Weekly Devotion

Last week we saw that despite Joseph doing the right thing by not adhering to Potiphar's wife's lustful requests, he was still thrown into prison. He didn't get what he deserved. He must have been so despondent. He was simply doing the right thing, and then things started to go against him. But then we saw once again how wonderful God is. God gave him favor with the keeper of the prison and once again everything Joseph did prospered. God didn't take him out of his situation immediately, but He gave him favor to go through it.

Why didn't God take him out of this situation quicker than what He did? We don't know how long he was in prison. What we do know is that he was 17 when he came to Egypt and he was 30 when Pharaoh exalted him. So he was 13 years in total with Potiphar and in the prison. How long with each we do not know. But one thing we do know is that he was there a minimum of two years, because the Bible tells us that after he had interpreted the dreams of the baker and the butler two years passed before Pharaoh had his dreams (Genesis 41:1). I personally think it was more than 2 years because he had been in prison a while before the dreams of the baker and the butler were interpreted by Joseph. Any estimate of how long he was in prison is speculation, but we know it was years.

Now, once again, why did God leave him there for years? Well, several reasons. Maybe Joseph had to mature during that time. Maybe he had to learn lessons that will help him on his journey further. Maybe God was dealing with him to forgive his brothers during that time. Maybe Joseph had to influence some of the prisoners in his time there. Maybe he had to teach them about God. Maybe the timing wasn't right for him to be lifted to second in command in Egypt. Maybe the timing hadn't come that the seven good years and the seven years of famine had to come. We won't know all the reasons, but what we do know is that Joseph's life didn't just revolve around himself. There were many people, even nations to take into account. God sees the whole picture and moves to the good of all. But in the meantime He didn't forget about Joseph but helped him there where he was in prison.

The same is true of us. We might feel frustrated. We have been following God with all of our hearts and we have been doing everything we feel that He has led us to do and yet we feel as if He has still left us in 'prison'. We might easily lose heart. I think of the situation in South Africa. Some days it feels as if we are trapped in a prison. Some days it feels as if everything that could go wrong in a country has. And we feel that we have prayed and prayed and on the surface it looks as if nothing is changing, nothing is happening and we feel trapped and despondent. But we can rest assured that God is moving. He is orchestrating everything to work for our good. We must remember that He is looking with a much bigger picture in mind that we can ever fathom. We don't know who is He working with or what He is doing in the hearts of others. But what we do know is that He IS working and that He will look after us in the meantime. We must just keep looking up and trusting in Him. He will never forsake His loved ones. Never. He will always be there for us, we needn't fear.

You might have a personal situation where you feel trapped in a prison and you feel despondent because you have prayed and prayed and things seemingly haven't changed. The same principle applies. God is working. He is working in you, He is working in people around you and He is working in the broader environment around you. He is working in it all, orchestrating everything for your good. You might not see it now, but things are happening that will bless you and others in the end. Remember God is working towards the greater good of His Kingdom. He wants people blessed through you. And if this prison time is maybe a time where you need to bless others, please do it. Continue to do that. Be a blessing right there where you are. God will honor that and lift you higher when the time is right. Just never give up and forsake the Lord. Stay close to Him. Alongside Him is everything you will ever want or need.

Father we don't like the prison times. We would much rather be ruling with Pharaoh, than be down in the prison like Joseph. But we realize that this life is not just about us, but about the furtherance of Your Kingdom. Help us to see beyond our situations and limitation. Help us to see the bigger picture. In You lie all our answers. We love You and we entrust our lives to You. Amen

Last time we saw how Joseph did the honorable thing. He was in charge of Potiphar's house and had great responsibilities. He was truly doing well for himself in a foreign land and God was blessings him. But unfortunately Potiphar's wife also thought that Joseph was doing well and because he was a handsome young man, she wanted him all to herself. Joseph could have easily given in to her request and she didn't just try once, no, she continued for days on end, nagging at him to be with her. Finally one day she saw her chance when no one was inside the house and she caught him by his garment. Joseph did the right thing and fled outside, once again not giving in to her temptations. This made her so mad that she screamed and once men came running into the house she made up stories about Joseph:

