I have read the book of Genesis several times... I mean it, probably 6 or 7 times. Every time I read it I learn more but this time is so much different than any of the times past. I started to pray that God would show me lessons that I needed, and show me how to apply these stories that are thousands of years old to my life now. In my previous times of reading this book I would learn things like I was in Sunday school. I would study family trees and could recite some of the stories. I always got something from those stories, mainly just how POWERFUL our God is, but I don’t really think I will ever be asked to sacrifice someone in my family like Abraham was told to. This time I wanted to learn something deeper- not just memorize the stories. So that was a prayer I prayed and I think that is one of the best prayers I have ever prayed. Every time I sit down to read my Bible I ask God to reveal what he wants me to learn from the passages and how to apply them to MY life. In every sentence there’s a lesson. Had you told me just a year ago that I could take away so much from GENESIS of all books I would’ve laughed, but now I want to share some of the lessons I have learned, so starting from the beginning…
God created us in his image. I know this is a common thing we hear and something that is so easy to kind of just let roll off but think about it. God (who is perfect) saw what he had made of Earth and thought it needed more, humans! Then with each person He made including me and you He made in His image as He wanted. He sees something missing and creates another person to fill in that gap. YOU have something that God thought was missing from this Earth (genesis 1:27).
When you are 100% obedient to God there is no shame. God is so pure and when you follow Him you will feel no shame. Before Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they were naked and felt no shame because they had been 100% obedient to God up to that point. (Genesis 2:24).
Okay I can’t narrow this next one to just one verse because it is something I see constantly in this book and actually throughout the entire Bible, but it is always giving back to God. So often people look at you and see what your accomplishments are or see what you have gotten and congratulate you for it, but remember that you didn’t earn anything- God gave it all to you. This one is a hard one to swallow because you do have to work hard. I compare it to school or sports. I work really hard to get good grades so when someone is impressed or proud of them what I want to do is say “oh thanks, yeah it’s really hard work I’m just glad it paid off.” But really God helped me. I wouldn’t have what I have and I wouldn’t be able to be calm and confident even when things got hard without God, so He definitely helped. The response should be “I got those grades (or I did good on my race or at my game etc) with God’s help.”
You will be accepted by doing what is right. You may not be accepted by your peers because they are of this world (believe me I have had to miss out on plenty of “fun” because it would’ve been sinful and I’m not always accepted for it, often I’m picked on a bit for it) but you will be accepted by those you should want to be accepted by. I want to actually write this verse out for y’all because I think it is so powerful.
“ If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It’s desire is for you, but you must rule over it. “ -Genesis 4:7
Sin wants you. The Devil fights for you every single day and you have to fight that. We are trying to be accepted by God. Be accepted into heaven. To do that we have to fight against sin.
Okay this next one I focused on more than most. I first heard of this in Luke and at the time I was having a very hard time forgiving myself and I felt overwhelmed with unworthiness and it spoke to me more than some of the other lessons. I felt a physical release. God does not know sin. Yes he knows it exists but he cannot be around it. He can’t see it. He has to turn away from it. God knows you despite your sin and you have to talk to him and let him know YOU! Make him your buddy. Be best friends. Go hang out with him. Talk to him constantly. Tell him about your day your successes, your failures, what was fun about your day, tell him your stupid jokes. He doesn’t know you based on sin, he doesn’t even know sin, so do NOT please please do not tell yourself that he defines you based on your sin like I did. I promise that lie will make you miserable. (Genesis 6:3).
When you are studying the Bible, look up the questions you have. It is okay to question faithfully. You are not to challenge- that is different. Some things are just different now and God works in “mysterious ways” but what is so cool about the Bible is you often get to see what God was doing. I go to https://enduringword.com/ (I actually have the app. It breaks down verses and explains them in detail) typically I use that for understanding a verse or when I want to go deeper. I also use https://www.gotquestions.org/ (This one may not be as reliable but it has always done what I have needed and I also always make sure I can get the same answer in multiple places) (Genesis 11-12).
God has BIG plans for you. You may not be one of the Bible hero’s. I know I’m not, but God intentionally put you into this world and he created you with a plan. He saw something that He could use you for. You are so small in the grand scheme of things, and God has big big plans for you even if you don’t know what they are yet (this has actually been one of my more recent prayers) (Genesis 12:2-3).
Tithe. Even thousands of years ago Abraham tithed. God sees and knows your struggles and even if that is financial troubles you are showing God faith by giving him the money you don’t feel you have. (Genesis 14:20).
Do not take more than you can give back. Do not go into debt for someone. That can possibly start so many problems. Trust God. Rely on God. Do NOT rely on someone else. (Genesis 14:23).
I think this verse speaks for itself but it’s something I want to live for.
“ I am God Almighty. Live in my presence and be blameless. “ -Genesis 17:1
Live in my presence. Wow. I know a lot of people who choose a word for each year and this year mine was present. I want to be where I am standing. God says to live in his presence. Be where God is, or even better bring God with you everywhere. Live with God always a part of you. Keep Him with you. Keep Him present in your life. Just wow.
