SOUL AND SPIRIT AND THE JOSEPH RESPONSE

© Morris Ruddick

Tough decisions. Joseph and Daniel's lives were marked by tough, but right decisions. Choices and decisions made of the spirit, not of the soul. Hard choices characterized by ones yielded to God's heart and His agendas. Choices and decisions that impacted nations and eternity.

We stand at a juncture in time; in much the way that Joseph was positioned just prior to being elevated along side of Pharoah; in the same manner that preceded the time Daniel was promoted to Prime Minister. While both Joseph and Daniel operated with unusual abilities and wisdom, other pivotal factors facilitated the transitions into their promotions.

The gateways to Joseph's and Daniel's promotions involved choices, decisions and predispositions tempered to respond with fervency and harmony to the Spirit's promptings. Responses that superceded what for most would be natural responses of the soul. Spirit responses that come only from time spent in the presence of the Lord.

A juncture in time. Many of today's Josephs and Daniels are positioned for promotion into their high callings. For many it is a time of crisis. A time of turbulence. A time of life and death for some. A time of incredible pressure for most. We need to intercede:

* For divinely orchestrated alignment, clarity of purpose and empowerment among these Josephs and Daniels called to release and facilitate the Lord's agendas for this hour.

* For a sensitivity to God's timetables; and the spiritual strength and agility to maintain their peace and steadfastness as they undergo what for many, is an incredible turbulence through the transition.

* That these Josephs and Daniels discern and speak wisely, boldly and prophetically as God promotes His ambassadors into high positions of influence and authority and begins releasing His agendas.

* For the preparation and alignment of the hearts and circumstances of the Pharoahs, Cyruses and Dariuses --- the worldly gatekeepers the Josephs and Daniels will be aligned with.

* That the Lord expose and remove the counterfeit Josephs and Daniels; along with the infiltrators whose actions would undermine and discredit the genuine Josephs and Daniels with the gatekeepers they are called to work beside.

* That the Lord provide bypass mechanisms, exposure and impenetrable walls of angelic protection, that today's Josephs and Daniels and those aligned with them might avoid the entrapments and ambushes of those scheming against them.

* That the realigned and repositioned Josephs and Daniels remain uniquely in harmony with the flow of the spirit; operate consistently from God's perspective; and be untouched and unfazed by mammon or power.

* That today's Josephs and Daniels experience a significant increase in their spiritual acuity and authority; and for the discernment, wisdom, innovation and courage to formulate the decisions, the prophetic plans and the strategic alliances needed to release and implement God's agendas for this hour.

* That this might be a time that the world will begin discerning between the righteous and the wicked; between the ones who serve God and ones who do not.

SPIRIT VERSUS SOUL CHOICES

Hebrews 4 speaks of the demarcation between soul and spirit --- which is a reflection of having entered that place of His rest. Genuine people of the Spirit have ceased from striving with their own agendas and have entered into His rest --- the place spoken of by the Psalmist as the secret place of the Most High.

The decisions leading to the junctures in time that resulted in promotion for Joseph and Daniel were life choices. They were progressive --- right choices and decisions made along the way. The choices of genuine ambassadors. The selfless, courageous demeanor and uncompromising tendencies of genuine representatives and emissaries serving their King in a foreign land. Choices and decisions reflecting hearts fixed in the fear of God rather than the fear of man. Hearts fixed to the degree spoken of in Revelation 12 that they loved not their own lives unto the death. Listening, obedient hearts pliable to the Lord's purposes.

THE COSTS

Joseph was a faithful servant --- he always made right choices. But the costs for Joseph were many and they were high. While Daniel's experience in the lion's den, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's experience in the burning, fiery furnace were the result of being betrayed by those who hated and despised them, Joseph was betrayed by those he loved, those he served, and those he helped.

Yet, it was the series of betrayals Joseph experienced --- by his brothers, by Potipher, and by the self-serving cup-bearer of Pharaoh --- that became the gateways leading to promotion into his high calling.

In the natural, Joseph's era of reversals and betrayals had the potential of completely breaking him. Thirteen years of heart-wrenching reversals. Yet, in thirteen years of pressure, Joseph maintained his integrity. He made the choice to keep his heart with all diligence. Joseph found that place in the "secret place of His presence." He pressed in to the Lord, when the natural response to his reversals would have been to lose heart. He responded to the pressures by abiding in the Lord.

Joseph was a man of vision who did not waver because of circumstances. This disposition of the heart is described in Psalm 112, that "his heart was fixed, trusting in the Lord." Like the imprisoned Apostle Paul described, he was obedient to his heavenly vision. Joseph did not waver from the two prophetic dreams God had given him years prior. Psalm 105 describes the adversity and process he faced and surmounted: "He sent a man before them; Joseph; who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons. Until the time that His Word came to pass, the Word of the LORD tested him."

God's brokenness does not break the spirit. It does however separate the soul from spirit --- allowing the spirit to be released and rise to ascendancy required to embrace and fulfill God's call. Brokenness, in its real sense is a gateway into God's rest, where soulish striving has ceased. Brokenness is a trust and a yielded abandonment of ourselves and all that entails, to God. The Lord yearns for the type of oneness and fellowship --- that is spirit to spirit and unencumbered by soulish constraints.

Joseph's response to being betrayed --- his consistent faithfulness along the way --- paved his way to the forefront of where God intended for him to be used in the release of His initiatives. In the process, the Lord gave Joseph authority over those who betrayed him.

