Inspired and Strenthened by Hearing of Their Faith.

Go back and read Genesis 39:1-10. When I read what Joseph had to stand up again, denying the comforts that somepeople might frivolously indulge in to get immediate enjoyment or feed their ego, I am so grateful that he did not. It gives me strength to know that God's love, provision and plan for the good of many is worth standing up for. Oh how I want to always have the strength from God to stand up against the things that try to influence me to deny God and serve myself. With God I know all things are possible through Christ.

Praise Him!
Candace

Redirected

The Lord was with Joseph. —Genesis 39:2

At the age of 16, pianist Leon Fleisher made his formal debut at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic. He went on to win prestigious international competitions and played in the world’s finest concert halls. But at the age of 37, Fleisher was struck with dystonia, a neurological condition that crippled his right hand. After a period of despondency and withdrawal, he turned to teaching and conducting, because, as he said, he loved music more than he loved the piano.

When our dreams are shattered, how do we react? After Joseph, the favored son of Jacob, was sold as a slave by his brothers (Gen. 37:12-36), he could have given in to self-pity and self-indulgence. Instead, Joseph remained true to the Lord. Four times in Genesis 39, we read that “the Lord was with” Joseph (vv.2-3,21,23), and his actions revealed his own faithfulness to God. By his exemplary life, those he served in Egypt recognized God’s presence with him.

Do we love God more than our own dreams? Although Joseph must have grieved the loss of his past and what his life could have been, the Lord led him to a calling he had never imagined. Today, the Lord longs to lead us. Are we willing to be redirected by Him? — David C. McCasland, Daily Bread Devotional RBC Ministry

My cherished plans may go astray,

My hopes may fade away;

But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead,

For He doth know the way. —Overton

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. —Proverbs 16:9