PREPARATION

Genesis 45:5
“It was really for the sake of saving lives… God sent me here ahead of you.”
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I was sent here in Mexico for a project. We will have our own apartment. A service van will take us to and from the office. I will have some allowance for food and amenities. And still, I complaint and started to lose heart, having been away from my family.

And then in Genesis, you would read and be inspired by the story of Joseph. Imagine having your own family beat you, throw you into a pit and leave you to die. They do have a change of heart and come back but only to sell you into slavery. You spend years in prison. Wouldn't you lose heart? Well, he did not! His courage and faith in God kept him and enabled him to do great things.

And succeeding events would cause resentment and bitterness to form, but Joseph did not let them. He continued in his faith and waited on God. It is difficult to keep focused on God when you feel passed over, overlooked or unappreciated. Yet, it is these times in particular that we must stay focused on God and trust that He will provide for us.

And he persevered in God until he became an official in the house of the Pharaoh. When Joseph came into power, his courage continued. The easy thing to do would be to punish his brothers for the way that they treated him. He doesn’t though. Instead, he realizes the work that God has done in him and the opportunity God has given him to spare his family from the famine. He understands that he has received a blessing out of the situation that his brothers put him in and he is grateful to God instead of resentful of his brothers.

Almighty Father, it is seldom easy to do the right thing. It takes courage and faith to stand up when the world would beat you down. In all things, You are there to hold us up. If hard times, bitterness, resentment or anger are things that we are struggling with, may Joseph’s story give us courage, knowing fully that you has a blessing waiting for us at the end of this trials.

Remember the marvels the Lord has done.