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The curiosity to seek…. (devo reflection)

Exodus 1:1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 

We started our verse by verse journey of Genesis on October 4, 2024. We finished it on September 20, 2025. It took us eleven months and two weeks to go verse by verse through the entire chapter of Genesis. That feels significant as we turn the page into Exodus today. I want us to take a moment and soak that in.

Exodus 1:2-5 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.

Do I remember every single word, every event, every act of faith in Genesis? I do not. I suspect you don’t either, and that’s ok. What I do remember is all those fleshly, fallible, messy humans–how God used them in spite of, or maybe because of, their messiness–and God’s fierce love, His amazing grace, His incredible mercy.

Exodus 1:6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 

Lord of the Seeking, Thank You for the time and space to go verse by verse through the book of Genesis. Thank You for the curiosity to seek You, to look for You, to question what we don’t get and what we’ve always assumed. Thank You for showing up, again and again, as we seek to know You more. Please be with us through Exodus as well. Amen.

Exodus 1:7 but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.

Have a blessed day.

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Patience, trust, and faith…. (devo reflection)

Genesis 50:22-23 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.

Patience, trust, and faith in something in which I have no control are three things that are incredibly difficult for me. Even as I type these words, I know they don’t make a lot of sense, and yet, they are true. I don’t like waiting, I have a hard time trusting others, and I’m most comfortable if I am the one in control (because I know what I’m capable of and what I am willing and able to do).

Genesis 50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 

Joseph’s last words were words of faith: “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” It would take 400 years for his bones to make it out of Egypt, but eventually, they did, and Joseph, even with his last breath, trusted that God would provide.

Genesis 50:25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

Lord of the impatient, Thank You for Joseph’s example of faith, even with his last breath, even though it would take centuries for his bones to make it out of Egypt. Help me to trust You. Help me to wait, as patiently as possible, on You and in You. Help me to have faith in You alone. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 50:26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Have a blessed day.

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Our good, His glory…. (devo reflection)

Genesis 50:18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

Verse 20, along with Romans 8:28, are two of my favorites when life doesn’t work out the way *I* had planned. God gives us free will. Free will plus messy humanity equals mistakes and missteps, pain and often heartache. But God is sovereign and good, merciful and compassionate. He can and will and does work all things for our good and His glory. 

Genesis 50:19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?

I could write out a looong list of things that didn’t turn out the way *I* wanted, times when people acted selfishly, times when I could not for the life of me figure out how God could use a situation (whatever it was) for my good or for His glory. Yet, He does IF we let Him, IF we trust Him, IF we let go of our hopes and desires and trust that even if it doesn’t make sense, somehow, our merciful Savior will work this for our good and HIs glory. 

Genesis 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for my rock solid faith that if I allow, You WILL work all things for my good and Your glory. Help me to let go of my will, of the way I think things should go, and to trust Your mercy and compassion. Always. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 50:21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

Have a blessed day. 

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On love and forgiveness…. (devo reflection)

Genesis 50:14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.

Commentary posits that the “instructions” the brothers claim their father left was probably a fabrication because “They didn’t feel they had the moral right to ask Joseph for mercy, since they sinned against him so greatly.” Sit with that one for a moment.

Genesis 50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 

The Joseph of Genesis is often in scripture alluded to as a precursor to Jesus. But, to me, the thought that I can’t ask Jesus for forgiveness because I have sinned too greatly just doesn’t register, and it’s not because I’m not capable of great sin. It is because I know that my Savior loves me deeply, fiercely, completely. He wants a relationship with me, but He will not force it.

Genesis 50:16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 

Mighty Savior, Thank You for Your fierce love, a love which leaves a door open for me to return to You ALWAYS, no matter what. Thank You that You don’t force me into relationship with You. You allow me to choose You. Even when I have made really bad choices, if I will humble myself and return to You, You are always there. Help me to never take Your love and grace for granted. Amen.

Genesis 50:17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

Have a blessed day.

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Honoring others…. (devo reflection)

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All of my sorrows…. (devo reflection)

Genesis 50:6 Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

I don’t think, as a culture, we know how to handle death and grieving well. I know, as an individual, I struggle with both the permanence of the physical loss and the enormity of the emotional pain. Should I cry and sob, scream and wail, exhausting myself with the effort of expending all the emotion? Is it better to stop the tears, bottled up the grief?

