Daily Devotion for August 17, 2017
Prayers
Scripture
Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Simple Gifts is a Shaker song written and composed in 1848 by a hardscrabble Maine farmer, Joseph Brackett. The Shakers would use it as a dance song as well as a hymn.
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.
Music and Lyrics by Joseph Brackett (1848)
For a New Day
Lord, the newness of this day
Calls me to an untried way;
Let me gladly take the road,
Give me strength to bear my load.
Thou my guide and helper be —
I will travel through with Thee.
Prayer for Deliverance
Dear Lord, grant me, I beseech you, your divine helping grace. Endow me with patience and strength to endure my tribulations with complete submission to your will. You know my misery and suffering. I flee to you, my only hope and refuge, for relief and comfort, trusting to your infinite love and compassion; that in due time, you will deliver me from all the trials of this life and turn my distress into comfort. I rejoice in your mercy. I exalt and praise your holy name, oh Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever.
Meditation
[Submission in faith as a help to enduring tribulation.]
Benediction
Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted me as a living member of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have blessed me with the grace of forgiveness through the sacrifice He made for me and for all people. Send me now into the world in peace, and grant me strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord.
Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.
When to Pray
“Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.”
~ Corrie Ten Boom
Genesis 42:1-8 (ESV)
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt [1]
When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.”
So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.
Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them.
“Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them.
Notes on the Scripture
If you can recall what we read in Genesis 37, the main reason Joseph got into so much trouble with his brothers, and was sold to slave traders, was the haughty-sounding dreams he kept having. For example:
ow the dream has finally come to pass, after 13 or 14 years! The drought, which has extended from the headwaters of the Nile all the way through the Middle East, has forced the tribes of Canaan to come to Egypt, the only place in reach that has stored food. In fact, the dream now seems to have an extra level of meaning, for Joseph appeared in it as a sheaf of grain which stood upright while those of the others bowed down; his dream foretold that he would not only rule, but also be the supply of life-giving food.
One might wonder that the ten brothers might not recognize their own brother, but it is not merely age that has changed Joseph. He is dressed as an Egyptian noble, very different in appearance from a shepherd of Canaan; and plus, the brothers can hardly stare at him, since they are kneeling with their faces in the floor!
We must remember, although Joseph has saved Egypt from starvation, he has also saved his family from starvation. “God works in mysterious ways,” it is often said, and none more mysterious than this. By plotting to murder him, and giving him in chains to a slave caravan, his brothers have played their part in God’s plan to ensure the prosperity of Abraham’s seed.
