Theme of the Week: Attitude of Gratitude
Bible Verse: You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. Genesis 50:20
Scripture Reading: Genesis 50:15-21
Ever had one of those experiences that was difficult at the time, but later, maybe much later, you looked back on differently? The passage of time allowed you to see that event as something other than the immediate experience. This doesn’t change what happened. Some experiences are truly horrific, and no growth or lesson learned or empathy makes what happened a good thing.
But sometimes, with the passage of time, we can see that despite the bad thing that happened to us, something good has happened that would not have if we had not gone through our own experience.
It may be a personal growth issue, perhaps a deeper empathy for others, maybe an entirely different view of life, or an opportunity to do something that wouldn’t have been there without your experience.
Joseph could look back and see something like that. Abused by family, employer, and friends, Joseph went through some dark times. Yet his statement in Genesis 50:20 isn’t just a theological truth, it is an experiential one as well.
He may not have been grateful in the ecstatically happy sense, but gratitude can appear in a variety of ways. Joseph was grateful not for what happened, but for what could happen because of it.
Maybe it’s too soon to see what God is doing. That’s okay. But maybe it’s time to look back and see what God has done through circumstances that you would have rather avoided and to be grateful, not for the event, that can forever be difficult, perhaps even evil, but that God is a God of redemption and made something good come from it.
Prayer: God, thank you for the events in my life that have helped to shape me into the person I am, and continue to shape me into the person you want me to be. Help me to see your hand in all my life.
Reflection: Where have you been able to see God’s hand in your past? What situation or circumstances are you waiting for him to redeem?
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