Scripture Reading Challenge (#11)

Life has a way of overwhelming us at times.  A constant barrage of traumatic events can discourage even the strongest in the faith.  Joseph is an example of the hardships and blessings of life.  A roller coaster may be a good way of understanding the events that took place in his life.  God kept lifting him up, and the brokenness of the world kept trying to drag him down.  Joseph, through it all, was able in the end to say that God brought good out of all the evil, light out of the darkness.

Read Genesis 37:1-16

God’s hand upon Joseph was evident even as a teenager.  At two particular times, we are shown the dreams that God gave him.  Not everyone was pleased with it though.  Joseph’s older brothers were jealous and thought he was prideful.  His father, Jacob also didn’t understand but pondered (Genesis 37:11).  I started in ministry at a young age, traveling with my family singing and playing music.  At the age of 16, I began preaching, at 22 I accepted my first and only pastorate (still there).  I have been challenged many times, especially early on, about my youthfulness.  It is important for young people to take Paul’s words of challenge to Timothy seriously, I know it helped me.  Paul said, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

Joseph’s life shows us that bad things can happen to anyone.  However, we will learn in his life that God can use the trials for His glory and our growing.  The only real hindrance is our faith.  Will we remain faithful to God or will we turn away from Him?  Joseph remained faithful through all the evil that fell on him.  God blessed him and in turn used Joseph to bless the family that sold him into slavery.  Let us be thankful, that we serve a God who can turn our trials into triumphs, our tests into testimonies, and our messes into messages.