"LORD! IT IS NOT IN ME!"

“And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.’

So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.’” ~ Genesis 41:15-16, NKJV

Joseph had been unjustly imprisoned for at least two full years, thanks to Potiphar's wife and the chief butler's forgetfulness. When Pharaoh was visited with a troubling pair of dreams and Joseph was recommended to him as an interpreter, Joseph could have seized his chance. He could have glorified himself before Pharaoh in an effort to obtain his freedom. He could have boasted about the correct interpretations he had given to the chief butler and the chief baker. But he didn't. When Pharaoh gave him the perfect opportunity to claim credit for himself, Joseph gave all the glory to God. All the credit for Joseph's successes and gifts, including interpretation of dreams, belonged rightfully to God. Joseph freely admitted this and in so doing gave us a beautiful expression of truth: “‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.’” Everything we have comes ultimately from God. The work that He accomplishes through us is also from Him. He supplies the believer with all the strength, resources, opportunities, and energies he needs to fulfill His will for him. That provision is not in us. It's all of Him. And when our souls are troubled or when we face a matter that has others troubled, it is God who also supplies the answers that put the trouble to rest. Joseph wasn't promising Pharaoh a positive, "peaceful" answer when he said God's answer would be one of peace; he was indicating that God's answer would bring Pharaoh personal peace, in that he would no longer be left in the dark, anxious and unprepared. 

My heart resonates with Joseph's words. When my circumstances or my troubles feel as if they're overwhelming me, they fit my frustrated, desperate cry perfectly: "LORD! IT IS NOT IN ME!" I don't have what it takes to do what's ahead of me; I am not sufficient, I do not have the heart, I do not have the courage, I do not have the energy, and I do not have the hope. It is not in me. None of it. But when I turn to Him, God gives me an answer of peace. He shows me how He is sufficient and how He will provide me with all that I need. No, it's not in me. But it is in Him.

by Rebecca....