Okay here’s another cheesy one but just because you hear a topic over and over doesn’t mean it should be ignored. It means it’s probably more important. Anything is possible with God. In chapter 18 God told Abraham’s wife, Sarai/Sarah that she will have a child in her old age. At the time she thought it would be impossible to have a child but about a year later she got pregnant. What may seem impossible or highly unlikely in this world, is not impossible for God. (Genesis 18:9-15).
Do what is good to God and he will protect you. Being with God and following Him does not mean life will be easy breezy. In fact, it will be hard. The closer you are to Jesus the more the devil will want to take you. Also God does not do his works in comfortable situations. It is when you are in uncomfortable situations that he uses you. In this story, Lot, Abraham's nephew, was living in an evil city and was hosting some angels. The people of the city wanted to have sex with the angels. Lot tried to negotiate with them but they were pushing through him and to his door. The angels came out and struck everyone with blindness so they couldn’t find his door again and took Lot back into the house. Then, God had decided he was going to destroy that city and everyone in it, so the angels told Lot to get him and his family out of the city so that they would be saved. That was a very uncomfortable situation for Lot, then he had to leave the town and home he knew, but in that God showed how good He really is. (Genesis 19).
Have unconditional trust in God. He doesn’t want you to just trust Him when things are going good, that’s easy. What’s hard is to trust Him impulsively when things are going “all wrong.” God wants you to RELY on Him. In that same story Lot left immediately and took his family but think about it. They are leaving the town they have lived with everything they own still there knowing it is about to be blown up. That’s not easy to just leave, but that’s what God wanted them to do because God knew what was coming for them and His plan is greater. Lot’s wife looked back and turned to salt. That sounds crazy to us because all she did was look at the town she had been living in that held all of her friends and things she had owned but it represented her distrust in God in that moment, so He turned her to salt. (Genesis 19:26).
This is another one I hear a lot, but seeing it in action puts it into a different perspective for me I guess. Pray for others. Abraham had lied saying that Sarai/Sarah was his sister not his wife, because he was afraid that Abimelech and his kingdom would kill Abraham and for her. God went to Abimelech and told him the truth so that he wouldn’t have done anything sinful with Sarah. Then he confronted Abraham about his lie, and was very generous to him. Abraham then prayed over Abimelech and his family. God healed them and blessed them. Constantly pray for people. Whether y’all are good friends, or you barely know them, or even when you don’t like them. You should always want what is best for someone, so pray for that. (Genesis 20:17).
Share your testimony. Let other people know God and His goodness. Don’t hide miracles that God has given you. There’s a saying “make heaven crowded” and I know that sometimes when you hear something over and over you don't really think about it, but this saying is really saying “bring more people to Christ,” and a way to do that is to share your testimony. Even if you only bring one person closer to God, you have made a major difference. (Genesis 21:6).
So remember how I mentioned Abraham giving up his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering at the very beginning, and that I knew the story but never really got much out of it other than Abraham was a very faithful man? Well, this time I did get something out of it:
“ It will be provided.” -Genesis 22:14
How meaningful? In this case the angels provided a ram for the burnt offering rather than Isaac, like I said the likelihood of me being asked to give one of my family members as a burnt offering is very slim, but I do know now that God will provide for me. He will not let me go without the necessities. He sees me. He knows how I am doing and what I need and he will provide for me.
God is a big romantic. He saw Adam and decided he needed a companion, so he created Eve. We will know when we find the one. We should look for a relationship built around Christ. Someone who can help us grow closer to God, and someone who can protect us or care for us. Relationships are one of the most misconceived things in this world. You will hear so many things that you should look for in a relationship and so many different things your relationship should do for you that is not what God says. The world wants you to find someone that checks so many boxes and they have to do so much and just like most things they have unrealistic standards for relationships, but God just wants you to have someone that brings you closer to Him. He wants you to create a family that is for Him. (Genesis 24).
Don’t forget to give thanks. It’s so easy to pray for things when you need comfort or help, but once you have it to forget all about it. I know I do that so often. I pray before every test, but when I get my grade back I forget to thank God, and even worse I often then pride myself on the hard work it took to get the grade. Work on giving thanks more than you ask for something. God has given you so much more than what you have asked for, so give him thanks for everything! (Genesis 24:27).
Crave honesty and don’t be afraid of rejection. Okay so here’s the thing I’ve learned it’s not an easy lesson but life is SO much easier once you do learn this and my idea of self worth is much more constant. There will be people who don’t like you, and teams you won’t make, and colleges or programs that won’t accept you. It’s a part of life and it is what it is. No matter how hard you work or what you do you will not make it through life without rejection, but do not try to convince yourself that you weren’t rejected, and don’t crave the easy answer. Sometimes- actually most times- it is easier to hear the “compliment sandwich” the ”you’re really great at this but we just can’t take you but strive because anyone else would be lucky to have you with them,” but at the same time you don’t want to be led on. How do you do that? Crave the honesty. Ask the straight forward answer: Do you like me, do I meet the qualifications for this team, am I accepted to this college or program? When you accept the rejection your self worth will naturally detach itself. (Genesis 24:49).
