June 7- Genesis 45

June 7- Genesis 45

Dear Father, we come before You in praise and with thanksgiving for You give us our,

‘But God’ moments. You orchestrate our lives for Your glory. May we in our quiet time recognize You for who You are: our Lord God, the God of Israel.

First, do your own quiet time and 4R journaling.  When you are completed, come back here for the lesson.

Request God’s help

Read Genesis 45

Record a verse that stands out to you

Respond to God

But God sent me

I think it is safe to say that most of us here know the story of Joseph pretty well.  Sometimes with stories we know well or have heard since we were little, it’s hard to write about them and find new ways to talk about them.  This is the spot I find myself in today. I could have skipped it entirely, but I couldn’t.  The ‘but God’ moment here is such a statement of faith and promise keeping, and we will visit again later in the month when we get to Acts.

The key verses here are 4-11, “So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.”

And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.

5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’

Through all those previous years God had done much work in Joseph.  His faith didn’t just happen overnight, and I am sure when he was in the thick of it, he cried out to God and screamed, ‘whhhyy???’  Who wouldn’t.  I’d venture to say many of us here have done exactly that ourselves, asking ourselves where God was in all of it.  And of course, He was right there just as He was with Joseph.  Joseph, though, remembered God’s promise that would be fulfilled through his line, his heritage.  And he in turn reminded his brothers that while they had meant him harm, they ultimately couldn’t because of God’s promise to always leave a remnant.

This serves as a reminder to us, that while humans and things of this world can be sooo bad, God will always be so, so good.  And He is always in control; Joseph testified to that.  Did bad things happen?  Yes.  Did people sin?  Yup.  Did those things rule?  No!  God was in total control!  I think this is one of the biggest struggles we as Jesus followers have, trying to wrestle with why God ‘allows’ bad things to happen.  Our answer is always, ‘because of sin.’ And ya, but… He has the power to prevent it, so why doesn’t He? I would venture to guess that most of us here have had this same conversation with God.  While we are not going to venture into a theological debate, I do want to assure you. If you find yourself in that exact spot, bad things happening, know that God is right there with you.  That while free will is very much in motion and sin nature is raging, God is still right there.  He will not leave you and He is still fully and completely in control.  Our time here in this sinful world is fleeting in the great expanse of God’s timeline.  And soon you will be restored.

Hold on, don’t let go. Jesus is coming and He has not forgotten His promises!

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28

(Further Reading: Genesis 12; 15; 17)

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You for You are in total control.  We thank You that despite this sinful world in which we live, You are still working, even when we cannot see it.  While we travel through our darkest times, lean so close to us, let us know for certain that You are there.  And let us know for certain You see us.

What’s next?

As the Spirit leads, in the comment section below, share what He has laid on your heart.  Then join us again tomorrow for the next commentary.

My Verse: Genesis 45:8, “So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”