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How many times have you prayed for something and been disappointed? Maybe your story is quite different then the one you thought God was going to tell. It’s frustrating. Let’s get into Advent.
Verses for today:
Genesis 37
Genesis 39
Genesis 40
Genesis 41
Genesis 45:1-11
Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants, “Out, all of you!” So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. 2 Then he broke down and wept. 3 “I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. 7 God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. 8 So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh.
9 “Now hurry back to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all the land of Egypt. So come down to me immediately! 11 I will take care of you there, for there are still five years of famine ahead of us. Otherwise you, your household, and all your animals will starve.’”
Genesis 50:15-21
15 But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became fearful. “Now Joseph will show his anger and pay us back for all the wrong we did to him,” they said.
16 So they sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he instructed us 17 to say to you: ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you—for their sin in treating you so cruelly.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept. 18 Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph. “Look, we are your slaves!” they said.
19 But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. 21 No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.
I grew up in a Christian home. I had and still have a loving family. But to be honest, when I was in the 8th grade I came home to find that my parents had decided to get a divorce. My life would never be the same. I went from having both parents in the same house to seeing my dad on weekends and holidays and due to his busy travel schedule there were some weekends it just didn’t work out.
He always made a point to call and to talk to us and I do feel I have a really strong relationship with my dad, but it just wasn’t the same. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that don’t make sense. WE find ourselves hurt and confused and even sometimes caught off guard.
I think that is the point. God is NEVER caught off guard, and everything we go through is part of this perfect story that He is writing for us. Think about it – everything that doesn’t go quite the way we want or think and pray for, is part of a bigger plan and all we can see is the current paragraph. His sovereign and all-powerful hand is guiding our life and all He asks of us is to trust Him.
Today for Advent, we read about Joseph and his coach of many colors, son of Jacob and one that rises to power in Egypt. Think about it, Joseph had a purpose and if he had stopped trusting God when he was bullied by his brothers, sold to Potiphar, or even when there was famine throughout the land – our story today would look very different. But just because he could only see the paragraph God was writing at the moment, didn’t cause him to lose faith.
God’s blessing was over him the entire time and because of Joseph’s faithfulness – the line of David was perfected for a baby to be born to save the world.
Just like God walked each devastation and road block with Joseph. He does so with you too. He is with us in this season of waiting. God had a purpose for every step Joseph took.
I love what Daily Grace Co wrote today in the midst of Advent.
“Scripture reminds us of the way that God works, and the story of Joseph reminds us that sometimes God works in the mess. He works in the mess of our lives to give us purpose and His presence. God can use even the things that others mean for evil to bring us to a place of His greatest good for us.”
Today if you are waste deep in the mess – know that God is waste deep with you. He stands with you and provides the way to blessings.
Just think – God used Joseph millennia before Jesus came to begin preparing the lineage and the people. God is using you too, so don’t lose heart – keep the faith and believe.
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