Reading
- Gen. 47:29--50:26
Devotional
GOD had blessed Jacob mightily throughout his life, and just before he died Jacob said this to his son Joseph and his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh:
“God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
(Gen. 48:1-50:26 NKJV)
Jacob recognized that his success in life was all because of what GOD had done, not what he had earned on his own. Similarly, Joseph recognized that GOD had taken his brothers’ evildoing and transform it into a blessing in his life.
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” … Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
(Gen. 50:15-21 NKJV)
Many times it is easy to recognize blessings from GOD when they occur. A new job; the birth of a child; someone obeying the gospel of Jesus—all of these are examples of obvious blessings. But just like it was with Joseph, GOD often uses bad things that happen to us as a way of blessing us. We must persevere through the bad days in order to reach, and to enjoy, the good days. Recognizing GOD’s blessings is not always easy to do in the moment, but we can see them much more clearly in hindsight.
