THE BIG PICTURE (PART 2)

And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. — GENESIS 12:3

Joseph was able to see what God was doing but only as it was revealed through his experiences. Joseph saw all the trials he went through as part of a bigger picture of God for the purpose of “saving many lives”. This is definitely true, but God was up to an even larger picture that may have eluded Joseph at the time. To understand the larger picture, we need to go back to the original promise to his great-grandfather, Abraham. In Genesis 12:2-3, God promises to Abram:

I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Joseph understood what God was doing in terms of using him to save many people from famine, but it was only the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s purposes to build a nation! He needed to bring the family of Abraham to the most prime land in Egypt to settle under a friendly government (at the time) to prosper and multiply into millions and ultimately be delivered to the promised land. Joseph undoubtedly knew of this promise and vision God had given his great-grandfather, but he wasn’t relating to it yet. We know the even larger vision and promise God gave Abraham in that all people on earth will be blessed.

We can know God’s vision and purpose for the world because He has told us in numerous places in scripture. One picture of this vision is found in Revelation 7:9-10 where John gets a glimpse of this vision:

After this, I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
Who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb.”

This is a vision of what God desires and the fact that He would include us in that vision is amazing! It is like a beautiful sculpture that God is weaving here on earth in the hearts of men and women. This vision goes through generations and God is always at work connecting people and using circumstances in both trials and triumphs for His vision to happen. We are used by God in our time and in our experiences and circumstances. If we will let Him, God places us on a scaffold with a chisel and hammer in the perfect spot on this beautiful sculpture. He uses us to chip away through our lives, doing our little part.

Here we are - doing business in the marketplace with varying experiences, triumphs and trials that have come together through the ministry of CBMC. We may have experienced the miracles of God changing our hearts or have seen how He can change others. We have probably experienced how God brings people and circumstances together in miraculous ways. As we reflect on our experiences as Christian businessmen and with CBMC, we each have our own perspective as to what God is up to – just like Joseph did. I believe that what God is doing adds up to much more than our own individual perspectives and experiences. We know this but we still box it up into something we can understand in the context of our lives and our time.

Think and pray
As you continue building your faith into your businesses as a part of the CBMC community let’s not forget the over-reaching vision God has shown us for the world. May we humbly listen to each other and rejoice in how God is working in so many ways.

Father, may we not be limited only to what we see You doing in our space. Open our minds to Your ultimate vision for the world and we praise You for how only You can weave it all together, Amen!

Marty Hepp is Chairman of CEC Corporation, a civil engineering firm headquartered in Oklahoma City. Marty writes marketplace devotionals for CBMC while also leading a weekly CBMC Connect3 team and facilitating a Young Professionals group as well. Marty serves on the Area Leadership Team for CBMC in Oklahoma. His passion is developing leaders who disciple men to maturity in Christ.