Devotional Song: ... Go to this link - … Please take the time to take in a video of Laura Story singing … Blessings, … the song she wrote about her personal blessings which came from the anguish of her husband’s brain tumor, surgery, his recovery, and the birth of their first child … about blessings coming as God’s mercy in disguise. from the challenges of life.
Highlight Passage Genesis 45: 5 [NKJV] …
5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. …
… Joseph sees his trials in Egypt as God’s blessing on many peoples, including Joseph’s family. …
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Highlight Context - Genesis 45: 3-8 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Joseph reveals himself to his brothers who had sold him into slavery in Egypt …
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Reference Passage #1 Genesis 50: 19-21 [NKJV] …
19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 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. 21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
Reference Passage #2 Psalm 31: 19 [NKJV] …
5 Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men!
… Thru the psalmist, God expresses His everlasting goodness …
Reference Passage #3 Lamentations 3: 22-23 [NKJV] …
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
… Jeremiah declares our hope in a God whose mercies never end or fail us …
Reference Passage #4 Romans 8: 28 [NKJV] … …
28 ALL things work together for good for those who love The LORD and are the called according to His purposes.
… God, through Paul teaches that all things which come into the life of CHRISTIANS are good …
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, authored by Cindy Hess Kasper, teaches her readers (reminding me) that our concept of God’s “blessings” is often distorted based on our very human perceptions. As Laura Story sings in the poignant song she wrote, Blessings [see link above], our “blessings” may quite often come in strange, maybe even disguised, circumstances.
Joseph had to learn this lesson the hard way. As you probably know the story from the last 12 chapters of Genesis, Joseph’s brothers sold their young brother, favored by their father, into Egypt (see attached photo); and he had to go through many trials, injustices, and even imprisonment as he grew into adulthood. But in the end (see highlight and reference passages above), Joseph realized that what the brothers meant for evil, God meant for good … to be a blessing to many Egyptians saved from famine; … as well as for Joseph’s family who were reunited in Egypt.
So, if we, as Christians, are going through rough times, our belief in the truth espoused by Paul in Romans 8: 28 is on trial; and we need to realize that God’s goodness and His mercy are ALWAYS there [see Lam. 3: 22-23]. God’s promise (see Deut. 31: 6) is that He will never leave us nor forsake us; and what may seem to be evil in our lives, as Christians, is ALWAYS for our good … therefore, is ALWAYS a blessing.
My Prayer for Today … O Lord, … Help me remember and live in there reality that ALL of my life is a blessing from You. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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