"See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside." Genesis 39:14, 15

Naturally Potiphar was furious. He didn't even consider that there was another side to the story or that his wife might be lying. He immediately threw Joseph into prison and not just any prison; he threw him into the prison where the king's prisoners were confined. Poor Joseph, he simply did the right thing, he followed God and tried to be the best that he can be in the given circumstances. He was doing so well and now because he had integrity and resisted Potiphar's wife, he was thrown into prison. Poor guy, he must have been devastated. Everything was just starting to look up for him and in one moment, he was at the lowest point that he could be.

The same can happen to us. We might be doing what God has placed on our hearts to do, we might be speaking the truth whilst everyone else is covering up, we might expose certain situations at work, we might say no to certain positions where we are required to have a certain amount of dishonesty, we might say no to parties where we know that it might get out of hand. And even though we do what is right and stand tall in that, things might look dismal to us at first. We might be shunned by people, lies might be fabricated against us, we might be isolated, we might be demoted at work, and we might not see any progress at all after standing up for God. This might all happen just like it did to Joseph.  But what gives me hope is the following verses in the Bible right after Joseph was thrown into prison:

"But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper." Genesis 39:21-23

Isn't it encouraging? Despite Joseph being at the lowest point of his life, the Lord was with him and made whatever he did prosper. The Lord never left Joseph's side even when he was at his lowest point. In fact God blessed him because he had been honorable with Potiphar's wife and He orchestrated his life in such a manner that he was exactly at the right place to be honored and lifted high by Pharaoh.

God will be with you too, when you walk the honorable path. Things might not work out as you would have envisioned it, but if you stay close to God it will work out even better than you might have hoped. The God of the Universe is on your side and will orchestrate the events in your life to work out for your good. It might not look that way at the beginning, but stick to your guns and follow God no matter what. You will be so glad that you did.

Father God, thank you that we can entrust our lives to You. You are our God and King, our everything. We want to follow You no matter what the world throws at us. Please help us to stand strong and to persevere despite hard and unfair circumstances. We place our lives into Your hands. In Jesus' Name. Amen

When I typed this heading the one thing that stood out for me was all the '2's in this coming year. Three '2's. This made me wonder what the number two could mean. I went to the Numbers Dictionary book that I have of Martin van der Merwe and searched the Biblical meaning of two. Now there were a lot of meanings, but God singled out two for me:

The first one is unity in agreement, partnership. Therefore the number two can indicate a union/partnership that will be of benefit (strength) to both parties.

The second one is spiritual promotion. It is a promise that there will be added to what you have. It can refer to assistance and fellowship as well. It can point to promotion to a different level.

Then this number two is in the year three times. The number three refers to perfect unity according to Martin's book:

"For Christians the greatest significance of three can be found in the Triune God, reflecting the perfect unity of the Godhead. Completeness. Three can therefore be directly related to the perfect Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It can therefore indicate that the person has been formed in the likeness of Christ. Harmony, grace and agreement."

Based on all of this I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to what His heart is for 2022. He wants us to enter into a partnership with Him. He wants to strengthen us and help us. Now a partnership means that we are in agreement on everything, literally everything. A partnership means that we do not do anything on our own, we first consult with our Partner before we act. We spend our money when our Partner agrees, we plan ahead with our Partner, we treat others with respect as it will reflect badly on our Partner if we don't, we conduct all our affairs with the sole purpose of exalting and promoting our Partnership. God wants us all in this year. Not with one foot in and one out. He wants us to walk every single aspect of our lives in partnership with Him.

And when we do, spiritual promotion will be the result. In this perfect unity with Him, we will experience harmony, grace (unearned favor) and agreement in all we do. Isn't that what we all want? When we walk in harmony with Him, He promises that there will be added to what we have and we will receive assistance from Him. All glory on High!

