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Writer's pictureKandi Swift

Pathway to the Promise

“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” 2 Corinthians 1:20 / ESV

Today’s devotional begins with the story of Joseph. If you’re not familiar with the story of Joseph and his family, I encourage you to read Genesis chapters 28-47.


Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel and the sibling to eleven brothers and a sister. The bible says that Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons and his brothers hated him for it. To make matters worse, Joseph had two prophetic dreams with the interpretation of his brothers bowing down to him. Like most other teenagers, Joseph didn’t think this through and decided to share this information with his brothers. This, of course, caused them to hate him even more. Because of their deep hatred for him, the brothers plotted to kill him. Genesis 37:20 reveals their plot which says, “Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him and we will see what will become of his dreams”. I found that verse to be very interesting. It uncovers the fact that they weren’t out just to kill Joseph, but they were in pursuit of destroying his dreams. If we get rid of him, there will be no dream to fulfill. These dreams were prophetic, so they were more than just dreams, they were a promise of what was to come. Fortunately, one brother had mercy on Joseph, and it ended up that he was sold to a group of traders instead.


The promise held in these dreams was so much bigger than the brothers’ interpretation of them. I have to wonder what Joseph’s whole thought process was regarding this. Did he purposely share the dreams to stir up trouble amongst his brothers? He already knew they hated him. Did he truly understand that one day his brothers would literally bow before him? These dreams were part of Joseph’s destiny and contained a promise for the entire family, but because their understanding was so limited, they were threatened by it and wanted to get rid of any possibility of it coming to pass.


Joseph ended up being sold a second time to a man named Potiphar, who was an officer to Pharoah and captain of the guard. He found favor with his Egyptian master because he had favor with God, and God’s favor on his life brought blessing to Potiphar’s house. Potiphar trusted Joseph with all his possessions and everything seemed to be going great until Potiphar’s wife decided she wanted Joseph for herself. Day after day she pursued him, but he remained faithful. This made her angry, so she took the opportunity to twist the truth and deceived her husband into believing Joseph tried to take advantage of her. The good life that Joseph was living was ripped right out from under him by her lie and landed him in prison. Remember, back when Joseph’s brothers were planning to kill him, he was shown mercy and his life was spared. Here again, even in the darkest dungeon, the Lord was with Joseph and gave him favor with the prison guard. Through every high and every low of Joseph’s life, God was with him. And the bible says the “whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed” (Gen. 39:23). There was promise and favor on Joseph’s life and no circumstance, good or bad, could remove or separate him from his intended purpose.


Eventually, Joseph’s gift of interpreting dreams made way for him once again and Pharoah set him over the land of Egypt. Famine came and because of Joseph’s wisdom and the favor of God on his life, he executed a plan for storing up grain and was put in charge of managing the storehouses. All the earth came to buy grain from Joseph. All the earth. Came to one man; the hated teenager who was almost killed by his brothers. The youngster who was bought and sold into slavery. The man who was falsely accused of taking advantage of his master’s wife. The once trusted overseer of Potiphar’s house who was unjustly thrown into prison. This is the man to whom all the earth came to buy grain from during the years of severe famine. Including his brothers. And this is where the promise of the dream came true. When Joseph’s brothers came to the realization that it was their brother who was providing their source of food, they bowed before him, just as the dream had revealed


The dream contained a promise of provision for not only Joseph, but his entire family. It was a promise of reconciliation and forgiveness; however, the only detail disclosed at the time the promise was given was that of the brothers bowing down. And isn’t it just like our human nature to quickly take offense without having all the information? The rest of the pathway to this promise included favor and hardship, trust and disappointment, clout and defamation of character. Yet through it all, God remained faithful and never took His hand off Joseph’s life.


We have also been given a promise and will one day bow before our King. Along our pathway we will experience ups and downs, highs and lows, and the opportunity to question whether the promise is worth the journey. At times, it may seem like nothing is going right. At others, it may feel like everything is falling into place. We only see in part, and no matter where we are on our path, we have been given a promise that the world needs. Every situation is temporary and allows us the opportunity to be witnesses of God’s provision and favor through good and bad times and to share with others the pathway to the promise of eternal life.


If you would like more information on how you can experience the gift of eternal life through salvation, please click on Resources and choose ‘How Can I Be Saved’.


 

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 / ESV



“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 / ESV



“By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” 2 Peter 1:4 / ESV



“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” 2 Corinthians 1:20 / ESV


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