GREATNESS FLOWS FROM A RELEASED SPIRIT

Joseph was the same at each stage; whether as a slave, or in prison, or sitting along side of Pharaoh. His character, authority and greatness, which came from the time He spent with the Lord, was not based on his position or status, but on who he was in his spirit-man. Joseph's character, authority and greatness were clearly recognized by the people of the world wielding authority over him --- whether in slavery, prison, or with Pharaoh. Two scriptures describing Joseph are made in Genesis 39. They both essentially say the same thing: "The Lord was with Joseph and he was a successful man, and everyone saw that the Lord was with Joseph and made all that he did to prosper." The first time that scripture was used, Joseph was serving as a slave. The second time, reflected his time in prison. "EVERYONE saw that the Lord was with Joseph." A genuine anointing, operating in one completely yielded to the Spirit, will be recognized and respected by the world.

Joseph didn't waver. Who Joseph was --- was something that was established before he was sold into slavery; before he was thrown into prison; and before he was elevated along side of Pharaoh. He remained steadfast and faithful with His heart fixed on the Lord.

And because of his steadfastness, Joseph became the gatekeeper --- for a mighty deliverance for his people, which included those who had previously tried to destroy him. The mark of a high calling, is a higher perspective that involves responses of the spirit; responses that can see the difference from God's standpoint; and are able then to reject the demands of the soul. Jesus foresaw that Peter would become a man whose responses would be guided by the Spirit. When that took place, Jesus stated that the gates of hell would not prevail against him. The constraints of hell have no power over those whose lives are guided by spirit rather than soul responses. Those are the ones who will be entrusted with the keys to the Kingdom --- whose lives will make an impact for eternity.

Many are called, but few are chosen. The "few" are those who themselves choose. Those willing to pay the cost of being obedient to the heavenly vision God has given them. There are many who receive the visions. But few who truly embrace them. Genuine people of vision understand the cost of operating and responding from God's perspective. Joseph and Daniel were men of vision. They operated from a higher, long-term outlook --- with God's agendas in mind. People of vision are steadfast and purposeful, with their orientation fixed on the Lord and His big picture.

GOD'S PERSPECTIVE AND PURPOSE

Daniel and Joseph were men of purpose --- purpose guided by God's perspective and agendas. Daniel would not compromise his identity and purpose as one of God's people. When faced with eating non-Kosher foods, Daniel 1:8 says that Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself. But Daniel also handled the situation with wisdom --- the type of wisdom translated in Hebrew as "sakal" wisdom.

Sakal wisdom is a wisdom from on high --- it is a wisdom that evaluates self, circumstances and others thoroughly to bring forth prudent behavior vital to success and prosperity (Source: Hebrew Honey, Al Novak, Countryman Publishers, 1987). It is a wisdom that is guided by the big picture.

Daniel did not get in the face of the chief official. Instead, he prudently approached the situation with sensitivity, understanding and "sakal" wisdom. Because of his prudence in this relationship, the scripture says that Daniel had favor, goodwill and respect of this chief official. Daniel later used "sakal" wisdom to get his associates promoted.

The Josephs and Daniels of this day will be those who are not tripped up in the soulish realm, but who operate beyond the issues of self with sakal wisdom. Those who do will have unusual favor, goodwill and respect from those key people of the world the Lord has placed in their lives.

There is a correlation that spirit-choices release --- a correlation and progression between purpose, authority, promotion and power. Unwavering purpose fueled by God's vision and agendas ultimately will release the operation of the authority of God's anointing. When the people of the world, under whose authority Joseph operated, saw the authority of God's anointing operating within Joseph -- the result was that they entrusted Joseph with their authority. God's purpose, the anointing and God's authority, coupled with steadfast faithfulness leads to promotion. God's promotions. God's promotions will lead to ambassadorial-level callings; callings carrying with it an unusual power and authority recognized within the worldly realm.

THE MARK OF GOD'S AMBASSADORS

Seeing things from God's perspective reflects an intimacy drawn from the time spent with the Lord. An intimacy in prayer that presses beyond the issues constrained by the soul and into the realm of the spirit. Both Joseph and Daniel were able to interpret dreams because they had vital, interactive prayer lives. They were genuine prophetic intercessors. They not only knew the voice of their Master, but were tapped into supernatural revelations that guided the awesome spiritual authority that they operated in as His ambassadors. As summed up in Daniel 11:32, they that KNOW their God will be strong and will do exploits. People of purpose, who genuinely give themselves to the Lord in prayer will be those who are given authority, like Joseph and Daniel, to change the course of nations.

Both Joseph and Daniel were faced with choices that were incredibly heavy in the natural. There is much psycho-babble written to explain their lives from a modern-day Gentile world-view. But I am convinced, the explanations came down to the choices they made. Each chose to respond in the spirit, rather than on a soul level. Those choices became the gateways leading to their high calling.

They were God's ambassadors and they knew it. When the constraints they experienced were lifted, their purpose was unclouded and untainted. They understood who they were, Who they served, and what their mission was.

With the incredible authority entrusted to Joseph after being promoted to sit along side of Pharaoh, there were a lot of responses he might have made at the time he revealed himself to his brothers who had betrayed him. But his mission was crystal clear and his response was one of the spirit, as he explained to his brothers:

"I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine."