So when Joseph came to his brothers, they pulled off his robe with long sleeves and threw him into the well. It was empty, and there was no water in it. Genesis 37:23-24
Joseph is like a grapevine that produces much fruit, a healthy vine watered by a spring, whose branches grow over the wall. Your father’s God helps you. God Almighty blesses you. He blesses you with rain from above, with water from springs below, with many babies born to your wives, and many young ones born to your animals. Genesis 49:22,25
Joseph’s brothers threw him into an empty well. He was in a dry pit with no hope of escape. There was no water. We often don’t have physical water when we still have a spiritual source of water.
Fast forward many years later when Jacob, Joseph’s father, is describing his sons. Because of what has happened in Joseph’s life, it’s obvious God has provided for him and provided a source of nourishment that is much deeper and more reliable than physical water. God showers blessings upon Joseph. He pours into him with an everlasting spring. God honors Joseph’s obedience through times obedience would not have been an easy choice. There were many times in Joseph’s life when it must have seemed as if God’s blessings were far away from him.
When have you felt forgotten or at least not in God’s focus?
What is your typical response of obedience when you feel forgotten by someone on earth? Do you project that same response onto your relationship with God?
Look at some of the words Jacob uses to describe Joseph: produce, healthy, spring, grow, blessed, many.
Search for areas of your own life in which one or more of these words apply right now. Can you find a variety of circumstances to attach the various words?
God’s blessings are not limited to Joseph. God’s blessings are not limited to Scripture. God’s blessings are for you. God is active in you as you yield to him in obedience and trust him through all circumstances.
Live It. All circumstances do not make sense. We don’t see what we think is a blessing in one area because we’ve suffered through a similar circumstance. We often define blessings different than God does. As you experience a trial today, consider the blessing that might be underlying it.
I love trying to read what you have written because it gives me a different perspective at times. But the words are so small that I can’t hardly read them. Is their anyway that you can make the font bigger so that I can read them without having a magnifying glass?
Hi, Betty. I imagine the font size is something that you can reset on your computer or phone. Because people read from a variety of devices, what I set has little impact once it’s received. Does that make sense? If you’re not sure how to make the changes on your device, you might want to Google “make text size larger on ____________,” inserting your device name or operating system. Thanks!