The Source of our Blessings

Dear Friends,

Genesis 41:41-57 shows that dealing with success can be just as great a problem as dealing with trials and difficulties. The great temptation with success and blessings is to think that we have been the source of them. We can easily forget that it is God Himself who has supplied everything.

Joseph was under great pressure as Pharaoh showered him with riches and status and gave him an Egyptian name and an Egyptian wife, whose father was a priest in worship of the sun. Pharaoh was Egyptianising Joseph. However, Joseph named his two children Manasseh and Ephraim. These are Hebrew names which speak of God restoring Joseph and helping him to forget the past pain. They also acknowledge God as the source of Joseph’s blessings. The culture we live in seeks to pressure us to compromise. Two important areas in which we need to submit to God are our use of time and money.

The passage also reminds us that Joseph was immediately active in getting the job done. A living friendship with Jesus leads to active service of the Lord. The Bible teaches us to give ourselves fully to the Lord’s work (1 Corinthians 15:58). In verse 57, the nations are coming to Egypt and this is a reminder of God’s promise to Abraham that the whole world would be blessed through his descendants (Genesis 12).

God’s Blessing David O’Mara

From AM Pastor’s Bulletin, 7 November 2021