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God’s kindness is beginning to be more felt in this week’s passage (Gen.43). We can begin to see how God is not only helping Jacob’s sons survive a terrible famine, but He is also mending the broken family relationships. Do Jacob’s sons deserve this kindness? Not in the least. However, does Joseph deserve God’s kindness? No. Despite all the machinations of ALL of Jacob’s sons, none of them deserve God’s favor. This week, take a moment to stop and consider how you have been attempting to craft your life. I know that I am prone to rely on my own craftiness. However, it is good to know that there is a kind God working good in my life despite how I do not deserve it. 

It is interesting to note as we are traveling through the story of Joseph, that God is not merely orchestrating all of this to help Jacob and his family survive (and some would jump to the idea of the line of Christ being continued). While that is true, God is ultimately the one who sent the famine. Why would he craft this elaborate plot just to rescue this people from this calamity; one that He could just as easily have not sent? God is after the heart of His people. What “calamities” are you facing? Trust the process. “Go with the grain of God’s program.”  God cares about you as an individual and is intimately involved in the details of your life to turn you towards Him. So, when blessings come, run to Him. When calamities intrude, run to Him! Then, press into the ordinary means of grace that God has supplied (i.e. prayer, His Word, His people).