Read: Genesis 45:1-8, 50:15-21
If anyone deserved to think that God had lost control it was Joseph. As a young man he showed little tact and diplomacy with his brothers and ended up being sold by them to Midianite slave traders. They sought to kill him because they hated him and the favouritism he attracted from their father. But God intervened and had him sold into Egypt as a slave. If that wasn’t bad enough, life took a turn for the worse when he was falsely accused of wrong doing and ended up in jail for quite some time. Even worse still, when he thought he’d get out of jail quickly, he was forgotten about and remained incarcerated even longer.
But God intervened yet again and brought Joseph before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams. Through this event Joseph was set free, promoted to second in charge in all Egypt and was honoured among all the people.
Joseph suffered unjustly for decades. If anyone had the right to be bitter, he did. Yet as he confronted his brothers he proclaimed: "So then it was not you who sent me here but God." (Gen 45:8)
Later, as his brothers cowered before him, after the death of their father, he proclaimed:-
"Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You indeed meant to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."
Joseph could see God’s hand at work in and through his life. He refused to give way to bitterness which defiles many. He refused to use his power to gain vengeance upon his brothers.
All too often we have difficult and painful experiences. Sometimes these are deliberately caused by the ones we love. If we fail to see the sovereignty of God then the result will be bitterness and a desire for revenge.
The antidote is to accept and rejoice in the sovereignty of God and to see His hand at work in our lives and situations. Like Joseph we need to forgive our brothers/sisters for hurting us, let go of the pain and relinquish the desire for revenge. We need praise God that His plan is in full swing and that even through my situation, He can be working for the saving of many lives.
Witness Moment
Anyone can praise God when life is going well. Anyone can sing to God in times of abundance. But in bad times, in times of little or loss singing praise and adoration of God has a powerful effect upon non believers. They expect you to worship God in good times. But when they see you praising God and adoring Him even through tough times, they’ll be drawn to God in a way that no debate or explanation could ever create.
Prayer:
Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
- Praise God that He is sovereign and that nothing happens apart from His will. Pray that each person in your church would understand this sovereignty and rejoice in it. Pray that a spirit of forgiveness would come upon all those who are hanging onto bitterness and hurt from the past.
- Pray that our cell groups would be a powerful testimony to the love, sovereignty and forgiveness of God as they meet, worship and encourage each other in their walk with the Lord.
My Additional Prayer Points
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