God wants us seated with Him in Heavenly places. Jesus has paved the way and the time has come for us to sit down in agreement with Him. That means rooted in Him in every aspect of our lives, deeply grounded in who we are in Him, royalty, priests, citizens of Heaven, sons of God. We need to stand up as warriors and be counted for who we truly are. Only then can victory come, only then can we take on 2022 as soldiers clothed with the armor of God. Fiery darts might come, but we will be ready for them. Our Partner is mighty, glorious, awesome, all-powerful, magnificent!!!! We simply need to stay by His side. Is that too much to ask?

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:4-7

Father, we want to partner with You this year. Thank you for the privilege that we will be able to. You are amazing and we love You so much. We look forward to our Partnership and achieving new heights for Your Kingdom and Your glory. Amen

This has once again been an extraordinary year, a strange year in so many ways. This year all of us have lost something, whether it is finances, our health, loved one, our freedom, holidays, time with our families, our right to practice sports or even our right to watch sports. We all lost something. This made me think again how fragile this life is and how we should live life to the fullest and appreciate all the little things in life. I have truly learned that small things can bring as much joy and maybe even more than the big things in the long run. I have also learned to live in the present, in the moment, as we do not know what the future holds. I am a planner by nature, but this year truly taught me that yes, I can plan, but my hope shouldn't be in my plans, but in Him who holds the future and all that it entails. In the present moment is the greatest gift and we shouldn't miss that.

This Christmas we should take this gift of the present and unravel it. We should learn to slow down and breathe. We should appreciate the smile on our children's faces, the friendly gesture of a stranger, the flowers blooming, the lunch that we are able to have with family and friends, the days that we get off to recuperate, the ability that we have to exercise etcetera. We should look at our lives with new eyes and see how really blessed we still are.

Also this Christmas we need to look at what Jesus truly came to do for us. He came to take us into Heaven with Him. He came to give us zoe life, true life pulsating within our veins. He came to set us free from the burdens here on earth. He opened up the way for us to a better life. That is why He came. He wants us close to Him, with Him in Heaven. After He rose again He is seated in Heavenly places at the right hand of God the Father and we are seated there with Him, now already. Therefore we need to focus our attention on what is above and not on what is going down here on earth (Colossians 3:1).

This world is always going to be full of surprises, some of them good, but some of them bad, like COVID was and still is to most of us. Curve balls are going to be thrown at us, but when we are focused on who we are in Heaven, then we will not stumble and fall. Jesus opened up the way for us so that we can be citizens of Heaven, priests, royalty, His beloved children, His bride. He came to set us free from the bondage of sin rampant in this world and to open up the way for us into His Kingdom. He came to give us a better life, now already. We just need to step into who we are in Him and set our minds on His Kingdom and believe the truth about us. He did everything for us, it is now pulsating on the inside of us, we simply need to take it as our own.

Focus this Christmas on the gifts that Jesus came to give you. Focus on the glorious Savior who gave up everything to give you a future and a hope. Glory in that, rejoice in that and move into 2022 knowing that He is already there, providing for you.

Father thank you so much for sending Jesus for us, a little baby in a crib, rescuing the whole world from the destructive power of sin. We glorify and praise You! Thank you so much for presenting us with this new life. We love You. Amen

Last week we saw how God helped Joseph. He had no experience running a household, and he was still so very young. But despite all that, God placed him in Potiphar's house and blessed everything he did. In fact Potiphar's household was so blessed that the only thing that he had to worry about was what he was going to eat that day. It is truly amazing when you think about how God truly helped Joseph and blessed his work in every way.

But with these blessings came a test. God allowed Joseph to be tested, to see if he will continue to live an honorable life, or if he will compromise at the first chance that he got. This test came in the form of Potiphar's wife. She fell in love with Joseph and insisted that they have an affair. Now this might have been tempting in the flesh for Joseph. He could have cemented his role as head of the house by adhering to her request. But Joseph stood strong and we can clearly see from his answer that he has a very high regard for God too:

"Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Genesis 39:8, 9

Joseph was a man of integrity and even with a temptation such as this he stood strong. The Bible says that day by day she tempted him. She didn't take no for an answer. But Joseph stood firm.

