“Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.”
~ Genesis 43:30
Hi James and Ellen,
What do you think is your Father God’s ‘greater’ plan for why He has what He has taking place at this time on planet Earth? When Joseph was a kid your age James, there was absolutely no reason at all for Joseph to think that he would one day be the guy who would be in charge of stockpiled grain during a widespread famine. Joseph grew up in the land area that was known as Canaan. Joseph’s dad’s name was Jacob. Joseph’s ma’s name was Rachel. Joseph had a kid bro. Joseph’s kid bro’s name was Benjamin. Joseph had ten older bros. Joseph’s older bros were born to three other mas. Joseph was his dad’s favorite kid. Joseph had dreams. Joseph would tell his bros his dreams. Joseph dreams had his bros one day bowing down to him. Joseph’s bros did not like Joseph. Joseph’s bros decided to get rid of their dad’s favorite kid by throwing him into a dry cistern and . . . instead of killing Joseph, Judah – who was one of Joseph’s older bros, when he saw some Ishmaelite people group’s guys passing by in a camel caravan that was heading for Egypt, came up with the idea of selling Joseph to them. Joseph was just seventeen years old when he was sold by some of his bros to spice traders who were on their way to Egypt. It is now twenty-two years later. Joseph is now about forty years old. Moses records in what is now Genesis 43 the second time that Joseph’s older bros have no choice but to travel to Egypt for grain. Egypt was the only place where grain had been stockpiled. Joseph had been the guy behind stockpiling grain for a pending famine – that would affect the whole known world, that God had warned about through a dream that He gave to the Egyptian Pharaoh and which Joseph interpreted. The first time that Joseph’s bros went to Egypt to get grain did not go well. Joseph’s bros ended up having to leave behind Simeon – who was one of their bros. The silver that Joseph’s older bros had taken with them to pay for the grain ended up back at the top of their bags. The guy who had given them the grain – who was actually Joseph, told them at that time that if they had to come back for more grain, that they had to take their kid bro with them or . . .
Your grandpaa at times wishes that His Father God would let him see what He has ahead for him in the future so that . . . your grandpaa also wishes that he could pull being a Joseph each time that he is facing a life challenge. Joseph never let a challenging moment that he sometimes found himself in let the moment turn him into being a negative guy who would blame ‘bad luck’ for the trying circumstance that he is in or on the uncaring guy or gal who does nothing to affirm and/or value him in the problematic testing that he has found himself in. How would you like to be sold by your bros to complete strangers? How would you like to be one day a member of family and then the next day being taken to a strange country that is three hundred or so miles away? How would you like it if a guy or gal lied about you resulting in you being jailed? Joseph overcame all the odds of having been detested and sold by his older bros and set up and put in a prison by a scheming gal – who was Potiphar’s wife, to end up with a critical role that would ultimately jumpstart a nation of guys and gals who would become God’s specially chosen guys and gals– the Israelite people group’s nation of guys and gals. How do you think that Joseph felt when he saw Benjamin again after not having seen his kid bro for about twenty-two years? Verse 30 says, “Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.” Joseph felt very emotional. Instead of taking it out on his older bros for the things that they had done to him, Joseph treated his older bros as special guests. Joseph sat his older bros at his table in order by their age – where he ate with them. Joseph gave his kid bro five times the food to eat than what he gave to his older bros to eat.
Your Father God’s ‘greater’ plan uses life challenges that He has choreographed for each one of His specially elected guys, gals and kids to pass through as building blocks to something more significant to something more significant to . . . throughout the life of each guy, gal and kid. God – as God the Spirit, is going to prompt each guy, gal and kid to over and over again step away from his or her safe known world into a strange new world. Each new beginning has a place and purpose in your Father God’s ‘greater’ plan for each guy, gal and kid and for His creation. Each new life challenge is a teaching block that your Father God preordained for each one of His specially elected guys, gals and kids to help them know better their Father God. Joseph could easily have literally and figuratively stayed in victim pits but . . . Joseph’s unreserved faith in his Father God saw him through really hard life challenges to a time where his life made a significant difference for his family and ultimately for a nation of guys, gals and kids. Your grandpaa knows that he is not a Joseph. Your grandpaa struggles putting behind him the times when he thinks that he has been devalued, lied to, not respected, etc., but . . . your grandpaa’s Father God is now giving your grandmaa and grandpaa many opportunities to use their life experiences as teaching tools for guys, gals and kids to learn from and to apply in their lives. Your grandpaa knows that his Father God has led him on a track that has had choices in it – such as the same day that your grandpaa began as a loan collector at the Liberty Loan office that is in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, your grandpaa received a letter from the postal service telling him that he had passed their civil service test – meaning that your grandpaa could have begun working for the post office. Your grandpaa knows now that his Father God had planned for him to work for Liberty Loan versus the post office as . . . reflecting on the ‘what if’ moments helps a guy or gal internalize what his or her Father God’s ‘greater’ plan is for him or her.
Genesis 43 (564)