{"id":411,"date":"2008-04-13T01:01:54","date_gmt":"2008-04-13T01:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/04\/sunday-inspiration-from-the-high-callingorg-5.html"},"modified":"2008-04-13T01:01:54","modified_gmt":"2008-04-13T01:01:54","slug":"sunday-inspiration-from-the-high-callingorg-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/04\/sunday-inspiration-from-the-high-callingorg-5.html","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling.org"},"content":{"rendered":"

One Discouragement After Another<\/strong><\/p>\n

READ Genesis 40:1-23<\/a><\/p>\n

Pharaoh\u2019s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.<\/p>\n

Genesis 40:23<\/a><\/p>\n

Sold into slavery by his own brothers, wrongly imprisoned by the master he had served loyally, Joseph continued to serve the Lord even while in prison. There he had the opportunity to interpret dreams for two of Pharaoh’s top servants. Knowing that the cup-bearer would soon return to his place of influence alongside Pharaoh, Joseph asked to be remembered to Pharaoh.
\nHow excited Joseph must have been when he heard what happened with the cup-bearer. Just as Joseph had promised, this man was restored to his position as one of Pharaoh’s key servants. Surely the cup-bearer would mention Joseph to Pharaoh, securing his release from prison. But, in fact, the cup-bearer forgot all about Joseph.
\nThe narrative of Genesis 40 does not tell us how Joseph reacted when he realized that the cup-bearer had forgotten him. But if you’ve ever been in a place like Joseph’s, you know how it feels to face one discouragement after another. As your hopes are continually dashed on the rocks of disappointment, you easily lose heart, perhaps even faith. It’s bad enough to be in desperate straits. How much worse when it feels as if God is toying with you, giving you hope and then snatching it away. From God’s point of view, it all makes sense, but from our vantage point, life can seem impossibly unfair, and God untouchably distant.
\nQUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Have there been times in your life when you experienced one discouragement after another? How did this impact your faith? Did you feel free to tell God how you were feeling? Why or why not?
\nPRAYER: Dear Lord, knowing how the story of Joseph plays out, it’s easy for me to jump over this chapter. It can seem like simply one step forward in your plan to elevate and exonerate Joseph. But when I step back and consider how Joseph might have felt, I’m struck by how hard it must have been for him to have hope, only to have that hope devastated by reality.
\nIt is so hard for us to be discouraged, Lord, especially when you’re the one who is the source of our discouragement. Whether we’re dealing with infertility, or facing serious illness, or watching a beloved family member spin out of control, or seeing our financial security threatened, one of the hardest things in life is to have hope and then to see our hope evaporate. We pray and pray and pray. Just when it seems as if you have answered our prayers, reality crashes in upon us. We wonder where you are and why you don’t care.
\nIn times of discouragement, help us, dear Lord, to trust you. Sustain us with supernatural patience. Reassure us by your presence. Renew us in your grace. Amen<\/em>.
\nDaily Reflections from The High Calling.org <\/em><\/strong>
\nThis devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work <\/em>(www.thehighcalling.org<\/a>). You can read my Daily Reflections<\/a> there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.
\n\"high<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One Discouragement After Another READ Genesis 40:1-23 Pharaoh\u2019s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought. Genesis 40:23 Sold into slavery by his own brothers, wrongly imprisoned by the master he had served loyally, Joseph continued to serve the Lord even while in prison. There he had the opportunity to interpret…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sunday-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nSunday Inspiration from The High Calling.org - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/04\/sunday-inspiration-from-the-high-callingorg-5.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling.org - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One Discouragement After Another READ Genesis 40:1-23 Pharaoh\u2019s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought. Genesis 40:23 Sold into slavery by his own brothers, wrongly imprisoned by the master he had served loyally, Joseph continued to serve the Lord even while in prison. There he had the opportunity to interpret…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/04\/sunday-inspiration-from-the-high-callingorg-5.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-04-13T01:01:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/high-calling-promo-7.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling.org - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}