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Getting through the Bad Days

Words of Faith Final

Getting through the Bad Days
Words of Faith 7-1-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 37
[31] Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. [32] They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, "We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe."
[33] He recognized it and said, "It is my son's robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces."
[34] Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. [35] All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said, "in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son." So his father wept for him.
[36] Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.

What a mess! The family of Jacob, blessed and guided by God's intentions, was in a mess. Jacob began his young life sowing trickery against his brother and father and was now experiencing a horrible harvest. How true that God cannot be mocked: A man reaps what he sows (Galatians 6:7).
Most of the people around Jacob were now lying to him. He was devastated by the grief of losing his precious son Joseph. The brothers harbored the terrible secret of how they betrayed Joseph and Jacob. The brothers who had hoped to gain favor with Jacob had only served to plunge him into a terrible depression. This was a bad day!
But don't miss verse 36! "Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard." It may not sound like a lot, but God was still at work. Like a little spark of life, Joseph was still glowing in Egypt. God was still at work. This may have seemed like a horrible day all around-- hatred, deception, and a terrible secret-- but God was still in charge. The story was not over.
We must remember that while there are often bad days, those days are not the end of the story.
We will see that the days of slavery in Egypt were bad. The oppression of Pharaoh was terrible. The people were miserable. They were beaten down. But God was still at work. There was a plan for redemption. The Exodus was coming. God was still in charge.
We will see that the day Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians was a bad day. The Temple was reduced to rubble and looted. But the story was not over yet. God would rebuild the Temple. The walls would be restored. Jerusalem would rise from the ashes.
We will see that "Good Friday" was a bad day. Jesus was betrayed by one of his close disciples, denied by one of his best friends, and put on trial by the people he came to save. All of the disciples except one abandoned Him. The people turned on Him. He was treated miserably, mocked, tortured, and murdered. That was a really bad day, but the story was not over yet. Sunday was coming.
It would seem that the history of God's people is filled with bad days that God is turning into good. In the meantime, God is with us, even on bad days!
The Apostle Paul put it this way: "We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you (2 Cor. 4:8-12).
Are you having some bad days? Don't despair. God is still at work. He is not finished with you. The story is not over. Life is at work in you.

Father God, help me to keep my eyes on You. Help me to focus upon You even when things are dark and painful. Remind me in my heart that You are still in charge, and my refuge is in You. Remind me in my heart that you are not finished with the story. Life is at work in me. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.