Genesis 46:3, 4 “So He said, ‘I am God, the God of your father; do not fear not to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I will go down with you into Egypt; and I will also surely bring you up again…..’”
Dear God,
I give thanks because You always love and care for me with divine mercy. I am totally unworthy of Your love and care, (as each sinner is); yet receive it no matter the degree of sinfulness expressed in my life each day. I desire to learn to trust You completely, and I am willing for You to change me. I see in the scriptures, that this will be possible, when I put my self-interest aside, along with other character traits that prevent me from hearing Your voice in my life.
I regret my often casual approach to You, as well as my attitude toward my sinfulness. In the strength of the Holy Spirit, I believe both of these blocks to me fully coming close to You will be changed.
It is only in my personal worship, meditation and prayer time, that Your truths begin to sink in and bring change. In between I seem to go into a non-deep thinking, auto state. Knowing that You invite my prayers, I humbly seek You, even though in myself there is nothing to recommend me. Amazingly You seek me and bring me to repentance through Your Spirit, so that we can have a relationship?
Joseph was Your child, and never abandoned his faith in You, despite being sent off, by his brothers, before manhood, to Egypt to become a slave there. He is a mighty example of being faithful to You, despite his circumstances. He knew because he was close to You that his coming to Egypt was actually part of Your bigger plan for the nation of Israel. Surely it was because of Your love in him that caused him not to hold grudges and instead enabled him to forgive his brothers for their betrayal.
And so it was, due his faith, that he was used by you in his work there, and later, as the second in-charge to the king; the stock pile of grain he had organized, during the seven good years of harvest, was used to keep people alive during the seven years of famine. In response to the king’s strange dream, You revealed to Joseph the meaning, and he advised the king what to do to preserve Egypt from starving. The king then gave him the responsibility of undertaking all he had suggested.
His father Jacob, sent sons to obtain grain, and after a series of events, Joseph and the Egyptian king asked that his father and the whole family immigrate, because Joseph knew there were more years of famine. It is then, that You again spoke to Jacob, confirming that the move to Egypt was part of Your plan to save and grow the Israelite nation, as previously promised.
You never change as God, or in the loving care and direction of those who have put their trust in You in all situations.
Just as surely as You worked mightily in the life of Joseph, so it can be for us, if we with a strong faith in You. This certainly can be the case for all of us who are planning a helping program in the community. Because prayer has attended every step of conceiving and planning to help others, with this tried and true program, I believe that You will send the right number of participants. When we actually deliver this program, we commit ourselves to assist people the best way we can, and humbly request that we be filled with Your wisdom and to be used mightily by You. Fill all in the team with Your love, to share with all who attend, and toward each other as well.
Amen