Temptations come our way on a daily basis too. But the Bible tells us that we will never be tempted above our ability to resist:

"God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

God is faithful and will help us in our temptation, just as He did for Joseph. He provided a way of escape for him and He would do the same for us too.

I remember when I just started working I had to go on an audit with a team of people I didn't know at all. The manager seemed unapproachable to me, and I didn't want to upset him, so I just did my work with the team. Then one Sunday we had to work. Then at lunch we started talking and the manager started asking questions about God, maybe because it was a Sunday that we had to work. It quickly became clear that none of the team members were Christians. Now I wanted to make a good impression on the manager, as I had just started working there and I wanted him to give me a good review. But based on the questions he was asking and the answers he got from the team members I just couldn't keep quiet. I knew that he wouldn't like my answers and I was right. He grinded me with more and more questions after that, but I couldn't back down, I couldn't dishonor God. I was relieved when we could start working again. The next morning he called me into his office. I was shaking with fear of what he might say. And to my surprise he commended me for standing my ground that Sunday and he told me that he was a Christian and simply testing me. I was so relieved and so glad that I didn't back down. He gave me such a good review and said that I earned his respect that day. It was such a relief. I know it could easily have gone the other way too, but that day I realized that I will always stand up for God, no matter what.

God will always be faithful in situations where we feel the need to compromise. He will always provide a way out as He promises in His Word. We needn't ever fear. We need to stand strong against temptations as Joseph did. Next time we will have a look at how it turned out for him. But I am convinced that if he had given in to Potiphar's wife, he would never ever have been exalted to second in charge of the whole of Egypt and he would never have seen his family again. That one situation was make or break for Joseph and fortunately he aced the test.

May we all ace the tests that we need to write in order for God to exalt us to new levels. The exaltation might not come physically immediately, but we will be lifted up spiritually and the physical manifestation will follow. So stand firm for God and His wonderful Word. It will all be worth it.

Father, thank you that we can know that You make all things work together for our good. Thank you that You will never allow temptations to come that we cannot bear. That is such a relief to know. Thank you for providing us with a way of escape. You are so good and faithful. We look forward to walking this road with You. Amen

Last week we saw how Joseph's brothers sold him to Ishmaelite slave traders and how they then continued with their scam by lying to their father about Joseph. They brought back his tunic, dipped in goat's blood, insinuating that Joseph was killed by a wild animal. This broke their father and he mourned for a very long time, sitting in sackcloth. This didn't even convince them to tell him the truth; they were too deep into their lies and couldn't back away then.

In the meantime poor Joseph was taken to Egypt and sold as a slave there. We don't know what was going through Joseph's mind at this stage, but it must have been frightening for him. He had never been far away from home, and now he found himself in the most civilized and biggest place in the world at that point. It must have been very intimidating for him. And to top it all off he was all alone, without his family close by and he had to work as a slave. So what his mindset was at this stage we don't know. But it must have been a very tough time for this young man. After all he was just seventeen years old.

BUT GOD. He was with Joseph in a mighty way:

"The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man. And his master saw that they Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate." Genesis 39:2-6

God used a terrible situation and turned it around for Joseph. God gave Joseph favor with Potiphar and He blessed his house and his field for Joseph's sake. How amazing is that? Joseph also did so well, that Potiphar made him overseer over his whole household. Joseph had no experience, he had no knowledge of running a household, but because God was with him, He helped him every step of the way.  God promoted Joseph to a new level. And I truly believe it was because Joseph was open to being used by God and he allowed God to work through him. Potiphar's only concern every day was what he was going to eat! Joseph was on top of everything else. It truly is amazing given his age and work experience. God was there with him, every step of the way!

