Today's Readings: New Testament -
Luke 6:27-36 / Acts 13:1-25
Old Testament -
Psalms 21 / Genesis 46-47
Click on Text Links to Read Online
Focus Verses: Genesis 47:5-6, 27
5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock. - - - 27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number."
Insight:
Joseph's brothers had sold him into slavery with evil intentions, but God unexpectedly took the wrong that had been done to Joseph and turned it into good. He took care of Joseph and helped him prosper to a place where he would one day be able to save his family from famine.
When Jacob's family went down into Egypt, they were marginalized because of their occupation and ethnicity. The Egyptians considered nomadic shepherds to be detestable and did not want to associate with them. Joseph had told his family to describe themselves as life-long shepherds, knowing full well that his relatives would be sent to settle in the land of Goshen.
What looked like marginalization actually turned into blessing. Here the family of Israel was able to live undisturbed as a people group. Though it was a time of famine and foreclosure for the Egyptians, the children of Israel were able to acquire land, raise crops and flocks, and prosper. Though they began as a clan of seventy, they grew in number and would one day be a nation of millions.
Response & Action:
I need to trust God to be working for my good even when times seem bad. I need to remember that God can take things intended for evil and turn them for good. God can take the things that look like limitations and turn them into strengths. If I am pushed aside or marginalized, God can turn that into an opportunity for growth and blessing. I need to entrust my life and my hopes to God. I need to remember that God is the master of taking what seems weak and worthless and turning it into unexpected blessing.
O God, give me the faith to expect blessing in the hard places and difficult circumstances that only you can bless. Give me a trust that sees beyond the struggles of today. Give me a joy and a hope that runs deeper than my circumstances. Help me to recognize the way you have blessed me in my past, and encourage me to trust and follow you into my future. I pray this in the name of Jesus, who by your power and grace turned the tragedy of the cross into blessing and life for all who will believe. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: 1 Corinthians 1:27-29
27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.
Resources:
The Fight: A Practical Handbook for Christian Living
by John White
