By Mike Caton

Genesis 49:22-26, “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.”

Joseph is the eleventh son of Jacob and the firstborn of Rachel. This is the wife that Jacob loved, fell in love with at first sight, worked seven years for and then was duped into marrying her sister, and agreed to work another seven years for. And yet for the longest time, she was barren, and that lead to the competition and the giving of servant girls to Jacob as surrogates to bear children. But Joseph was his daddy’s favorite, just remember the coat of many colors that Jacob gave to Joseph.

But, being daddy’s favorite made Joseph the other ten brothers least favorite. Add to that the fact that Joseph knew his position and that he seemed eager to rub it into their faces and you see why he was attacked with bitterness. The last ten or so chapters have pretty much been about Joseph; his coat, his dreams, his kidnapping and trip to Egypt, his false accusations, and his being forgotten. But through it all he has remained faithful to God and as a result, the Lord has blessed him. His strong arms stayed limber, they were able to take the life he lived in stride and make the best of it. Joseph is often an example of blooming where you are planted. Doing the best you can in life with the hand you are dealt.

Therein is the lesson for us. We have to keep our faith in God. There had to have been times in Joseph’s life that he felt like quitting. Just think about it; looking up at his brothers from the bottom of that cistern, hearing the bargaining that was going on with the slave traders, every step he took toward Egypt and away from home, being bought by yet another master, the advances of Mrs. Potiphar, being throw into the jail, being forgotten by those who were supposed to help him. And yet, through it all, Joseph remained faithful. I suppose we could write a sentence like that ourselves about our life; rejection by parents, rejection by a spouse, financial troubles, sickness, an unexpected or dreaded death, job issues, accidents, and so on. But like Joseph, we need to remain faithful to the God who created us. We need to trust that God is in control and we need to learn to trust him more. Those are big words, easy to say and hard to do. But that is the true secret of success.

Father, help me remain faithful. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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