God wants us to be in relationship with Him, and He wants that relationship to be as profound as possible. In contrast to the kind of relationship limited human beings can make, we should desire the kind of relationship the God who created the universe can make. We should look
God wants us to talk to Him, to cast our cares upon His throne, and to celebrate life with us as we walk through it. God created creation and then created us to experience His creation. We should have joy with Him in His creation. Joseph can’t take it
We illustrate imperfectly what only God can accomplish perfectly. When we show love, we show God’s love. When we demonstrate grace, we give people an appreciation for God’s grace. When we sacrifice ourselves, we teach people to value sacrificial living. It was originally Judah’s idea to sell
The only thing required from us is to receive His grace. We cannot earn His love. We can desire relationship with Him, but we cannot earn it. He gives us His grace freely. When the brothers return to Joseph, he’s still in his house. Of course he is! He
God wants all our relationships to be restored, not just our relationship with Him. Our sin comes from our incredible ability to focus on ourselves and overlook others. When we impose our will over the needs of others, we sin. This breaks relationship. It causes friction in life. Left untended,
God intimately cares about our needs, hopes, and dreams. He created the entire universe, yet He cares about me and you. He knows everything that ever happened in His creation, yet He wants to know your hopes and dreams. He wants you to feel seen and loved. Joseph comes home.
God’s people should always leave evidence to the character of God as we live our lives. Since we are human, we cannot accomplish this perfectly. Our goal, however, is to live our life so that when people look at us, they see God’s character shining through as clearly
God desires for us to learn His ways, but He wants to give us the space to come to Him in a way that makes sense to us. Human beings are funny that way. We are happy to learn. Our brain likes figuring things out. For us to learn the
Living under the promise of God’s plan is always better than living under the results of our own control. God created us. He knows what satisfies us better than we do. His ability to work in this world is far greater and more rewarding than our ability to control
It can be hard to come to terms with what God wants in our life, especially if it means letting go of something we hold dear. God’s plans are seldom obvious in the beginning. They may make sense in the end, but they can challenge our understanding in the
Joseph’s ability to find forgiveness through God’s help is what makes him ready to save his family now. God’s people should seek forgiveness for our sake in addition to the sake of the relationships around us. When we hold onto grudges and refuse to forgive, we are
Like Joseph, we can only follow God’s plan when we remain focused on God. With our eyes on God, we see His ways clearly. When we take our eyes off the world and focus our attention upon other things, we become distracted and pursue the lust of our eyes