I am so grateful for Your presence in worship yesterday, Father. You multiplied what was given several times over! It was surely a privilege to be Your mouthpiece.
One of the concepts mentioned yesterday, Lord, as we studied the life of Joseph in Genesis was the fact that all-in-all we cannot see what lies ahead in our lives. We are to trust in Your guiding hand on our shoulders but no matter how much we would like to, we cannot see what our future holds.
Joseph had his heart set on You. His father loved him more than his many brothers and doted on him. Josephs own dreams seemed to point to a day when they all would bow before him. His brothers so greatly despised him that they refrained from killing but did end up selling him into slavery. God blessed him in these circumstances and he rose to prominence in his master’s home. Because of a false accusation he was thrown in to prison but once again God blessed him and he rose to prominence under the leadership of the prison warden. He thought he found a way out when he helped one of Pharaoh’s servants understand that he would find favor in Pharaoh’s eyes once more but was forgotten and left to continue to rot in jail.
Time and again he would work his way to the top only to be pushed back to the bottom. It would have been easy to become bitter or to have simply given up…but he didn’t. He clung to You, Lord. His destiny was in Your hands. He remained faithful to You and You brought him through and used him to literally save the lives of thousands of people from the surety of starvation.
Could Joseph see where his life was headed? No, he just continued to trust You, Lord. He was greatly rewarded for his faithfulness. He was given power and wealth. He was reunited with his family – holding no animosity toward his brothers – for he saw God’s saving hand through it all. But…he didn’t know any of it was coming to him.
As we watched his life unfold, his faith in God was unwavering. Through all the ups and downs, he held on to You. If he had ended his days serving the warden in the jail, with none of his hopes and dreams fulfilled, I believe he would have remained faithful to God.
Lord, we really have no idea what our future holds but, without a doubt, we can trust You to bring us through and with our faith placed in You we can be content in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. May I find peace in You. May I be used by You. Amen
Jan 23rd, Mon, 6:41 am
