Today's Reading:Gen. 42:27-38
"Jacob and His Sons are Fearful"
Focus Verses: Genesis 42:35-36
35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. 36 Their father Jacob said to them, "You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!"
Insight:
What is actually happening to Jacob and his sons, and what they fear is happening are two very different things. They fear they've lost another brother, but they are actually on a path to being reunited with a brother. They fear that the money in their sacks is a trick to trap and hurt them, but they are actually being given free food during a famine. They fear that their hard lives are headed for even harder times, but they are actually headed for some of the most prosperous and happy times they have ever known. They fear that "everything is against them," when in actuality the Almighty God is working to bless them.
When everything seemed to be against Joseph, he chose to live by faith. Instead of seeing his situation through fear, he chose to believe that God was with him. He kept trusting that God had a plan and that God would be faithful regardless of how things appeared.
When fear dominates our hearts and minds, we say, "Everything is against us." When faith in God dominates our hearts and minds, we say, "We will not be afraid, because God is with us."
Response and Action:
I choose to look at the events and circumstances of my life with eyes of faith instead of eyes of fear. When it looks like things are against me, I will remember that God is with me.
O God, grant me the wisdom and the will to guard my heart, feed my spirit, stimulate my mind, and care for my body. Help me, by faith, to do the good things you've prepared in advance for me to do. Help me to keep my eyes on Jesus, to walk in your way and seek your will. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
Proverb for Today: Prov. 26:12
"Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him."
New Testament for Today: Hebrews 12:2
2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
In Context: Hebrews 12:1-13
Resources:
In His Everlasting Arms: Learning to Trust God in All Circumstances
by Gail MacDonald
