Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Getting through tough times”
Our Bible verse for today: “When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the robe of many colors that he had on. Then they took him and threw him into the pit.” Genesis 37:23-24 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “There’s a lot we can learn from Joseph’s story”
Did God put the story of Joseph in the Bible just because it’s an entertaining read? No. There’s much more to it than that. Joseph, of course, is a key figure in the history of the nation of Israel and his story is of immense value for that reason alone. But even more than that, the life of Joseph is remembered and studied because of what his example teaches us about getting through tough times.
Joseph was the favored son of Jacob. He was a daddy’s boy and he was spoiled. His eleven older brothers hated him – so much so that at one point they beat him up, threw him into a pit, and then sold him into slavery in Egypt, telling their father that the boy had actually been killed by wild animals.
Over the next thirteen years Joseph suffered one calamity and injustice after another. Every time he started to get on his feet, some new disaster would happen to him. He spent time as the slave of Ishmaelite traders. Then he was sold to an Egyptian official named Potiphar to work as a household servant. Then he was falsely accused of sexual assault by Potiphar’s wife and imprisoned. Then he was left to rot in a stinking Egyptian prison for years on end.
However, there’s no indication in Scripture that Joseph ever gave up or allowed bitterness to master him. In every situation he looked for opportunities to excel and he strove to honor God in the way he conducted himself. Time and time again as the story developed over thirteen long years, we read of a faithful God interceding as necessary, redeeming the pain and suffering, and then using it all to accomplish His purposes in Joseph’s life. Joseph ended up becoming the Prime Minister of Egypt and the entire nation of Israel (including his hateful brothers), were saved from a great famine.
Max Lucado writes, “God will use your mess for good. We see a perfect mess; God sees a perfect chance to train, test, and teach the future prime minister. We see a prison; God see a kiln. We see famine; God sees the relocation of his chosen lineage. We see Satan’s tricks and ploys. God sees Satan tripped and foiled.”
In the days to come we will spend some time exploring Joseph’s story to see what we can learn about surviving and thriving as we deal with our own tough times.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 