S – And now don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. 7 God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God.
Genesis 45:5–8 CSB
O – Hindsight is a great teacher. Joseph can look back at the journey from being sold into slavery, Potiphar’s house, the jail, the dream interpretation, working with Pharoah and his brothers seeking food and seeing God’s purpose. The Bible doesn’t say he waivered in his relationship with God and it was noted by others that God was with him. Yet, here he realizes that the purpose was to preserve his family lineage. Important to note that Jesus came from the lineage of Judah.
A – We all have difficulty in our journeys. We need to invite God into these daily challenges realizing that He is guiding us to his purposes. Easy to say, hard to do. In the end, we will look back and see his hand in the journey and in us.
R – Lord, help me to trust you and invite you into the journey by being faithful today.
S – What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed your servants’ iniquity. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”
Genesis 44:16 CSB
O – Strong words from Judah when he says, “God has exposed your servants’ iniquity.” Their sin of selling Joseph into slavery and lying about his death was no longer in the dark. They openly are aware of it and the price it carried. That price tag now included Benjamen, who didn’t participate in the initial actions.
A – Our sins in the dark will one day be exposed. (Luke 12:2-3). The truth always comes out. We need to repent of it today and deal with it. The price grows the longer we hide it. Unfortunately, it usually brings more people into the equation when it is left undealt with as well. God is faithful to forgive today.
R – Lord, help me to have the courage to do this today.
S – “They served him by himself, his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, since that is detestable to them. 33 They were seated before him in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest. The men looked at each other in astonishment.”
Genesis 43:32–33 CSB
O – In the “charade” Joseph is playing of not knowing his brothers, he maintains distance. Even though he knew everything about them, he still didn’t let them know about him. Even eating separately from the brothers and the Egyptians, he is demonstrating that he isn’t a part of “anyone’s family.” It is a lonely, isolated place but one where Joseph puts himself. We cannot live this way. We are designed to find a group of people to do life with – family, close friends or interest groups.
A – I need to continue to cultivate “close circle relationships.” These are people who help me lead, govern and steward my life at the highest level.
S – Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.”
Genesis 42:21 CSB
O – We are not privy to how often the brothers talked about or felt the weight of their betrayal of Joseph. Interesting, after all these years they now bring it up. You also see throughout the chapter the desire to bring Joseph’s family to Egypt. Joseph knows of the famine and that it would continue until the seven years are up. God knew that in Egypt, the family would grow into the nation of Israel.
A – God is directing our lives. He never promises that it will be without challenges or hardships. There will be accountability for our actions. Yet, He will lead us through them if we invite Him into the journey through them.
S –The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants, 38 and he said to them, “Can we find anyone like this, a man who has God’s spirit in him?” 39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you are. 40 You will be over my house, and all my people will obey your commands., Only I, as king, will be greater than you.”
Genesis 41:37–40 CSB
O – A couple of items jump out today:
Joseph interprets two dreams as he did with his family.
Joseph is central to the fulfillment of those dreams.
God’s spirit is recognized by Pharoah as it was by Potiphar.
Pharoah recognized the tangible gifting and wisdom Joseph possessed, like Potiphar.
Pharoah gave him the same authority and responsibility structure as Potiphar.
See the progression of maturity that Joseph did not tell Pharoah that he was the guy to lead the charge. He matured enough to let Pharoah ask.
A – What we are going through today prepares us for what He wants in us tomorrow. We must remain present enough to grow and mature through today’s efforts.
S – “Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guards in the prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guards assigned Joseph to them as their personal attendant, and they were in custody for some time.” Genesis 40:2–4 CSB
O – A couple of items:
1. Chapter 39 tells us that Joseph was put in the prison where the Pharoah’s prisoners were confined. This explains how the two officers of such high status are in this place.
2. The captain of the guards is Potiphar (39:1).
3. He is the one who assigns Joseph to serve them while in custody. Could Potiphar still see the character and God’s presence with Joseph even while in jail?
4. Joseph would need this “royal connection” to get to where God destined him.
A – Even in difficult times and circumstances, God is bringing the right people and opportunities to accomplish his will. I need to focus on aligning with God’s character, will and purpose.
S – “When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful, 4 Joseph found favor with his master and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority. 5 From the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph. The Lord’s blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields
Genesis 39:3–5 CSB
O – Even sold into slavery, Joseph did not deter from God’s ways. He didn’t become the victim of his circumstances. He worked and the Lord blessed his work. We don’t know the words he used but Potiphar saw the message – God brought his success. The more authority Potiphar gave Joseph, the more blessings. This is Joseph’s training ground for when he eventually is named the 2nd in all of Egypt. Faithful with Potiphar’s house – faithful with the most powerful country in the world at that time.
