Prayer: Father, Your providence is evident in the life of every follower of You. May I see through the life of Joseph, Your providence for my life. Amen.
Reading: Genesis 37 key: vs. 36
36 Meanwhile the Midianites sold him into Egypt, to Potiphar an official of Pharaoh, the commander of the bodyguards.
Attention: What is providence? Providence is nothing more or less than God’s hand orchestrating your life. As I look back over my life, I see Adonai leading my parents to move from Kansas to Washington State and leading myself to California and back to Washington. There have been key people which have crossed my path bringing me to become a writer and a launcher of a couple ministry efforts. I have not yet landed in my destination, but the journey becomes clearer every day.
The life of Joseph is an example of what God can do with a life that is His. His brothers all had purposes which God destined them to fulfill, but Joseph had a greater purpose. He was a favored son of his father because, we are told, “he (Joseph) was the son of his old age.” Earlier in Genesis we are told that between the two sisters he married, Jacob (Israel) loved Rachel (Genesis 29:16). Because Jacob loved Rachel and not Leah, God opened Leah’s womb and she and the handmaidens had all the children till Rachel birthed Joseph. The love he had for Rachel probably transferred to Joseph.
Favoritism is a damaging family dynamic. I have also witnessed favoritism in the classroom, in sports and the workplace. I have witnessed its effects on children from parents who pick a favorite.
For Joseph, his brothers anger grew so deep that “they hated him and could not speak to him in shalom (peace).” Then when Joseph began relating his dreams to his family, the hatred grew to the level that they “plotted together against him in order to kill him.”
Reuben, (Joseph’s oldest brother) intervened and prevented his brothers from killing Joseph. Instead of killing him, they threw Joseph in a pit and God provided the transportation for Joseph to get to Egypt where he would become second in command to Pharaoh. There was a purpose which we will see fulfilled in future chapters.
You may not see or understand God’s movement in your life today. However, I encourage you to take comfort in the words of Psalm 37: 23 “From Adonai a man’s steps are made firm, when He delights in his way.”
Action: I acknowledge Adonai’s providence in my life, and I ask Adonai to order my steps.
Yield: I am yielded when I ask for Adonai’s direction on my life.
Engage: I engage with the divine when I ask Him to orchestrate my life.
Relationship: God promises to draw near to me when I draw near to Him.
Prayer: Father, thank You for ordering my steps, causing planned appointments, and orchestrating providence in my life. Amen.
Memory Verse: Psalm 37:23 “From Adonai a man’s steps are made firm, when He delights in his way.”
Music Video: Keith & Kristyn Getty—The Perfect Wisdom of Our God https://youtu.be/hSnzYnOe6kI
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”