Living in the Spirit
August 14, 2017
Scripture Reading: Genesis 45:1-15
Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, ‘Send everyone away from me.’ So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come closer to me.’ And they came closer. He said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. –Genesis 45:1-8
Funny how, often unpleasant, life lessons prepare us for future circumstances. I certainly cannot explain the workings of God witnessed in hindsight. Paul acknowledges the mysterious nature of God in Romans 11:33, O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! Apparently, Joseph connected at some point with the God his great grandfather Abraham encountered at Ur and passed on to his son Isaac who told the stories of God to Joseph’s father, Jacob. Joseph most likely followed the family’s traditions of honor the God of Abraham. I wonder if Joseph’s first unique experience with God was in the water-less pit into which his brothers tossed him. Perhaps it was traveling with the strangers who bought him.
As a female working in a predominately male environment, I often drew the assignments no one else wanted making me stretch beyond my previous skills or training. Looking back, I realize such experience was invaluable to my career growth and development. Life puts us in challenging situations; God resources them through us for the building of God’s kingdom just as God used Joseph to save the Egyptians and his own people. We waste a lot of God’s good time in bitterness and resentment, and in accepting other people’s views of ourselves instead of God’s. If we give God our anger, self-doubt, and any chips on our shoulders, God can and will turn them into powerful positive energy for creating a world ruled by love where all are acknowledged and celebrated for their unique contributions.
Prayer:
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.* Amen.
*First verse of Take My Life and Let it Be by Frances Ridley Havergal see at https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/445