GOD'S GREATER PLAN

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph and do what he tells you." When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the world. When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you just keep looking at each other?" He continued, "I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die." Then ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. So Israel's sons were among those who went to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also." Genesis 41:53-57, 42:1-5

As we reach the end of Chapter 41, God’s plan as given through Joseph as he interpreted Pharoah’s dream is well in progress. We read where the seven years of abundance had ended and, just as God had said, the seven years of famine began. As the people of Egypt began to feel the impact of the famine, they "cried to Pharaoh for food." Pharoah directed them to, "Go to Joseph and do what he tells you." So the nation of Egypt, in need of help, found that help through the obedient adherence to God’s command to save a fifth of the harvest during each year of abundance to help cover the needs during the famine. This surplus was now distributed as "Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians." Notice that God’s plan originally was seen as only aiding the Egyptians. But, as happens more often than not, God had an even greater plan in place.

For as we read, all countries started to come to Egypt because the famine was severe everywhere, including Canaan where Joseph’s father and brothers lived. Chapter 42 begins with Jacob sending his sons to Egypt to but grain so they can survive.

Now remember that Jacob believes Joseph is dead. This is why he is afraid to send Benjamin with the other sons. After already losing his youngest son (Joseph) before, Jacob is concerned that something might happen to Benjamin. So he keeps him at home.

Meanwhile, Joseph’s brothers don’t have any idea what happened to him after they sold him off to slavery and we get no indication at this point that they even care. So they head to Egypt to get grain as ordered by their father. Little do they know that they are to reunite with their long lost youngest brother and find out that the dreams they despised so much before they got rid of him were about to come true. It was all part of God’s greater plan…for the famine was just the circumstance that served as a backdrop for reunion and reconciliation.

To further illuminate how God has a greater plan, I will share with you a true story…one close to me. The names are withheld because they aren’t as important as the lesson.

A white man fell in love with an African American woman. He felt so excited about finding this love in his life and couldn’t wait to tell his parents. So he calls them and all appears to be fine until he tells them that his new found love was black. Silence fell on the other end of the phone line…a silence that would not end there. For the man’s father would not speak to his son for the next 1 ½ years. The man’s mother changed her heart a month after the news had been broken and would support the relationship to include attending the wedding 9 months later…a wedding that the father refused to attend. The son and his new wife would visit home several times over the course of the next year and a half. Their mother would welcome them but the father would always conveniently be away.

The son was upset about the way his father acted and was unsure how to respond. So he went to prayer and read the scriptures, coming to only one conclusion…he had to respond in love. And so he did. He sent cards and he sent gifts at birthdays and holidays…never receiving anything in return. The daughter-in-law never said a cross word about her father-in-law, despite the way he had treated her. This amazed the son but even made him love her more. She was truly a woman of God.

Well, a year and a half passed and the son and wife were invited to come home for a reunion. The son asked about his father and was told by his sister that his father wanted to reconcile. So the son and his wife returned to his hometown and to his home where his father awaited…to reunite with his son…and meet his new daughter-in-law. The son went into the house first.

As he entered his home, there sat his father, on the couch where he always sat before…all would have been the same if it weren’t for the tears rolling down the father’s face. Sobbing, he told the son he was sorry. The son embraced his crying father and said, "it’s Ok…I love you and forgive you." The father didn’t understand. He asked, "How could he be loved or forgiven after the way he had acted?" The son shared that if God could forgive him for the sinner that he was, then he could forgive anyone. The words would transform the father forever.

Next, the father’s new daughter-in-law entered and he saw her for the first time. Again, he broke down in tears. And again, he was embraced, this time by his daughter-in-law who told him she loved him and forgave him. He would from that day on love her like she was one of his own.

So this story had a happy ending…one that would make anyone who hears it feel good. But God had a greater plan. You see, the father, my father, started to attend church every week after the magic moment of forgiveness and turned his life over to Jesus. On the surface, one would think that God’s plan was about reconciling my wife and I to my father. But instead, it was all about God reconciling my father to Himself. My wife and I were just a part of a greater plan.

So never estimate what God might be doing in, around and through you, particularly as you interact with others. He might just be using you in a special way to carry out His plan…a plan that is greater than what we can comprehend.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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