When we are open to God's leading and ready to be used by Him, He will work through us for the glory of His Kingdom. I know that God will use situations in our lives that we deem as terrible and even devastating, to work out His good. He promises us in Romans 8:28 that He will do that for us:

"…all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

All things, good and bad things, will work out for our good if we love God. Isn't it an amazing promise? We just need to continue giving our best and walking alongside God just as Joseph did. And we needn't be qualified for the job, we simply need to have a heart for God, then He will provide us with all the skills we need to do what He has laid out for us to do. For example, I am not a good writer. I really am not. I am a Chartered Accountant, so my strong point is number crunching. I am not really that strong in languages. And yet, I have written twelve books now and more than 500 devotions, and that is only because God wanted me to and led me to do it. It is truly supernatural, as I am not naturally gifted in this area. And God will do the same for you. If you truly want to exalt Him in all that you do, He will use you mightily for His Kingdom. He will give you the skills set that you need, do not be afraid. All that He wants to bless you with is on the other side of fear. So be courageous and allow God to work through you in wonderful ways. He wants to and will truly help you. Then you can give all glory to Him and exalt Him in every area of your life.

Father thank you that You are with us every day of the week. Thank you that You have good plans for us, that You want to use us in every single way. Use us Lord, lead us unto Your paths everlasting. We want to portray Your Kingdom to others, give us the skills set that we need to be able to do that. We love You. Amen

Last week we saw how Joseph was sold to Ishmaelite traders by his brothers. Instead of killing him as they had originally planned, they sold him and they lived with this regret and condemnation of what they had done for more than two decades. In the end as they realized, their revenge on their brother was not worth the heartache and pain they had to live with for such a long time.

Reuben wasn't with his brothers when they sold him to the Ishmaelites. Where he was we don't know, but when he returned he wanted to rescue Joseph from the pit, but then he saw that he was gone. He went to his brothers and heard what they had done. And instead of standing up against them and trying to make a plan to rescue Joseph, he instead devised a plan with his brothers to pretend that his brother had been killed. Not one of them wanted to accept responsibility and come out with the truth:

"So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said: "We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son's tunic or not?" Genesis 37:31, 32

They lied to their father. And notice how they even spoke of Joseph as Jacob's son instead of their brother? They were really getting themselves deeper and deeper into their own web of lies. Even pretending that they weren't sure that it was Joseph's even though they full well knew it was.

Jacob then broke down and wept for his son bitterly. He tore his clothes and put sackcloth on and mourned for many days, even saying that he will go down into the grave from mourning. It was such a sad occasion. His sons even tried to comfort him, but nothing helped. I personally think they were genuinely trying to comfort him as they felt bad, but they were in too deep and couldn't tell him the truth here.

Sometimes we do things that hurt others as well and we need to accept responsibility and try and make amends where possible. For once we get entangled into a web of lies; it is very difficult to get out of it. The brothers only told the truth to their father twenty years later and only because they found Joseph alive and well. They never would have told him if they didn't find Joseph. And those lies strangled them and influenced their lives for the negative. At the end of the day, if we don't come clean and make amends and ask for forgiveness, the only persons we are hurting is ourselves. We need to break free from a web of lies and walk in the truth.

Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life, and when He lives within us, His truth will shine through. But if we are entangled in lies, we will battle to breathe and be the Christian that God created us to be. We need to break free and be filled with His truth and life, therein lies real joy and peace.

Walk on His pathway for your life; you will be glad you did. Break free from the past, from wrongdoing and see Him in everything. He has already forgiven you all your sin. Lay it at His feet and keep it there. Then walk in the fullness of all He has planned for you. He has a future and a hope for you. Cling to that and break free from past hurt. His hope for a better future will carry you through.

Father thank you that You have a future and a hope for us. We look forward to walking on this journey with You. Please help us to break free from our past mistakes, to correct it where we can and help us to walk in Your pathway for our lives. We really want to please You and thank you for loving us no matter what. Amen

Last week we saw how Joseph was caught by his brothers, how his tunic was taken and how he was thrown into a pit. He must have been so surprised and devastated by their actions, but it was too late. He was literally down in the pit, the lowest point. But yet we saw how God was there with him and how He helped him even in these dire circumstances.

