When All is Against You, What do You Do?

O.T. #90  "When All is Against You, What do You Do?"
July 23, 2013
Genesis 42-Part 1
And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is
not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
 Genesis 42:36

LET IT GLOW

What a week! I fought battles last week and have the scares on my heart to prove it. Not
physical ones, just emotional ones unseen, deep down inside. Are you there too, my friend?
When all is against me, though it seems, what do I do? Do I run to someone or something for
comfort, for the answer? Or do I run to Jesus?

Ephesians 6:12-13 says, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God,
so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you
have done everything, to stand.

Our enemy isn't a family member, friend, or coworker. It is the devil, stirring up controversy.
Jesus is the only one who can do heart surgery and make things all right. He has the answers.
So I am trusting Him. It will all work out, if I trust my Savior to handle it. He can change
hearts.

Shall we see what is happening to Joseph? I think he had a heart wrenching experience when
he saw and spoke with his brothers who sold him into slavery. How does he react when their
family is in need of food? He is the man in charge, so Joseph could have refused to sell the
food to them, getting his revenge or he could give it to them without charge. Read on to see
which happened :)

The famine continued for 7 years. Joseph was in charge of distributing the corn bought and
sold in Egypt during that time. Keep in mind, it had been about 20 years since Joseph had
seen his father and 11 brothers. (They all thought he was dead.) He now had 2 sons and a
wife of his own, a CEO position in the most powerful nation of the world at that time, and he
spoke a different language. Yet, I wonder if a day passed by that Joseph didn't think of his
blood family.

Meanwhile, back home... Jacob, who was Joseph's father, heard that there was corn in Egypt.
He asked his sons why they just keep looking at each other. He told them to go down to Egypt
and buy some corn for them so they wouldn't die. That's where the story gets interesting.

Ten of Joseph's brothers went down to Egypt to buy corn, as their father had instructed. Benjamin, the youngest brother and second son of Rachael, who was Joseph's mother, stayed home. Jacob
was afraid of loosing Benjamin like he lost Joseph so many years earlier.


LET IT GROW

 Let's see what happens during the first visit of Joseph's brothers.

1. The men bowed down to the governor of the land, the man who sold grain to all its people, which was Joseph. Bingo! Do you remember back in chapter 37 when Joseph had two dreams? In the first dream, his brothers' grain bowed down to his grain.
2. As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them.  Joseph pretended to be a          stranger and spoke harshly to them, asking where they were from. His brothers didn't   recognize Joseph. You know, 17-20 years can change a person's looks-a few gray hairs, a beard.  
3. Joseph remembered his dream that God had given to him in prophecy of his future. He  accused them of being spies, looking where the land was unprotected.
4. The brothers told Joseph they were not spies, but honest men, and sons of one man. They explained their situation-12 brothers, sons of one man, only one was no more and the youngest was back home with their father.  
5. Joseph put the 10 men into prison for 3 days. He wanted to test them to see if they were    telling the truth. they were to send one man back home and bring the youngest to see     Joseph. 
6. Joseph changed his mind on the third day and let all but one of the brothers go back           home to bring Benjamin to see Joseph. He gave them grain to take back to their families.
7. The brothers reasoned that this was happening because of what they had done to Joseph      years earlier. Now they must give an account. (Joseph understood what they were saying,       but the men didn't know this.) 
8. How did Joseph react? He wept without them seeing it. Simeon stayed behind as the men returned to their father and with the grain for food. 
9. Joseph tested his brothers by returning the money paid for the grain in the sack. they told Jacob, their father all about what happened to them in Egypt.
10. Jacob reacted to the news by saying, " Everything is against me!" Reuben offered the lives       of his 2 sons in exchange for Benjamin, if anything happens to Ben. However, Jacob         refused to let Benjamin go, saying it would cause Jacob to die.  

There the curtain falls down on the first scene of our drama. (Keep in mind that this actually
occurred.)
What will the brothers do? If they stay home, they would be thieves, but if they went back to Egypt, they'd have to risk taking Benjamin with them. (Verse 36 indicates that Jacob knew what they
 had done to Joseph years earlier.)

How often do I bow before Jesus, seeking His food for my soul? Asking forgiveness of my
sins, wrongs and turning around then I don't forgive a person for what they have done to me?
Do we refuse to let our loved ones go, even when they are answering the call of God? Or do
we encourage them to follow God wherever He leads? It's a dangerous thing to stand in the
way of God's will for someone.
Do we sometimes feel that all is against us? Are we fighting against God or submitting to Him?

LET IT GO

Keep a soft heart and don't let it become hard toward others.

Forgive without keeping track of the number of times it is required.

Love my enemies; pray for them that despitefully use me.

Let God dish out the revenge instead of me.

Be the kind of Christian I am supposed to be in spite of how others treat me.

Love as Jesus loves, unconditionally.

Run to Jesus when all is against me; He is for me.