The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Thursday
January 24, 2008
Now Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had
been born to him in his old age. So one day he gave Joseph a special gift—a
beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because of their father's
partiality. They couldn't say a kind word to him.
One night Joseph had a
dream and promptly reported the details to his brothers, causing them to hate
him even more. "Listen to this dream," he announced. "We were out in the field
tying up bundles of grain. My bundle stood up, and then your bundles all
gathered around and bowed low before it!"
"So you are going to be our king,
are you?" his brothers taunted. And they hated him all the more for his dream
and what he had said…
But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his
father gave it some thought and wondered what it all meant.
Genesis 37:3-8,
11
Children! They really do change our lives don't they? No matter who we are, like Jacob, we tend to have a child that stands out to us, for one reason or another; maybe because they are like us!
Joseph was Jacob's child by his beloved Rachel; which made him a little closer to Joseph than the children he had with Leah. He even had another son, Benjamin, but still, Joseph was his special child. Even so, when Joseph had a dream that his family would bow before him ¾ that was a little too much for Jacob. Yet, we know the story; Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery because they were so jealous of him. Jacob gave him up for dead.
God used many years of brokenness in both the life of Jacob and Joseph in order to accomplish many great and wonderful things. Both of these men looked to God for their hope. They had both lost one another. They knew real grief.
If you are going through a time of loss or separation from one you love, I know that you will find God to be the supplier of your strength. Charles Stanley says, "When God 'breaks' us, pulling down walls, barriers, and mistaken ideas, we gain an entirely new perspective. We see that indeed God's plans are best for our lives as our will comes into accord with His." When we really get a grip on that truth, we will discover like Jacob and Joseph that the best is yet to come!
Father, as I write this I am thinking of parents who have lost children in death. I also think of the many parents who have lost children to the drug culture or some cult. I know Lord that I cannot know their pain, but I know You do. Bless them with an encouraging word today. Let them know that Your umbrella of protective love covers them with amazing grace. Be the supplier of our hope today. Give us the strength to praise You through the storm of loss and displacement.
