Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 105:16-22
Psalms 105:16-22
16 He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food; 17 and he sent a man before them--Joseph, sold as a slave. 18 They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, 19 till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true. 20 The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. 21 He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, 22 to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.
Can you imagine living the life of Joseph? There were so many times when things happened that would have made many of us want to give up on God! But things were not what they seemed at the moment. No one could see God working as Joseph begged his brothers not to sell him to the Midianites as a slave. Who would have thought it was part of God’s plan for him to be thrown into prison for a crime he did not commit? When the royal butler forgot him, it would be easy to think that surely God had forgotten him too as he sat for two years in the Egyptian prison without any hope of being released.
But God was at work in it all. He knew the famine was coming and it was his plan to place Joseph in the right place for the right time to save his people. God had said earlier that the children of Abraham would go into Egypt and live and grow into a nation. But as happens so often, his word had been forgotten.
We, like Joseph, must never give up on God. No matter what we face in life we can know that God will work it for our good. With every temptation he will provide a way of escape. For Joseph, at the time, it certainly did not seem like God was doing this but in the end he understood. He told his brothers they meant what they had done for harm but God was just using them to save his people. It may not seem that what we are facing from time to time in our lives has any good associated with it, but when we trust God, he will use it for our good.
Even when others mean to harm us or do evil, God is not shackled and his plan will always prevail. This is true in his church, it is true in our families and homes and it is true in the nations of the world as well. God is in control!
O God, thank you for loving me and providing what is best for me. Increase my faith so I don’t doubt you, your word or your will. Give me wisdom to know and apply your word in my life. Give me strength to always put you first in my daily priorities. Forgive me when I fail to be all you want me to be. Use me to carry out your plan in my sphere in this world. Thank you for all you have done for me and all you have given me in more ways than I can count. Please be with those who are sick and those who are hurting. I pray in the name of Jesus.
--Robert