Genesis 50:7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt— 

1 Thess 4:13 reminds me that we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Psalm 56:8 reminds me that God knows every tear that I cry, all of my sorrows, so I know the process of grief and grieving is important to the process of healing, and I know that my Creator cares about my grief and pain.

Genesis 50:8 besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. 

God of the grieving, Thank You for the reminder that You care about our heartaches. Help us learn to grieve fully our earthly losses so that we don’t get stuck in our grief and pain. Thank You for the reminder that we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Amen.

Genesis 50:9 Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.

Have a blessed day.

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Human messiness and divine grace…. (devo reflection)

Genesis 50:1 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. 

We have seen Israel from the very beginning, from the time Jacob came out clutching his brother’s heel. He lived a long and storied life, with many positive steps in the service of God. He also had many, many mistakes and missteps along the way. 

Genesis 50:2-3 Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

Just like with everyone, we have to look at his life as a whole. We can’t discount him because of the rocky bits. It’s important to remember how powerfully God used him–warts and all, human messiness and all, mistakes, missteps, and all.

Genesis 50:4 When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him,

God of second chances, Thank You for this look at the full range of human messiness and divine grace. Thank You that You can and will and do use us, even in spite of our failings and mistakes. Help us not to discount ourselves or each other because of that messy humanity. Help us to love as You love–deeply, fiercely, completely. Amen.

Genesis 50:5 ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’ ”

Have a blessed day. 

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The hope of eternity…. (devo reflection)

Genesis 49:30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 

Today’s scripture reminds me of a poem by Henry Van Dyke entitled “Gone from My Sight”. The poem talks about dying as being borne on a ship to an eternal shore. When loved ones are gone from our sight here, they are welcomed on Heaven’s eternal shore by those who have gone before.

Genesis 49:31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. 

Like many, I have a difficult time with the idea of saying an earthly goodbye, so the idea of those souls who have gone before, standing on that distant shore and welcoming my loved one, I find very peaceful. Verse 31 brings all that to mind for me.

Genesis 49:32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”

Lord of the grieving, Thank You that we do not grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thess 4:13). Thank You for the hope of eternity with You and our loved ones who rest in Your eternal peace. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 49:33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

Have a blessed day.

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Painfully slow, yet absolutely true…. (devo reflection)

Genesis 49:26 Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

Yesterday’s reflection may have seemed a bit of a non sequitur, as it veered wildly from the scripture, but yesterday was the end of a three-day hike for me & the hubs, and I have been dealing with a painful running spill, so pain and moving forward through it, in spite of it, had been on my mind.

Genesis 49:27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

I am not some expert on moving forward. I am in no way trying to downplay the pain of loss. My injuries, though mild in the grand scheme of things, hurt. A lot. As I was hiking, I was reflecting on the fact that they hurt less now than when they happened, how painful they were initially, and how gradual that healing, that moving forward happened, but it did happen. Painfully slow, yet absolutely true.

Genesis 49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.

God of the Wilderness, Thank You for the beauty of Your creation, for the introspection that comes as I hike in that beauty. Thank You for the healing that happens, albeit so incredibly slowly that it’s easy to miss sometimes. Help us to hold on to hope, hold on to You, always. Amen.

Genesis 49:29 Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

Have a blessed day.

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Moving forward…. (devo reflection)

Genesis 49:21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. 

Sometimes life is just painful—mentally, physically, emotionally—just difficult. And that stinks. There is no easy, painless way forward. Survival is often the only goal.

Genesis 49:22-23 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.  With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.

But eventually, we begin to find a way forward. Slowly. Often painfully. It’s not easy, but it’s doable. And even though there are setbacks and missteps, the rawness of those early days is eventually abates.

Genesis 49:24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

God of the hurting, Thank You for healing, for moving forward, no matter how slowly or painfully. Thank You that we don’t stay stuck in survival mode, that You are with us always, that You are making a way in every wilderness, even if we cannot yet perceive it. Amen.

Genesis 49:25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb.

Have a blessed day.