I am again posting 2 devotionals this week because they go well together, so read the previous one I posted today from Feb. 8th first and then read this one.
My SOAP devotional from Feb. 12th
S - Genesis 45:4-8
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. [a]
8 "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
O - Joseph's brothers were tired of his bragging and being their father's favorite so they tried to be rid of him. They had ill intent but God took their jealousy and extreme lack of concern for his life and used it for THEIR good, and the good of future generations. If you read ahead, God had a big plan and turned evil into amazing goodness. The brothers did not deserve salvation and yet that is exactly what God did in eventually bringing them to Egypt during the famine. Joseph put his eyes on God, in spite of his family being against him. And he showed amazing forgiveness because he saw first hand God's plan laid out in front of him.
A - Isn't it just like God to give us a story that happened many, many years before Jesus as an example of what He does in our life even today. These brothers made terrible choices. We make terrible choices. They did not deserve salvation from the famine. We do not deserve salvation. And yet, God provided a way through Joseph, the victim of their evil choices. And for us, God has provided a way through Jesus.
It is easy really in hind sight to see how God has been at work in my life and to give him glory and praise for the bad situations He has turned to good. It is also easy to forgive people for their hurtful ways when we can see how God is using it for His purposes. I'm not sure if I'm a big enough person to always forgive as Joseph did (at least not right away), nor that I am always able to give God the glory in the midst of the struggle. I have been weak at times in holding onto my pride when others have hurt me. However, I have also seen that just as I wrote earlier this week about placing Jesus first in my life, regardless of what even my family/friends choose to do, I too can experience this same peace and forgiveness that Joseph had in his situation. I AM able to forgive and see God's plan BECAUSE I look for God at work in the middle of a struggle. Amazingly, I have always found that I can find peace in any situation when I trust God.
P - Give me God a faith like Joseph's, to see your provision even in the midst of challenge and crisis. Help me to trust that you are always at work in my best interest, preparing your great plan for my life to unfold. I am SOOO thankful that you are always taking the bad of this world and turning it into amazing goodness. How lucky we are to call you Lord of the universe!!! Amen.
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