Walking Through Dark Valleys Even as a slave in a foreign land, he experienced the blessing of God’s presence. Read | Genesis 37:18-28 18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits.[a] Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels[b] of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. ~~~~ As a teenager, Joseph lost almost everything. His family, his position as the favored son, his home, and his freedom were abruptly taken from him. How stunned he must have been by the hatred of his siblings and such overwhelming loss. But one thing he did take with him was his faith in God. Life is like that at times for every one of us. Sudden changes in health or finances, the unexpected death of a loved one, or abandonment by a good friend can bring us into a dark season. We do not understand why the Lord has allowed the trial or lets the pain continue. Joseph probably wondered the same things, but he managed to hold fast to his faith. Even as a slave in a foreign land, he experienced the blessing of God’s presence. And recognizing that the Lord was with this young captive, his Egyptian master showed him favor (Gen. 39:2-3). One of the keys to walking through dark valleys—those times when life seems to be crumbling and the future’s looking grim—is to embrace the reality of the Lord’s presence with us. At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live permanently within the new Christian and seals him or her as belonging to God forever. Because of the indwelling Spirit, we’re never apart from God. No circumstance, suffering, or loss can separate us from Him or His love (Rom. 8:35, 38-39). Take a few minutes each day and reflect on Jesus’ promise to be with us always (Matt. 28:20). The result will be that this truth becomes planted deep within your soul to sustain you in hard times.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 09:57:05 +0000
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