6 Minute Read + Scripture readings
Today’s Bible Reading:
Genesis 42
Mark 12
Job 8
Romans 12
Today’s Bible Verse(s):
“Their father Jacob said to them, ‘It’s me that you make childless. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me!’”
Genesis 42:36 (CSB)
Reflections on Today’s Bible Verse(s):
Can you hear the despair in Jacob’s words? He had received the promises that God had given to his grandfather, Abraham, and then to his father, Isaac. Yet, his world was collapsing all around him.
His beloved wife, Rachel, had died when she was giving birth to Benjamin. His favored son, Joseph, was killed by a wild animal … but Jacob had his doubts about that story. If his suspicions were true and his other sons had something to do with Joseph’s disappearance, then he might as well die and get it over with. And, then, he was told that his son, Simeon, was being kept under guard in the nation of Egypt and that there would be no more food unless Benjamin, his only remaining son of his favored wife, was sent to Egypt with his brothers.
Genesis 42:36 (CSB): “Their father Jacob said to them, ‘It’s me that you make childless. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me!’”
Well, friend, we know the rest of the story. We know how it ends. Joseph had become second-in-command of Egypt and revealed his identity to his family. He then brought them to the safety of Egypt for the remainder of their lives where he could care for them.
Now, let’s talk about you. I’m certain that you have known the despair of Jacob. You have had times in your life when your world was crashing around you and you didn’t feel as if you could bear one more ounce of bad news.
While our stories probably won’t end as happily as Jacob’s did, resting under the care of a son who leverages his position in the nation’s government to take care of him, we can rest in the fact that our God is writing our story. This is where trust comes in.
While we don’t understand what God is doing, we trust Him.
Even if things continue to get worse, we trust Him.
Even if we never observe any good that comes from our ordeal, we trust Him.
We rest in the fact that our God loves us, He has promised to work everything for His glory and our ultimate good (Romans 8:28-29), and we will one day cross the finish line when the pain of this life will be over and the joys of Heaven will begin.
So, press on, my friend! Press on! Determine to praise God in the storm. Determine to find something to thank Him for even when bad things are happening all around (1 Thessalonians 5:18). One day, it will all make sense.
“If we knew what God knows, we would ask exactly for what He gives.” – Tim Keller
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Lord Jesus, I trust You. It’s not sight that causes me to make this choice because much of what I see around me leads me to believe that things are out of control. Instead, it is Your call for me to live by faith that moves me to trust You (Hebrews 11:6). Like the old song says: “Jesus, Jesus, how I trust (You), how I’ve proved (You) over and over. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace to trust (You) more.”
Matt’s Musings 