Your Daily Devotional for September 29, 2007

 

September 29,  2007

 

 

Joseph's Faith

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed."

 

Genesis 37:3-6

 

 

I once heard the story about a lady in a home for seniors. She saw a new man come into the activity center and went over to introduce herself. She told him, "You look just like my third husband. Wavy brown hair, blue eyes, a strong jaw, etc." He replied, "Really? How many husbands have you had?" She said, "Two."

 

This lady had faith that this man would be her next husband! We may laugh at that story, but this lady had greater faith than most of us. Most Christians today have God's resources at their fingertips yet never take full advantage of it because they lack faith. God calls us to trust Him with every aspect of our lives. We see a good example of someone who trusted God fully in the life of Joseph.

 

As we saw yesterday, God desires that we would finish our race strong, yet the devil attacks our endurance to get us to fall. Some of God's choice servants in the Bible did not finish strong. Moses disobeyed God and did not get to see the Promised Land; Samson fell into sin and God cut off His power from Samson's life; David sinned and his family was plagued with difficulties. Yet, God shows us through the life of Joseph that we can remain faithful to Him.

 

The reason Joseph remained faithful to God even through difficult circumstances was because of his faith. Even when Joseph was sold into slavery and wrongfully accused, he had faith in God. Joseph's faith was developed at an early age as we see in our verses today.

 

Joseph had faith to receive God's Words. Genesis 37:5 says, "And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more." God had spoken to Joseph through a dream and had revealed His will to him. Joseph had faith to receive this dream as God's Words. Even as a young boy, he recognized God's leading in his life and he had faith to trust God.

 

Not only did he have faith to receive God's Words; he also had faith to tell his brothers. Joseph's brothers did not like him because he was favored by their father. Because of this, Joseph's brothers often mocked and mistreated him. Even though Joseph knew his dream would not be well received, he had faith to relay God's will to his brothers.

 

It is one thing to hear the words of God, but it is another thing to grab hold of them and believe them to be true in your own life. We can be in God's Word each day and receive His Words, but it does us no good unless we are applying those truths in our lives each day. We must not only receive God's Words, but have faith to tell others as well.

 

There is no question that Joseph had a life characterized by faith. Could those around you say the same thing about your life? Are you receiving God's Words and faithfully telling others each day? Take time now to meet with God and ask Him to help you develop a life of faith. Spend time in His Word and apply the truths you learn to your life as you live for Him today.

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Isaiah 7-8 • Ephesians 2

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