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Monday

Read Genesis 50:20; Romans 12:21

God makes something beautiful out of our lives.

“All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, But He made something beautiful out of my life.” —Gaither Trio, “Something Beautiful”

When all was said and done, Joseph put it this way: “What you meant for evil, God meant for good” (Genesis 50:20). This is a reprise of an earlier statement of Joseph where he said, “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you … to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance” (Genesis 45:5, 7).

Where and how did Joseph get this wisdom? What was the secret of his equanimity? We know from his story that he was a dreamer and became an interpreter of dreams. Along the way, his dreams were dashed. At least twice. And delayed, too. And yet, he had favor in each situation: (1) Potiphar’s household, (2) Potiphar’s prison, (3) the king’s butler, and finally (4) the king himself (Pharaoh).

What was the key to Joseph’s life? He kept his eyes on the Giver of his dreams. He trusted in the Giver—as our pastor recently preached: “This calls us to trust in Jesus no matter what.” (Tim Peck) Joseph kept his focus on the God of his dreams, not on his path, when it seemed like his dreams were not coming true. God gave Joseph the “gift of faith” (Ephesians 2:8).

Paul says in Romans 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” This is not easy to do, but it is what God does. And it is what God taught Joseph to do. Our view of God needs to expand so that we see Him this way. After the experiences Joseph went through, he came to see God overcoming evil. It was then natural for Joseph to forgive and embrace his brothers with tears of joy. And, of course, Joseph wanted to see his father again.

Questions

How is your view of God changing? How is it leading you to do as God does and do good to people who have done you wrong?

Prayers for Christina Hack (Chi Alpha San Diego State University)

Chi Alpha is a college campus ministry at San Diego State University. They had a Women’s Retreat on March 26-27. Pray for the Holy Spirit to move and for lives to be impacted by the love of God after attending this retreat.

Tuesday

Read Psalm 105:17-19; Galatians 419

God is shaping our character to conform to His character.

God works in each of us to form us into His image. He did this with Joseph. “He sent a man before them—Joseph—who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters; he was laid in irons. Until the time that His word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him” (Psalm 105:17-19 NKJV).

This spiritual formation is going on all the time. It is the present tense portion of salvation called sanctification. Most of us underestimate how great a salvation God has won for us. The life of Joseph helps us see the outline of this salvation: (1) God loves us throughout our journey. (2) God gives us the gift of faith to persevere through our trials. (3) God prepares us for our destiny.

Maybe Isaiah had Joseph in mind when he wrote, “Blessed are those who wait on the LORD, for He will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). This especially applies in Joseph’s story when the king’s chief butler forgot about Joseph after he interpreted the butler’s dream favorably. Joseph even told the butler to remember him to the king. The butler may have forgotten, but God did not forget Joseph—and He doesn’t forget us.

How is God shaping your character currently? For me, among other things, it’s a friend who is gently challenging me to be more of a participant than a spectator in church life. The verse Philippians 2:3 comes to mind: “… in humility value others above yourselves.” In other words, I believe I’m to put the thoughts and prayers of others ahead of my own, trusting God in the process.

Jesus did exactly this when He put His Father’s agenda first and handed over His disciples and the whole kingdom-of-God-on-earth enterprise to the Holy Spirit’s oversight and direction. Jesus checked in regularly with His Father in heaven before saying or doing anything. It was a trust issue with Jesus, and it’s a trust issue with us.

Questions

Are we trusting God to take care of us? We need to do it together.

Prayers for Christina Hack (Chi Alpha San Diego State University)

March 28—April 1 is San Diego State’s Spring Break, and many students are traveling for the first time in a while. Some of them will be going home to difficult family situations. Pray for safe travels, peace, and opportunities to minister.

Wednesday

Read Genesis 46-47; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

God reconciles broken families.

Joseph’s reconciliation to his family came in stages. First came his brothers’ visit to Egypt’s Pantry (grain dispersion center), where Joseph recognized them, but they did not recognize him. In this phase, Joseph tested them (Genesis 42). Joseph had a lot to forgive, and he was ready to do so, except that he wanted to make sure of a few things. Plus, the brother he really wanted to see was Benjamin, the son of their mother, Rachel.

The second stage came during the brothers’ second trip, this time with Benjamin (Genesis 43). More testing, but this time Joseph revealed himself.

Finally came his father Jacob’s journey to Egypt, the beginning of his family’s stay in Egypt for many years when a family became a nation (Genesis 46).

In the New Testament, the story of the Prodigal Son tells of a quicker reconciliation occurring between the father and the younger son (Luke 15:11-32). Here the stages took place in the far country, where the younger son came to his senses and began to reason that life with father was not so bad after all. So, when the father saw his younger son coming a long way off, he ran to meet him. The younger son was ready for reconciliation.

