the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
It was God who sent me ahead of you to preserve life (Genesis 45:5).
Yosef (Joseph) had paid an enormous price to be sent ahead to preserve life. His brothers had nearly killed him at Shechem. He suffered heavily in his efforts to "preserve life"—thrown into a pit and sold by his brothers into slavery!
Yosef 's troubles multiplied when he was cast into prison in Egypt for a bum rap and left to languish there for nearly a decade, with another two years besides. Yet despite foreign exile, injustice, and a lengthy prison term, Yosef here summarizes his life favorably.
Looking back with eyes of faith, Yosef sees that he has now become av (father, advisor) to Pharaoh. Early dreams of his brothers bowing before him have come true. His interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams of feast and famine have come to pass in time for him to rescue Egypt and his whole family, too! What's more, his father and brothers have come to live in his own mansion! What more could he ask for? God has turned every tear to joy.With a happy heart, Yosef can comfort his brothers with kindness and truth.
The psalmist says, "ADONAI will fulfill his purpose for me" (Psalms 138:8). This promise can be realized not only for Yosef, but for anyone who walks in faith with the confidence that God will finish what he has begun. Can you believe that God is transforming your circumstances, too?
...view my whole life with eyes of faith.
JEF
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
