyone around Joseph being blessed. In fact, Joseph honoring of God in spite of his environment led to Potiphar leaving him in charge of his entire household.

· Joseph is accused falsely of sexual assault by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison (Gen. 39:6-20). But, just as life had turned the corner for good, once again someone betrayed him and knocked him onto the canvass one more time. Though his was falsely accused and completely innocent of the charges, Joseph was thrown into prison. I find it interesting that while Potiphar “burned with anger” (Genesis 39:19) he did not kill Joseph but instead had him imprisoned. No doubt Joseph cried out, “God, what is going on here?” Betrayed … again … rejected … again … alone …. again. If anyone had the right to think God had abandoned him, it was Joseph. Instead, he must have known that his imprisonment was not due to God’s actions but the sinfulness of others. So, Joseph stood firm.

· Yet, Joseph won favor with God and man in prison and was “made responsible for all that was done there” (Gen. 39:21-23). Life kept knocked down Joseph but Joseph kept getting back to his feet! But, how? “But while Joseph was there in prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden” (Genesis 39:20a-21). Once again, instead of quitting on God, Joseph allowed his faith to never wavered and he prospered.

· Joseph interprets the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker. He told the cupbearer, “when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison” (Gen. 40:14). The cupbearer was restored however he, “did not remember

Joseph; he forgot him” (Gen. 40:23). Even though life was bearable in jail, Joseph was still in prison. He used his God-given gift or interpreting dreams to give him hope of one day being released. But, once again he was forgotten by someone who should have helped him. I wonder what Joseph was thinking when he realized that the cupbearer had failed him. Did he feel betrayed again? Rejected again? And, alone … again? Did he wonder, “God, why does this keep happening to me?”

· Two years later, Pharaoh has a dream that no one in Egypt could interpret. The cupbearer remembers Joseph and brings him before Pharaoh. Joseph interprets the dream and is rewarded by being promoted to being second in all the land: only Pharaoh himself was higher (Gen. 41). Two years passed with no hint of rescue. Suddenly, Joseph is called before the mightiest man in the known world with the challenge of a lifetime; interpret the Pharaoh’s dream. I believe that Joseph had kept faith in God during these two years because when called upon to interpret, he was ready to respond. This tells me that he was still in relationship with the Lord and he did not allow himself to quit on life. It is interesting that his reward was not his release. Instead, God’s plan was in full action. Joseph was there for a purpose; one that no one could have anticipated. His journey from the bottom of the cistern in his homeland as a young person to know being a man at age 30 and serving the Pharaoh had amazing turns, knockdowns, and discouragement. But, Joseph kept battling, kept getting back on his feet, and never, ever quit. During the journey his was unaware that God was orchestrating the events of his life to fulfill His will for His people.

· Jacob, Joseph’s father, sends his sons to Egypt to find grain (Gen. 42:1-2). The brothers did go to Egypt and soon found themselves bowing down to “the Governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people” (Gen. 42:6-7). “Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them,

‘You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected!”” (Gen. 42:8-9). Joseph could have found his revenge on his brothers! Instead, they interact until finally he reveals his identity to them (Gen. 45:1-3). He could have blamed his brothers for the agony of his life story. Instead, he once again honored God by forgiving them. It seems that Joseph did not allow himself to be bitter, to self-pity, or to quit on life. Though this process of being knocked down and getting back up once again, Joseph’s character developed as he became a man of God.

· “But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence” (Gen. 45:3). They assumed that they would receive punishment from Joseph, even death. Instead, Joseph responded in kindness to them and honored God. Joseph was no longer the boy victimized by his brothers. He was not a hardened criminal changed by prison life. He rose before them as a man who stood firm in his faith in God. Every time someone knocked him to the canvass of life, he got back to his feet by responding righteously and honoring God.

· Jacob died in Egypt and the brothers assumed that with the patriarch gone, Joseph would then extract his revenge upon them. They told Joseph a lie that before he died, their father instructed them to tell Joseph to forgive them. They threw themselves at his feet and declared that they were his slaves (Gen. 50:15-18). But Joseph responded with, “’You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them” (Gen. 50:19-21). Joseph revealed to his brothers that his personal drama was the plan of God. He instructed them to relocate the entire family to Egypt and thus saved them from the famine. The result of Joseph standing

firm in the Lord was his personal salvation and the salvation of his family and the nation of Israel.

There are so many lessons that we can learn from the life of Joseph. Here are some examples of such lessons. I encourage you to add to this list.

1. When life knocks you down remember the truth that God is not punishing you, He has not deserted you, and He is not uncaring. We live in a fallen world in which “bad things happen to good people.” It is a reality of life. We will not live in a perfect world until we are in heaven. While it is true that God will discipline us because He loves us and that also, we will feel the consequences of our actions, our suffering is not done by a vengeful God. Sometimes, “good” people are impacted negatively by others acting badly.

2. God will take that which was meant for evil and turn it to accomplish His will. We must trust this promise and be faithful to Him in our life journey. There will be seasons when it seems that our life story takes a turn for the worse, maybe even multiple times, but even those periods are under God’s sight as He is never caught by surprise or unaware of our situation.

3. When our life circumstance is bleak, we can ask God how we are to respond in a manner that honors Him and we will grow in our love for Him and in our character. This means that we refuse to be a victim. How easy it is to become bitter, self-pity, and quit on life! Instead, we admit that life has knocked us down and turn to God. Our questions change from “Why me?” and “why am I being tested?” to “what can I learn, and how can I honor God, in this trial?”

4. Seasons do not last forever. “This too shall pass” is true. This is a difficult lesson for many of us to learn. We have the “fight or flight” syndrome that comes naturally. But, there are

times in life when we have to admit that we are in a difficult circumstance and yet take hope that seasons change. Our response must be to stand firm and to take life one step at a time. Win the moment by responding righteously. Win the hour. Win the day. Win the week.

5. At various points in our journey, we will have opportunity to deviate from God’s plan and take our own path. However, this will complicate matters and bring more heartache. We must remain faithful to God regardless of the circumstances.

6. We can still find light in the midst of life’s storms. Joseph was hated by his brothers and yet he still heard from God in dreams. His brother sold him into slavery and yet he rose to be in charge of Potiphar’s household. He was imprisoned wrongly and yet he was in charge of the prison. So, in the middle of your trial you can still be in the presence of God and discover how you can grow in depth of character in spite of your surroundings.

7. Even though we may not see the hand of God on us during our personal drama, we must remember that God is present, He is moving on our behalf, and the best is yet to come.

8. Choose your response. Every time Joseph was knocked down, he chose to get back to his feet and he chose to stand firm. During every turn and downward spiral, he never allowed life to strip him of his faith, his identity in God, or his ability to decide what direction he would pursue. Our chosen responses during our periods of testing can impact us for the rest of our lives. Chose life! Chose to stand firm in truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and hope as you live in the Word of God and pray in the Spirit for others.

9. Finally, be defined by God’s victory in your life and your character that He built in you. Refuse to be defined by what others have done to you and instead, be defined by what God has done in you and through you. May your victory anthem be, “Look at what the Lord has done!”

“Therefore, my brother and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!”

Philippians 4:1