Often times, when I am feeling a bit restless and ready to be used in another venue, I will talk to my closest friends and ask, “So, are you ready to get into some trouble, again?” This may sound like an invitation for sin to be allowed in our lives, but it is not the intent at all. This is a yearning to labor on behalf of the Kingdom and to make talmidum/disciples. Yet, sadly to say most of man’s activities are those that titillate the realm of man’s soul which truly are the source of tribulation.
    People do not like to feel uncomfortable. They create bubble-like boundaries in which most individuals safeguard themselves from being perceived as too vulnerable or too fanatical. Nonetheless, there is usually a need to belong and a need for approval. This intrinsic need is what is used to get people out of their comfort zones. The human drive for acceptance is a base emotion. This began in the Garden when YHVH created man in the image of his Creator and his Creator clothed man with His glory as man dwelt in the accepting presence of his Creator.
    Man’s sin nature veils the way to Elohim’s acceptance. Throughout history man has journeyed within his wilderness awaiting the revelation of Messiah and the restoration of all things that were lost in the Garden. Until then, he wanders from here to there looking for ways to belong within subsets of tribes, cultures, customs and traditions. When rejection occurs, it reinforces the sinful instincts to rebel, retaliate and hold bitterness until genuine acceptance is achieved. However, even after genuine acceptance by YHVH is revealed, man has to journey in continuous repentance to rid his heart of the root of bitterness that still gets in the way of the spiritual relationship that YHVH desires of him. It is an ongoing battle that we wage while on planet earth and, more than likely, most of us will not effectually get past this until Messiah returns for His Bride. Yet, we must continue to try; it is paramount that we get past these fleshly obstacles so that our time on earth is spent experiencing the Kingdom opposed to placating the desires of the flesh.
    Few men have found themselves in this place of complete acceptance, and even then, their lives still faced practical obstacles of sinful missteps from which they must repent. King David had many “hang-ups,” yet was a vessel of YHVH’s own choosing to work for His purpose. Ultimately, He blessed David’s seed as the promised Messiah.
    Noach was a man of YHVH’s choosing as well. He was a chosen vessel to build a vessel of salvation. Through all of that, Noach still had to live on earth and to find fulfillment in his wife and family. Because he enjoyed feasting and partaking of too much wine, Canaan was cursed forever. Yet, Noach was a righteous man and YHVH chose him to pass along the promised seed through Shem. Noach chose to obey YHVH and the difficult task of building an ark and became an object of ridicule. He and his entire family were saved because of his obedience. All of the toil of gathering, building and explanations were worth the opportunity to be spared from disaster and to be found as worthy to accomplish the work of YHVH.
    Abraham was a friend of YHVH. He chose faith as the vehicle to reach YHVH. That faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness. Through all of the sojourning that Abraham did, he made many mistakes and created an entire race that would eventually take part in a four hundred year captivity of his descendants. Moreover, through all of Abraham’s misguided solutions, he still maintained faith in YHVH to work out the circumstances of his life and to accomplish the covenant that had been made with him by YHVH.
    The aforesaid men were sought out and found by YHVH. David was in the sheepfolds, the youngest of many brothers, certainly least in line to a huge inheritance, fame and acknowledgement by the outside world. Noach was one of many men to live for many hundreds of years. He was well into his life, five hundred years old, when YHVH called him to build an ark that would save the human race and continue the covenant made with Adam and Eve. Abraham began as Abram, living in his father’s household, he had lost his brother and found himself the keeper of his brother’s son, Lot. Yet, YHVH saw Abram’s faith along with his wife, Sarai, and called them to cross the Euphrates River to sojourn in the land of Canaan and, eventually, the Promised Land. The only thing that these men had in common was their lineage and their unyielding desire to be the possession of YHVH.
    They looked to Him by taking their eyes off of the earth, the curse of the ground, and dared to seek YHVH for the provision, protection and eventual inheritance. This is where tsarah/trouble begins. Actually, it all really began in the Garden, when Adam chose disobedience rather than obedience.
    Nevertheless, our spiritual journey begins to emerge as we say yes to YHVH and no to our flesh. It is as if YHVH asks us, “So, what trouble would you like to get into today?” Or perhaps another way of saying it is “What sort of jeopardy are you willing to venture into today?” The words trouble and jeopardy are associated with other similar words as follows: difficulty, peril, threat, risk, danger, dilemma, snag, hassle, trial, tribulation, mess, problem and so on. This is an excellent place to pause and remember the words of Yeshua when He said “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; “I have overcome the world.””1 This tells us that in Yeshua we are given the promise of peace, although, in the world we will have tribulation. In Job 5: 6-8 the Word tells us “For affliction does not come from the dust, neither does trouble sprout from the ground, for man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward. But as for me, I would seek YHVH, and I would place my cause before YHVH.” Are our lives any different from the patriarchs of our faith in which we have become acquainted through our Torah studies thus far? From the beginning of humanity through Adam and Eve we have studied up to now the life of Joseph and have witnessed the common thread of trouble being interwoven into the fabric of their lives. Each day of our lives we wake up to a new set of circumstances as Yeshua said “Therefore, do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” I believe the crux of what Yeshua is saying to us is this: What are we going to do with this trouble that we will encounter from day to day? What did Joseph do with the trouble that he encountered? His dreams and visions were spiritually hijacked and he was physically enslaved into the enemy’s territory. However, Joseph’s vicissitudes of life teaches us through the trials and tribulations of our own lives that we can overcome evil with good.
    The ongoing premise of Scripture is overcoming wickedness with the righteousness of YHVH. As we pick up a book to read, generally, we begin to read from the beginning of the book until we reach the end for its conclusion. As we read and examine the literal beginning in Torah we are getting glimpses of the end as YHVH “declares the end from the beginning…”2 This tells us that the end of the matter is embedded in the beginning. Joseph’s life portrays an end-time scenario. He was chosen of YHVH and yet, in his designated position, he suffered through the injustices and overcame. We, as YHVH’s chosen people, are called to His divine purpose. We are to follow our Master’s footsteps. “He overcame the world.”3 We, too, have a noble role to play in this world as we are encroaching upon the end of time. Our task is to overcome evil (adversity or perceived trouble) with good4 and allow the Father to promote us to higher levels for His purposes. “We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,”.5
    Times of peril are upon us as characterized through II Timothy three. We and the upcoming generation have a daunting task before us. We have the task of becoming overcomers in the midst of this sin laden world. Joseph was a type and shadow of the Messiah. Although he was innocent, he was mistreated and suffered at the hands of his own brothers. Yeshua, who is the Lamb of Elohim, suffered at the hands of his own people. We, too, will encounter trouble even from our own households.6 “Remember the word that I said to you, “A slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”7
    Are we up to the challenge? Trouble is lurking behind the closed door of tomorrow. Shall we welcome it as a tool of triumph or slump down under its defeat? I conclude with His words of encouragement, “For whatever is born of YHVH overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Yeshua is the Son of YHVH?8 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”9 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”10 and “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.11 Grace be unto you as you open the door of your tomorrow!