Growth In Egypt
“But the Israelites were fruitful, increased rapidly, multiplied, and became extremely numerous so that the land was filled with them.” – Exodus 1:7 CSB
A human baby spends nine months in the mother’s womb before entering the world. An elephant spends nearly two years in the womb! The womb is a place of safety, comfort, growth, and development. But when there is no more room to grow, the water breaks and the baby comes forth.
Israel entered Egypt as a family of seventy people. Four hundred years later, they would leave as a nation of more than two million. In Egypt, Israel grew in safety and relative comfort. As Pastor David Guzik said in his commentary, “Egypt was like a womb.” I like that. God sent a family to Egypt to preserve them during a famine, and He used that place as a safe haven for them to grow and mature into a nation.
Many times in our lives, the Lord keeps us in a place for a season to do the same with us to grow us and develop us. When we have matured in that “womb” where He has placed us, the water breaks, and it is time to move on. It is important that we do not despise small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10). God is using the place where He has you right now to do a work in you. When the time is right, He will send you forward. Until then, embrace where you are it is by divine design.
Agape, Frank
Looking For Opportunity
…“Why do you look so sad today?” Genesis 40:7b csb
When we go through trying times and painful seasons in life, we often stop looking outward to those who are in need. We become consumed with our own struggles and fail to notice others around us. Joseph had every reason to do just that. He was in prison for a crime he did not commit. Falsely accused by a woman, he lost his position and was thrown into prison.
Joseph is a remarkable man to study. He had already been betrayed by his brothers and sold as a slave. He was purchased as property and later cast aside because of a false accusation. Yet in our text, we find Joseph concerned for two criminals in Pharaoh’s prison. Despite the painful circumstances of his life, he remained attentive to the needs of others and ready to minister.
Where did such character come from? Joseph never lost hope in the God of his fathers. That hope freed him from despair. He trusted the Lord, committed his ways to God, and rested in God’s faithfulness. When we constantly look inward at what others have done to us, how we feel, or what we lack, we miss the opportunities God places before us.
It was through the cupbearer that Joseph ministered to that God eventually introduced him to Pharaoh. Had Joseph ignored these men and become consumed with his own pain, he may have remained in prison longer than God intended. Paul, another man who suffered greatly, declared, “The things that happened to me have actually advanced the gospel” (Philippians 1:12–13). Paul saw his chains and used them as an opportunity.
We also have opportunities right where we find ourselves today. Let us look for them and trust the Lord’s faithfulness, just as Joseph did.
Agape,
Frank