Genesis 42-45
“for God SENT me before you to preserve life”
“For God SENT me before you to preserve a remnant…”
“So it was not you who SENT me here but God.”
(Genesis 45: 5, 7 & 8)
Oh Sent One..
Does God ever allow and yes, even SEND us to a place of darkness if only for us to find that it is the very place where He will bring life and light not only to us but to the world around us?
One of the prayers that I have had since finding out of Dasah’s diagnosis is that both her and Sophie would be givers of life. I have been praying that their lives would give life to other children in unexpected ways. That other parents in the same position as us, would hear of their story and choose life for the child they carry with a fatal diagnosis. I have prayed that Sophie and Dasah’s story may turn the heart of a woman with a healthy child growing inside of her womb, who is about to choose abortion, to instead choose life. I have prayed that our little girls’ lives might lead us to a brother or sister for them, born perhaps not of my womb, who would get the chance at a life in a home with a family that adores them because of their sister’s lives. I have prayed, that we, their parents, in walking this journey would steward well the gift of their lives to us. That we would step into the platforms we never wanted but now have to speak on grief, loss, surrender, the sanctity of life, and be ourselves life-givers to others in the midst of our own sadness. And I have prayed that our little girls would lead others to the one true God, the true LIFE GIVER, Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and THE LIFE (John 14:6). To live this way is a daily surrender to the ONE who SENT us to this place. To let Him refine, restore and meet us in it. He has not sent us to this place in vain, as a result of some random genetic glitch (or whatever else has caused the lives of our children to unfold in the way that it has, of which our doctor’s still have no clear answer for). He is in our story and even as I write that with tears in my eyes, I am asking God to help me remember that on the days where it feels like the sorrow is too great, where I watch others walk a seemingly easier road and I wonder what He’s sent us here for. Yet just like Joseph, whose brothers thought they were the ultimate cause of his slavery but Joseph knew and declared “so it was not you who sent me here, but God.”, so we too know that it isn’t simply a medical issue that has brought us here today but as hard as it may be to swallow, God Himself is intimately involved and yes, even orchestrating this part of our journey. I do not understand all the ways His sovereignty (total control) works or plays out in our lives, but I know that I serve a good God. A God who is loving and kind and for us. A God who continues to demonstrate these aspects of His character to generations past and generations future. He is involved in our lives. He is redeeming the broken pieces and He is sending those who have a relationship with Him into a broken world to take their own broken pieces and be vehicles of bringing His light, His life into the watching world. Joseph was not the only one sent to preserve life. So are we as Christ-followers. Sent to be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). Sent to be the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14). Sent to be witnesses of His power and grace to the ends of the earth (Acts 1: 8). Sent to be ministers of reconciliation, to be ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5). Sent to show the watching world that Jesus is our greatest treasure. This story He is writing for us is not the way I would choose to show the watching world that He is my treasure. I’m sure that there were many times when Joseph would not have chosen the story written for him to be a vehicle to saving God’s people. “God, isn’t there another way?” is what our hearts cry often. And Jesus cried out the same when He was about to go to the cross to take on the sins of the world. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39) And so we are very much not alone in this cry, Jesus Himself walked a similar road and countless faithful men and women chose to honor God in WHERE EVER He sent them and so have been lights of His power and grace to the world. Oh how I pray that we would be a generation that reflects what generations past have, that we would live as SENT ones, walking with God in the midst of the unknown and the dark places where at times we can wonder what purpose they could possibly play in the grand story. That the way this generation of believers walks through season of darkness and light would reflect and show the world that Jesus is our great treasure, that He’s worth knowing, that He’s worthy following, that He’s worthy of our worship in any circumstance and any season.
Questions for Reflection:
- What does Joseph recognize about God as he is reunited with his brothers?
- What are ways you’ve seen God at work in seasons of darkness?
- How does knowing God is at work affect how you view your current season of life?
- Where is He sending you to be a light for Him?
Tomorrow’s passage (Day 25)
Finishing my time with Joseph in Genesis 46-50
Sweet Life Giving Moments!
Thursday night, Kevin came home!!! So Dasah, Toby and I made sure he had a proper welcome!
Before my mom left, she threw Dasah the most special and delicious tea party!
So thankful that my mom and Dasah’s Nini could spend the week with us while Kevin was away. What a sweet sweet memory!
- A Time to be Silent and a Time to Speak - October 29, 2020
- Teaching Them to Hope, Birthday After Birthday. - January 15, 2020
- A Taste of Hope Fulfilled – Briella Dawn’s Birth Story - August 3, 2018
