In Spite of The Circumstances, God Is With You
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Several times in one chapter, Genesis 39, the Bible tells us that the Lord was with Joseph. But that didn’t exempt him from jealousy and betrayal, or the advances of Potiphar’s wife, or her lies that sent him to prison. The Bible says, ‘They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar. Until the time came to fulfil his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character’ (Psalm 105:18-19). Joseph didn’t know it, but he was in training for reigning. God wanted to see if he would choose trust over lust, and obedience over expedience. It’s in looking back that you realize why one of God’s names is ‘Redeemer’. He can redeem everything you’ve been through – the good, the bad, and the ugly. The lesson Joseph learned is this: God is with you even when there is no evidence He is. He is walking alongside you. He is working with you. He is going ahead of you to rearrange circumstances in your favor. His Word says, ‘“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So that we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”’ (Hebrews 13:5-6). But sometimes in the plan of God things get worse before they get better. That’s when you must tighten your grip and lean harder on God: ‘Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise’ (Hebrews 10:35-36).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, through the ups and downs in my life, thank You for being there with me – even when I don’t see or feel Your presence – I know You are. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
sorry I posted before checking all the boxes. Mine was the question on the Father vs God
Why when we pray do we address the Father and not the entire God? I understand the one is three but why do we use these words?
Who better to teach us this, than Jesus Himself (see Luke 11:1-13). Following the model of the “perfect prayer” given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ (The Lord’s Prayer) we are to recognize that we are all God’s children through adoption in Baptism. That God would invite us to call Him “Father” is surely grounded in the fact that He is first and foremost the Father of Jesus. In Christ, however, and by Baptism into Him, God has also become our Father. We are “tenderly invited” to believe that God is our Father and that we are His “true children,” because by Baptism we have been adopted into the heavenly family, where God is our Father and Christ is our elder brother. (ref. https://blogs.lcms.org/2012/he-speaks-we-listen-5-2012/)
Thank you for this encouraging devotion. As Joseph said,! “ you meant it for evil but God meant it for good “ Amen!