Genesis 42:27 At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack.
Commentary says of today’s verses, “We are tested by what Jesus gives us….” That brought to mind both the intro to the Emergency Broadcast System test (“This is a test. This is only a test.”) and a quote (attributed to Eleanor Powell) I heard growing up, “What we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.”
Genesis 42:28 “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.” Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”
I think, just like with the brothers (and with Joseph), we all can approach trials in the same manner. We can either think “This is a test. Can I endure? Can I survive?” or we can think “God’s given me gifts. Can I use them to navigate this situation? Can I use this situation to develop gifts He’s given me that still need maturing?”
Genesis 42:29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said,
Precious Savior, Perspective is so very important. If I approach life’s situations as tests–Can I survive? Can I endure?–I miss an opportunity to draw closer to You in ways that I cannot when life is smooth. Help me in my perspective and my attitude. Help me to develop the gifts You’ve given me so that I can be a gift, an asset to You. Thank You that You are always with me, that I do not have to do this life alone. Amen.
Genesis 42:30 “The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land.
Have a blessed day.