The older son, who never left home (except in his heart), was another matter. He was still stuck in stage one. He was tested not by the father, but by his own hard-heartedness and in his own misperception of how good he had it—not so much because of monetary wealth, but because of love and acceptance.

What does reconciliation have to do with us? Everything. God expects us to be reconciled to each other. More than that, God Himself wants to be reconciled to all people. That is where our ambassadorship of reconciliation comes in.

We are all His ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5). How can we become good at this? First, by relying on Him (abiding in the Vine). Second, by loving others (“They will know us by our love”). Third, by praying for people. Fourth, by using our faith to overcome fear of risk. We can rest assured that God wants this more than we do, and He is at work bringing it about.

Questions

How can we help others see their need to reconcile with God?

Prayers for Christina Hack (Chi Alpha San Diego State University)

Please pray for the continued health of the Chi Alpha team and students, especially following all the travel of Spring Break.

Thursday

Read Genesis 48-49

God blesses people so they will bless others.

Abraham was Jacob’s grandfather. The LORD spoke to Abraham what we call the Abrahamic Covenant, saying, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you … and you will be a blessing, … and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:1-3). These words are foundational for today’s missionary movement throughout the world.

Jacob thought his favorite son was dead. The thought never crossed his mind, that we know of, that he would see Joseph again in this life. And yet he did. He was blessed with a greater blessing than he could imagine.

Before he died, Jacob placed his hands on all of his sons, including Joseph’s two sons (Jacob’s grandsons), Manasseh and Ephraim, and spoke words of blessing over them. “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff” (Hebrews 11:21). This was Jacob’s claim to fame in the “Hall of Faith.” Let it be included in our claim to faith, too.

We who are blessed are privileged and responsible to bless others, especially our spouse, our children, our relatives, and others.

Perhaps the most well-known blessing is found in Numbers 6:24-26, and goes like this: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.” This blessing that Aaron gave to the children of Israel long ago has blessed many people.

Do our words of blessing have any power? Do they make a difference? According to Jesus, His words were/are full of Spirit and life (John 6:63). “… the word of God is alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12). James compares our words to the rudder of a large ship, steering it wherever the pilot wants it to go (James 3:4-5). That is why not only our spoken blessings but also our prayers are more important than we often give them credit to be. And that is why we want to let the Holy Spirit take control of our tongue and our words.

Questions

How are you blessing others with your good words and works?

Prayers for Christina Hack (Chi Alpha San Diego State University)

Many of the girls whom Christina disciples and has in her small group are graduating this spring. They are facing difficult and stressful decisions on what comes next after school. Pray for wisdom and guidance in their decisions and in Christina’s advice to them.

Friday

Read Genesis 50; 2 Chronicles 7:14; John 3:17; 4:27

God is the Healer of nations. Jesus is the Savior of the world.

We who believe in Jesus are the “house of Jesus” (Hebrews 3:6). And Jesus’ house is a “house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 12:16). People in our church are praying for nations today: India, Haiti, Kenya, Ecuador, Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, United States, Ukraine, Russia, and more. Someone was praying for Egypt in the days of Jacob. And Joseph was the answer to those prayers.

Christians continue to be persecuted the world over—as they have been for many years—particularly in countries with oppressive regimes. Today, believers and others in Ukraine and Russia face dire, life-threatening circumstances. What nations are you praying for today?

God is entirely on the side of truth and righteousness, which includes the fullness of inexhaustible love. We have only scratched the surface of God and His omnipotent power. As plants seek to grow up in sun and rain, so we naturally press upward toward “His high calling for us” (Philippians 3:14). God’s Holy Spirit has been gifted to us, and we have only begun to know Him by experience.

We know God is pro-people. And that is why we pray for people, nations, and even governments. We see some history of God’s people in relationships to governments in the Bible:

Joseph was elevated to become Pharaoh’s (king’s) right-hand man.
Moses, on the other hand, was born at a time when Egypt’s king was killing Hebrew babies. As an infant, he was hidden in the bulrushes of the Nile, and he grew up to be the deliverer of God’s people from Egypt.
Jeremiah counseled the people to pray for the foreign cities where they would be living (Jeremiah 29:7).
Daniel and his friends were administrators and counselors in a foreign government.
Esther became the queen in a foreign nation. Her uncle Mordecai became the king’s right-hand man.
Isaiah prophesied that a Son would come on whose shoulders would rest an unending government/kingdom (Isaiah 9:6).

Questions

Do you pray for nations and governments, including our own, knowing that in the Spirit of God our words have power. Prayers do make a difference.

Prayers for Christina Hack (Chi Alpha San Diego State University)

Please pray for continued in-depth growth of relationships with Jesus for the Chi Alpha students throughout the rest of the semester and beyond into summer.

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