Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” Genesis 42.21
I’m going to admit something here, which you may very well already know. I talk to myself. Maybe it is escalating in my dotage, but I’ve been doing it all my life. In my early 20’s I was asked in a job interview if I talked to myself. Honest. I expect you can guess what flashed through my mind. “Have I been talking to myself out loud while I was filling out the job application?” This was back in the day when you showed up in person for a job interview, dressed in your Sunday best, filled out copious pieces of paper, and then waited for someone to interview you. While you waited, you were closely observed by several persons who awkwardly walked through the reception area for no conceivable reason while you thought to yourself that you really hoped they were nice people and that this job would be a good fit for you and that the salary was better than minimum wage ($1.60/hour on my first job).
I responded to her question with a rather timid, “Yes, sometimes.” She then shared, “Well, that’s a plus, because everyone who works here talks to themselves and if we hire someone who gets weirded-out by that type of thing, they leave within a couple of months and we have to start all over.” I worked in that office for 9 years.
Joseph’s brothers got caught talking to themselves. Talking to one another actually; thinking that no one else around them could understand what they were saying because they were speaking in their native language of Hebrew while in the land of Egypt. But there was one person, the most important person in the room, who understood every word.
If you’ve not yet jumped into studying of the Life of Joseph with us this Fall (or fallen a little behind), I hope you might read that last paragraph as the blurb on the back of a novel and be spurred to jump in right now at Chapters 41 and 42 of the Book of Genesis.
As we have been discovering, Joseph and his brothers’ stories are our stories. There’s favoritism and jealousy; there are false accusations and years-long, life-long, consequences; there are endings and new beginnings; there is some maturing humility and some staying stuck in past behaviors and attitudes. Human drama. But …
But God! God is present and working, assuring His plan and purposes will unfold in His time. Because God meant it for good!
Trusting the Lord with you for His work in us and amongst us, Colleen
Coming up …
Women’s Coffee & Conversation, Saturday November 9, 10 to 11:30 AM at our church. Casual women’s gathering for connecting and encouragement.