Genesis 50:1 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him.
I decided to go to Genesis 50 today because of a verse that is coming up in the text. But when I began today’s reflection and saw where this chapter begins, with a death, a loss, I wondered if maybe God had other ideas in sending me here. You see, spring is a tough time for me. I lost a lot of people I love in the springtime, and every spring, that grief, that loss wraps itself around me, dragging my heart down.
Genesis 50:2 Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him,
What strikes me as I read this morning, though, is verse 4, “When the days of mourning had passed….” I don’t think grief is a switch that you can flip and move on, but I am reminded by this verse that Jesus is my center and that no matter how deep my grief, I cannot get stuck in this place of mourning, permanently moored here. If Jesus is my center, then I need to keep following Him, even as I grieve, even as I move slowly, painfully forward.
Genesis 50:3 taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
Precious Savior, Thank You for knowing me and loving me. Thank You for understanding my grief and my mourning. Thank You for reminding me not to get mired in my grief but to keep You at my center. Help me to cling to You, even in my struggle. Amen.
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…
Have a blessed day.