SERVICES: SATURDAY 6PM | SUNDAY 9AM & 10:45AM. 

We Livestream at www.FaithFellowshipWeb.com/livestream, through the FFC App, and YouTube.

God is FOR us

Words of Faith Final

God is FOR us
Words of Faith 7-26-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><<><

Genesis 42
[29] When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, [30] "The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. [31] But we said to him, 'We are honest men; we are not spies. [32] We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.'
[33] "Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, 'This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. [34] But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.' "
[35] As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. [36] Their father Jacob said to them, "You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!"
[37] Then Reuben said to his father, "You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back."
[38] But Jacob said, "My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow."

When the brothers arrived home in Canaan, they explained to Jacob all that had happened in Egypt. Jacob was deeply grieved. He was certain that yet another son was dead! "Simeon is no more!" he cried.
Jacob was so grieved that he would not consider allowing Benjamin to travel back to Egypt. If something happened to his youngest son, he would have sorrow the rest of his days, just as he had said when he heard of Joseph's "death" (37:35).
Reuben, the eldest, spoke up, offering to assure the return of Benjamin with the lives of his own sons. This is ironic since it was Reuben who failed to prevent the loss of Joseph (37:21-22). Reuben's life had been a litany of good intentions and failed follow-through. There was simply not enough credibility left for Jacob to trust. As sincere as Reuben was in offering his own sons as a guarantee, it rang empty. Taking the lives of Reuben's sons would only cause more grief in a family already reeling from losses.
This was a time of testing. God was testing and purifying the family of Jacob because He planned to bless these descendants of Abraham. God planned to bring this family to Egypt so that it would grow there into a great nation. But it was necessary that the people who entered Egypt be faithful to the Lord. It was necessary that the brothers face their sin before they could participate in God's blessing.
Jacob also needed to learn to release what he loved and trust God. The Lord was prodding the brothers toward a full reconciliation, but this would require that Jacob release them for that purpose. They had to perceive that it was the hand of God moving them so that they would acknowledge their crime against Joseph and their previous unbelief in his dreams. This would prepare the way for building the nation of Israel as a people of faith.
When the hand of the Lord is working in our lives, we often wonder if God is somehow against us. It indeed seemed that way for the sons of Jacob. Little did they know, God was not against them at all! He was very much FOR them! He had a plan in mind for them and their families. He had a future and a hope for them. But the road to that future required repentance and restoration.
It was now time for the secret sins-- jealously, betrayal and deceit-- hidden for so long to be revealed. Forgiveness had to take place. Restoration had to occur.
The same is true in our lives. God does not press us toward confession and repentance simply so that He can rub our noses in our sin. He is rebuilding us. He is restoring us. His hand is not against us; it is for us. He is bringing us to where we need to be so that He can bless us.

Lord, I give thanks for Your hand in my life. I give thanks for Your work of restoration. I give thanks that You are bringing me to the place You need me to be so that You may bless me and fulfill Your plan. I give thanks that You are for me, and not against me. In Jesus' name.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© 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
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at https://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/blog
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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.