A – Do your work for the Lord. It is fulfilled in a job or an organization but do it as the Lord is with you. He will give blessings where He is honored in the person. Godly action is a strong message. It is also preparation for what is to come.
S – “But then he pulled his hand back, out came his brother, and she said, “What a breakout you have made for yourself!” So he was named Perez.” Genesis 38:29 CSB
O – The theme of the younger sibling overshadowing the older one continues. Even with Judah’s mistakes and egotistical oversight, God’s plans and purposes are fulfilled. Judah is the one who suggested to his brothers to sell Joseph into slavery. Here, he doesn’t keep his promise. Yet, in his actions, God turns it around for His plan. Matthew 1:3 “Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron…” He is part of the lineage of Jesus.
A – God’s will and purpose will not be thwarted. It is better to submit to what God is doing in my life and follow His lead. When I force my will, He will prevail.
I am writing this at 35,000 feet as I travel to Haiti on a mission’s trip. I have a backpack full of stuff to make the trip go smoothly – lap top, hat, protein bars, water, hand sanitizer, glasses, sun screen and of course, my passport.
If you are like me, you don’t give your passport a lot of love. If I am not traveling, it sits in my drawer collecting dust and basically doing nothing. I don’t think about it at all. I don’t carry it in my pocket, keep it handy, check to see if it is up to date…basically, I don’t value it.
YET…when I travel outside the United States, it becomes a really big deal. I wipe off all the dust and empty it of any prior airline tickets. I check to make sure it is within the termination date and all is in order. I will carry it with me wherever I go. It will be the most important item I can carry while outside the USA.
Why is this little book so vital? It identifies who I am and who I belong to. It gives my name, physical description and has a picture. If anyone wants to verify who I am, my passport allows them to do this in just a few moments. It tells that I am a citizen of the United States of America. It clearly identifies that I have all the rights given as a citizen of my home country. You can have the same name or even look like me, but this information is mine alone. There is only one passport that identifies me as me.
Do you realize that you have your own passport? It’s your Bible.
It is easy to treat our Bible like my passport. Leave it on the shelf and gather dust until needed. Then, we clean it up and get ready to “dive in.” My challenge for you today is simple… “Read your Bible daily.” Do you just read it for the “trip” or time of need? Do you use it only when you encountering a new problem or difficulty? When that resolves, do you put it back on the shelf only to be ready for the “next trip?”
I encourage you to treat your Bible like your phone. In fact, you can actually put it on your phone. There are some tremendous versions out there that make the Bible easy to understand. I like the Youversion Bible app.
Most importantly, your Bible will do what your passport does for you. It identifies who you are if you have accepted Christ. It will give you the principles that Jesus and the disciples taught in living a Christian life. Those principles are evidence of your citizenship in Christ. It will cause you to identify you as you. The Bible has a lot to say about you and how God sees you. It will give you the truth about you. It will guide you into growing from your vision into the vision God has for you.
Pick up your Bible today. Read it each day…you will go to a place you have never been before.
I did something that I have never done before. I actually measured the distance between my nose and my heart with a tape measure. (At least where I think it is.) 8.5 inches! Mystery solved…all is well in the world.
With a distant so close that it is shorter than my left foot, you would think connecting my head and my heart would be an easy task. Yet, it is my biggest challenge…and probably yours as well. Romans 7:15 NLT says, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you recognize the challenge. We want to follow God’s Word, teachings and even the things we get from our prayer time. We know these principles and truths are what is best for us. We know it is time for a change. But, then we either do nothing or do something contrary.
Why?
In a physiological definition, the heart keeps alive by pumping the blood, oxygen and nutrients to our body. Our head (brain) is one of the most complex decision making, voluntary/involuntary control centers and system keeping organs in the world. If you want to know if there is a God, look at the human body. To me, it is the most fascinating achievement in the world. It is created, ages, heals, thinks, feels and has a soul.
Which moves us to the spiritual. Our heart is what houses our desires, loves, beliefs, convictions, passions and relationships. Our head is what intellectualizes, thinks, decides, acts and makes choices. In the physical, these two can remain separate because their functions are unique to themselves. Not so in the spiritual. It is messy. Our desires and beliefs intersect with our choices and actions every day. To throw a curve ball into that fun relationship, we are all sinners and are tempted to do our own thing all the time.
God isn’t waiting for our next mess up…He is waiting for our next shared moment. Good or bad, He wants to be part of that moment. He wants to see how you react. He wants to be invited in. He wants to talk to you about it. He wants you to really open your heart and pour out your emotions, feelings and beliefs. He wants you to listen to His thoughts and ideas. (He has some good ones!) More than anything, He just wants to be with you.
Will you let Him? He is so close…don’t make Him be so far.
Just Add Water . Chris Bonham 