| Christians trust God—especially when life doesn’t make sense. Consider Joseph’s life. He went from favorite child in a wealthy family, to slave in a foreign land, to unjustly convicted prisoner, to sudden ruler over a powerful nation—all by the time he was 30.
In the roller coaster that was Joseph’s life, the only constant was God. God was there for Joseph in the good times and the bad—caring for him, guiding him, and giving him strength. In every stage of his life, Joseph learned to serve God in faith—using whatever resources and opportunities God provided. In Genesis 41, we witness Joseph’s elevation to de facto ruler of all Egypt, but Joseph’s purpose didn’t change. His job was still to serve God in faith, just on a much larger scale. All the ups and downs in Joseph’s life had trained him to trust God. His faithful service in small things prepared him to serve faithfully in big ones. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to rescue a nation from disaster? We’re tempted to think that we don’t have the resources or that we’re not important enough. We learn from Joseph’s life that it is up to us to serve God faithfully with whatever resources and opportunities he provides. Then we leave it up to God how he will use our service. God could be preparing you to save the nation. Or he might be preparing you to save just your corner of it. Be faithful. Don’t underestimate what God is doing through your service. He is working for his kingdom through all of us.
Genesis 41:41–49 (EHV) 41Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “Look, I have appointed you over the whole land of Egypt.” 42Pharaoh took his signet ring off of his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand. He dressed Joseph in robes made from the best linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43He had him ride in the second best chariot that he had. Men went ahead of him crying out, “Kneel down!” Pharaoh appointed him over the whole land of Egypt. 44Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but in the whole land of Egypt no one will lift up his hand or his foot without your permission.” 45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath Paneah, and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as a wife. Joseph went out and began to rule over the land of Egypt. 46Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and traveled throughout the whole land of Egypt. 47During the seven years of abundance the earth produced plentiful harvests. 48He collected all the food during the seven good years in the land of Egypt, and he stored up the food in the cities. In every city he stored the food from the fields that were around the city. 49Joseph stored up a huge amount of grain, like the sand of the sea. Finally he stopped keeping track, because it was too much to measure. God bless you, Pastor Tesch Worship at Trinity Come to worship at your Lord’s house! You can sign up here: https://trinitymarinette.com/events/worship-service-3/ or call Pastor or call the church office to let us know which service you prefer. Here is this week’s bulletin: https://trinitymarinette.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-08-09-Announcements-The-Tenth-Sunday-after-Pentecost.pdf. Check it out. There is a lot coming up at Trinity! Called Home Our Lord, in his mercy, called our sister, Helen Johnson, home to her eternal reward in heaven last Friday. Her funeral will be held at Hansen-Onion-Martell Funeral Home on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Visitation will be from 1-3pm. Two Made One This Saturday at 1:00 p.m., God will unite Elizabeth Bussler and Don Marsh in holy wedlock at Trinity. Celebrate their love with them and pray for God’s richest blessings. If you would like to support the Lord’s work at Trinity, you may contribute at trinitymarinette.com/giving/ or you can mail it to Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 1501 Thomas St. Marinette, WI 54143 |
