I want to talk about Joseph's coat!
Joseph's father, Jacob, in the Bible, gave him a special coat.
It was a coat of favor, a coat of honor, a special gift! It was bright, colorful and beautiful! It stood out, and his older brothers hated him for it it! They would have loved to strip Joseph of His coat of many colors! They resented the gift their father had given their younger brother, and they wanted to kill him for it!
Poor young Joseph! He was young, pure, and full of love for his brothers! He couldn't understand why his older brothers resented him! Here God was giving him foretelling dreams and blessing Joseph with wisdom and abilities beyond theirs and they hated him for it!
But in the end, God had a plan to use the gifts the brothers hated to bless them and save their lives in a coming famine!
Oh how this is such a representation of the church today! God has given many diverse gifts to His children and dressed specific ones in colorful "coats" for a reason. Whenever His children put those coats on and display them as they're supposed to, God's other children want to rip the coats off of them through jealousy and persecution!
God didn't intend for us to hide our gifts!
God gives gifts and favors it's for a reason, for a specific call! The biggest hindrances to the work of the Lord being accomplished and going forth is jealous, lukewarm, religious baby Christians who want to strip the "coats" off of their brothers and sisters!!
The body of Christ needs to grow up by moving in the LOVE OF GOD and stop looking resentfully at the gift God's given others and start developing the gift that God gave them and develop fruit for the Kingdom! We all have a work to do! Just do what God has given you to do.
Instead of hindering another's work out of jealousy, assist them and encourage them! The truth is, it's not easy to wear the coat that God puts on us! It's not easy to stand out and display the gift!
When one steps up to do the things God has asked them to do, it's much like a baby bird jumping out of the nest to fly. It's a little scary to use their wings for the first time.
They may fall, but they must use their wings! What a waste it would be for the baby bird to go back to the nest and never try again because it was uncomfortable!
Ultimately, you don't want to be the reason another Christian hides his coat, as you may pay a heavy price!
That may be the very person God's going to use to bless you in the end!
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