Now just after his brothers threw him into the pit, they casually sat down to eat a meal. Not bothered to offer Joseph any. It was then that their murderous plan changed. They saw a company of Ishmaelite traders passing by on their way to Egypt. Judah then had a bright plan:

"What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh." And his brothers listened." Genesis 37:26, 27

They then went ahead and sold Joseph for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites. They watched as Joseph pleaded with them not to do it, but they didn't head his call. They simply watched him leave, dragged behind the caravan of traders.

Human trafficking is a shocking practice that has gone on for thousands of years and unfortunately it still hasn't stopped. It is still a practice going on today. The brothers thought that is was better than killing him, but human trafficking is almost as bad as killing someone. In fact they kill the soul of the one sold. The brothers didn't realize it then, but they hurt their own souls in the process. For twenty plus years they had to walk with the guilt, the condemnation and regret of what they had done. It haunted them until the day that they found Joseph again. And even after living in Egypt with him for seventeen years, they were still afraid of Joseph after their father Jacob died. They were convinced that after their father had died that Joseph will take revenge on them. So all in all they walked in fear, regret, condemnation and guilt for almost four decades. Basically a lifetime.

We should never walk that long with regret, condemnation, fear or guilt over things we had done. All of us do things wrong and all of us make mistakes. We all do. But we need to let it go. We need to go and make amends where possible. Where it was our fault, we need to go and apologize and help where we possibly can. We need to get it off our chest. Of course God forgives us when we ask Him. He doesn't condemn us anymore due to the wonderful work of Jesus on the cross. We can walk freely in His forgiveness and grace. But for our own sake, we need to go and make amends with those that we have wronged. It sets us free, it truly does. We needn't carry such a heavy burden if it is not necessary. Mistakes are often made, but it shouldn't be left alone to fester on the inside of us. We can make amends.

Do not allow these burdens to be carried around any longer. They will weigh you down and cause you to be heavy burdened and not ready to walk on the path that God ordained for you. He wants what is best for you. Always and in all things. He wants you free. He said that His burden is light, so rather cast away the burdens you are carrying and take up His yoke, light and free. Then you will be able to do what He wants you to do and to go where He leads you to go. The time is now. Make peace with the past and move on.

Father we are so sorry for the wrong things we did against others. We are truly sorry. We want to move on and be the person You created us to be. Take these burdens from us and give us Your yoke that is light. Thank you that You forgive us, You are amazing. Please help us on the road to make amends with those that we hurt. Please give us the wisdom and the courage to do it. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen

Last week we saw how Joseph's brothers wanted to kill him, but how Reuben, the eldest intervened and convinced them to rather throw him in a pit. Reuben's plan was to rescue him later and take him back to his father, but his plan failed as we will see later on.

So finally Joseph arrived where his brothers were. We don't know what words were exchanged between them, but his brothers didn't waste any time in going through with their plan.

"So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it." Genesis 37:23, 24

First of all his brothers got rid of the tunic that showed that Joseph was chosen above them all, the object of their hatred, and then they cast him into the pit. I think Joseph must have been shocked. I cannot imagine that he saw this coming otherwise he would never have gone out to meet them. He must have known that they despised him, but this was going one step too far. I can just imagine how horrified he must have been at the turn of events.

But fortunately the Bible specifically mentions that the pit didn't have any water in it. God ordained it to be so; otherwise Joseph most certainly would have drowned.

So even in these dire circumstances God looked after Joseph. First of all He changed their mind about killing him and then He ordained that the pit didn't have any water in that he might drown.

The same is true for us. We might find ourselves in terrible situations. The COVID pandemic might be one of them. Some of us lost loved ones; others lost their businesses, whilst others lost income, hope, friends, potential, and family. Each lock down felt like a dire pit that we all are thrown into. Not being able to do what we would love to do, not being able to do what we want to do or to go where we want to go. It looked like a pit to me, with no silver lining, only mud.

But as I looked closer, I could see God's provision in it all. Indeed there was a silver lining for each of us. If we truly sat down and thought about it, God did come through for us in the way that we specifically needed it. For instance we were forced to spend more time at home with our children, we were forced to rest and not be as active as normal, we were forced to find joy in ordinary things, and because we couldn't do the things that we thought made us happy. We were forced to appreciate the small things in life, for as I realized it is the small things that ultimately result in the bigger things. God also made me see that He is testing me in the small things, for if I am not to be trusted with those, He couldn't trust me with bigger responsibilities in His Kingdom.

