Tag: Patience

When God Orders The Steps – Joseph

~ Sowmya Gali

Genesis 50: 24-25

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised an oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.”

The story of Joseph is filled with dreams, interpretation of dreams, tragedy, heartbreak, separation, reunion and much more. Joseph suffered betrayal at the hands of his own brothers who hated him. He suffered injustice at the hands of his Egyptian master Potiphar who imprisoned him wrongfully. He waited patiently to be redeemed of his circumstances. God duly rewarded him of his perseverance by elevating him to the second highest and powerful position in all of Egypt.

In all his trials, he never once questioned God. Instead, he witnessed the hand of God working in his life. No wonder he was able to declare confidently to his brothers that what they meant for evil, God turned it for their good. Joseph came to a realization that no matter where he was and in what circumstance he found himself in, God’s hand was with him, protecting him, granting him favor and guiding him. Joseph could have been bitter and vengeful towards his brothers. Instead, he chose to forgive and help them in time of their need. Furthermore, he helped them to see God’s hand of provision in all their situations. He helped them to see how God ordered steps in his life to provide a way to survive the famine.

The Bible doesn’t record if Jacob ever told his children about the promise that God gave to Abraham. Jacob was not too eager to go to Egypt even though he heard the news of Joseph being alive. Upon God’s command and assurance that one day they will return to the land of Canaan, Jacob traveled to Egypt. Jacob never sees the land of his fathers again. Only his body returns to the land of Canaan to be buried in their familial tomb. Joseph too never returns to the promised land. Only his bones will be carried by the Israelites 400 years later.

Joseph, whose life took so many turns, not of his own volition, understood that God was in control of his situation. His reliance upon God, his fear and love of God are noteworthy. He knew that God would not abandon him. He may have felt lonely several times but he continued to believe in God. He may not have built altars to God like his fathers but in his own quiet time, he must’ve sought God’s presence. As God was building him up for the role he had to fulfill, Joseph grew in confidence that His God will not abandon him. When he became the prime minister of all the land of Egypt, he realized that God had a purpose for his life: to preserve a remnant of people for God.

In all this, Joseph’s desire to return to the land of his fathers was never fulfilled. He had all authority to return to Canaan but understood that was not Lord’s will. He knew that and came to terms with that. His only request he makes of his brothers is that one day, when God will take them back to Canaan, they should carry the bones of Joseph to be buried there. His brothers promised to do that.

Dear Saint, we go through life not understanding why we are going through certain trials when it is not of our own making. We don’t see the light at the end of the dark tunnels. We wonder if we will ever find respite from our trying situations which keep mounting. Every turn brings a new challenge, a new mountain to climb, a new obstacle to overcome. Take heart, beloved! Despite your circumstances, know that God is walking with you in all your trials. He is paving the way through the challenges, through the mountains, and through the obstacles to reveal the beauty, the blessing and the prosperity that awaits us. We may not see what we have been expecting to see but something more beautiful that only God could have forged it.

Psalm 112: 5-9

It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; he will maintain his cause in judgement. For he will never be shaken; the righteous will be remembered forever. He will not fear evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is upheld, he will not fear, until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries. He has given freely to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be exalted in honor.

Broken Vessel

~ Sowmya Gali

Genesis 35: 2-3

So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”

My son and his friend gifted each other an exact coffee mug for Christmas. They decided that whenever they meet, they will bring the cup along and drink lemonade or some juice from their cups. Unfortunately, my son’s cup broke. He carefully picked all the broken pieces together, brought them home and put it up on his desk. He declared that soon he will glue it back together. I broke the news to him that however well he glues it back, he cannot be drinking from that cup as it will not be able to hold any liquid without leaking. Best suggestion I could give him is toss it out and get another one like that. However, my son refused and stuck to his original plan.

Jacob, now Israel is on his way back to the land of his inheritance after spending more than 20 years in Paddan Aram, gaining wives, children, livestock, and servants. He made peace with his father-in-law Laban after running away from him without informing him. He made amends with his estranged brother Esau. God wanted him to go to Bethel where he first encountered God on his run from the wrath of his brother Esau. However, he took a slight detour to Shechem. As he encamped near Shechem, the troubles started brewing.

Dinah, Israel’s daughter was molested by the prince of Shechem. When he wanted to marry her, the brothers laid a condition that the men of the city of Shechem had to be circumcised. As the men were recovering, Simeon and Levi, the sons of Jacob, slaughtered the men of Shechem, looted them and captured their women and children. When Jacob heard of this, he was afraid that the neighboring people in the region, when they hear what had befallen Shechem, would pursue Jacob and his family and kill them.

Jacob and his family packed up their tents and started moving towards Bethel. Jacob knew that unless he arrives to that place that God wanted him to, he will not find peace and rest. Therefore, Jacob hurried to Bethel. Jacob insisted that if he has to enter God’s presence, he must get rid of all the idols and purify himself. He commanded his entire family to cast out the idols, garments and other pagan things from among their midst. As soon as they reached Bethel, Jacob built an altar to God.

One would assume that, Jacob, who now found God, would have a wonderful remainder of his life. He would enjoy the blessings that were pronounced upon him. Unfortunately, things took a dramatic turn. Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah, who may have helped raise Jacob, died. Rachel, his beloved wife, died giving birth to Benjamin. Isaac died at a ripe old age. Reuben defiled his father’s bed by sleeping with one of his father’s concubines. Jacob is a wounded and broken man at this juncture. He has arrived to a desperate point in his life that he realized that he can’t fix the circumstances in his life. He threw himself at the mercy of God.

Jacob, the deceiver, manipulated his way all through his life. He tried to fix problems in his own strength. He, already being a broken man, could not fix anything else. He couldn’t restrain his sons Simeon and Levi from the slaughter of the people of Shechem. His own son defiled his bed. His fixing of his broken life didn’t fix the problems he was going through. He needed God to fix his broken life. Despite his best efforts, Jacob, the broken vessel, continued to leak.

Dear Saints of God, we are broken vessels. We are navigating through this life with broken shards, temporarily fixed. Our best efforts will not fix the broken vessel and make it as it was before. We can’t be useful for the Kingdom in our broken condition. Some where there will be a small defect. All our efforts to put up a cheerful façade on the outside, when we are broken on the inside, will neither help us nor be effective in God’s work. Let us submit ourselves into the hands of our true Potter, who is well able to fix these broken vessels. He is well able to identify where there are leaks or missing pieces. He will make us whole again, harden us just right so we could be jars that can be filled with His Spirit, to be used by the Master for His Glory.