I want you to sit ten minutes with God today and ask Him to show you how He helped you in your times in the pit. Ask Him to show you how He provided for you and what you learned from it. Ask Him to show you these lessons, so that you can make a huge difference in other's lives too. Do not allow your 'pit' periods in your life be in vain. It never is. Learn from it, grow and help others through the same thing. It will be all worth it in the end, just like it was with Joseph.

Father, the times in the pit are terrible and I do not like it, but I know that You looked after me even in that. Please show me where You were during those times and help me to see how I have grown through it, so that I can be a blessing to others as well. Thank you for always being there for me. I love You. Amen

Last week we saw how Joseph was searching for his brothers. They were supposed to be at Shechem, but instead they went to Dothan. Finally Joseph found them at Dothan. But he didn't receive the welcome that he thought he would get. Even from afar they plotted against him to kill him:

"Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, "Some wild beast has devoured him." We shall see what will become of his dreams!" Genesis 37:19, 20

They have had enough of him. They were past the point of thinking rationally. They didn't like the fact that their father treated him better than all of them. Plus they were not where they were supposed to be, so they didn't want another bad report given to their father by his favorite son. Killing him sounded better to them at that moment. They didn't think it through but reacted hastily.

Now Reuben was the oldest of all of Jacob's sons. And even though he didn't like Joseph either, he felt that his brothers were not thinking straight and that killing him was not the best way to handle the situation. However he didn't have the guts to tell his brothers to leave him alone. He rather took the safer route and told them:

"Let us not kill him. Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him" - that he might deliver him out of their hands and bring him back to his father." Genesis 37:21, 22

Reuben's plan was that they cast Joseph into the pit and then later he will come back and get him out of the pit and take him back to his father. He didn't have the courage to stand up for what is right and to confront his brothers. They had to listen to him because he was in a position of authority over them as the eldest. But he didn't. He was either too afraid of them, or he wanted to still feel a part of them and he knew that they would treat him differently if they saw him siding with Joseph. Either way, he didn't stand up for what was right.

This decision haunted them all for decades to come. We see that in Genesis 42:21, 22 when they came to Egypt to collect grain:

"We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore the distress has come upon us." And Reuben answered to them, saying, "Did I not speak to you, saying, "Do not sin against the boy": and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us."

The brothers and Reuben especially suffered trauma for at least two decades after they had cast Joseph into the pit. Fortunately God had a purpose for Joseph and allowed all things to work together for good for him. But the brothers didn't know that for two decades and they were haunted by their actions.

The lesson here is: Think carefully before you act. Think it through, sleep on it, pray about it, and do not act hastily. You normally do the wrong thing then. All your actions have consequences. Yes, when you repent you are forgiven by the blood of Jesus, but your actions still have consequences to be dealt with. Rather walk an upright path with God, follow His leading in all that you do and do not act out of your emotions. It normally just brings heartache and pain.

Secondly, when you know something is not right, stand up and say so. Reuben didn't protect Joseph from his brothers. Yes, he persuaded them not to kill him, but he still didn't stand up and told them to leave him alone. The same can be said of us. Many times at work, at school, between friends and associates we find that wrong things are being said, planned and done. It is then that we need to stand up and take a stand against it. We should not take the easy way out like Reuben. His plan of later rescuing Joseph backfired and it caused him so much regret, heartache and pain for twenty years thereafter. Do not allow that to happen to you. Rather face them head on and say your say. God will be with you. Maybe they will reject you and cast you out, but then I know that God will provide even better friends for you and will exalt you in due time for standing up for Him. Hallelujah!

Father, please give us the courage to stand up for what is right. Please help us also to think through our actions before reacting. Rather lead us with Your peace to the right thing to do. You are our Role Model, help us to act like You would have. Amen