Fear God. I’ve heard this a lot and for a very very long time I thought it meant be afraid of God. It was something I heard and read about but it never made sense so I honestly sort of ignored it. Why would I be afraid of God? How am I supposed to build a relationship if I’m afraid? And doesn’t the Bible also say do not be afraid? After reading about it this most recent time I learned it doesn’t mean be afraid of God, rather have respect for Him. I think about it similarly to parents, coaches, teachers, any authoritative figure. I am not afraid of any of them, but I do respect them, and don't want to disappoint them. I am a little afraid of what their punishment may be when I do something wrong, and I think it is the same thing with God, and that's what it means by fear God. (Genesis 24:50-52).
Okay, at this point I tend to start getting a bit repetitive, but I think it really just goes to show the importance of the topic. Always always always pray. Nothing is too small for God to listen to. Think about it as talking to your friend, who can fix anything. Every night talk to God, just tell him about your day, thank him for giving you the opportunities to do whatever you did that day. Ask for things. He will listen. He is waiting for you with open arms. He wants to be your best friend, and father all in one. (Genesis 25:21).
Even when bad is surrounding you, God knows you and will protect you. I know that sometimes it feels like everything around you is bad, if you don't believe me go watch the news for just 15 minutes. This world can be so discouraging, and make you feel like things will never get better, but God sees you and will protect you. There was a famine in Egypt, and Isaac and his family were going to take a trip down there, but God came to them and told them that there was a famine, and to stay away. God saw them, and knew that they were righteous people, so He protected them, and He will for you too. (Genesis 26:1-6).
Fear drives sin. In this case, when I say fear I do mean being afraid. I don’t want to say it’s easy, but it is much easier to be sinless whenever you are confident, and comfortable, but when you are afraid you are more prone to sin in order to “protect yourself.” This is why God says so so often to not be afraid. He knows that bad things happen when you are afraid. Abraham lied saying that his wife was his sister, because he was afraid other townspeople would kill him to be with her. People cheat on their schoolwork, because they are afraid of getting a bad grade. Sports players take drugs, because they are afraid of losing. (Genesis 26:7).
You are an influence. By sinning you can bring sin and guilt to others, but also by living righteously, you can bring others to Christ. It is truly all up to you. I think often we tend to forget that everything we do can, and will affect someone else, even if we don’t see it. I definitely do. I also think that it is easier to go “Ok so what if I make a mistake? I am making my own mistake, and it doesn't matter to anyone else,” but that is not true. We should be double checking how something could affect someone else. (Genesis 26:10-11).
Jealousy is a bad quality. Yes I know that line is SO OBVIOUS, but it goes beyond that. Jealousy and envy are the beginning of something more. I know personally I often justify my jealousy as wishful thinking. They are so different, but oftentimes wishful thinking can turn into jealousy or comparison. As jealousy grows, it develops into more sin. Have you ever heard that you can’t ever just lie once, because then you will have to make another lie to protect the previous lie? The same thing happens with all sin. When you become jealous of something, very rarely do you just think “aww man I really wish I had her hair [or clothes, or house, or friends, or or or…]” you then begin to thing ugly of that person because they have what you want, and instead of being happy for them, we have to come up with reasons that they’re not just better than us. I never completely agreed with “if someone is bullying you it is because they like you,” because that is not always true, but it doesn’t come from nowhere. The cycle goes: jealousy (sin 1), comparison (sin 2), mental lies (sin 3), gossip and telling others lies (sin 4&5), and then we circle back to the last point I made, because gossip spreads and now you have put other people into sin. (Genesis 26:14) (Genesis 27).
Let God radiate from you, and others will celebrate God because of your light. When you let God, and the holy spirit live within you, others will be able to notice, and they will celebrate with you because of it. In chapter 26 the celebration was a banquet because the people had seen all that God had done with Abraham. Sometimes it can be a lot less formal though. The celebration may just be a quick smile, or a little jump of joy, but it does bring people together. When you allow God to work through you, other people will be drawn to you, and you can then bring people to Christ. Even if you don’t get to see the celebration, you can live with knowing that they have a bigger chance now of getting to celebrate with you in heaven, and that celebration is the ultimate celebration! (Genesis 26:26-30).
I could write a whole book on this next one. This one really stuck with me more than most of these lessons have, and I have really done more thinking and research on it. Do not compare yourself to other people, and be happy for their successes. This often goes with the jealousy thing, because you have to refrain from the jealousy to be happy for someone, and jealousy either stems from comparison or leads to comparison. God created you in His image, meaning He made you exactly how He wanted you to be, and if you let God lead your life, He is putting you exactly where He feels you need to be. (Here’s a little secret. Wherever God wants you to be is where you should be, even if you don’t see it yet.) When you have confidence in what God is doing with you, then you will not see the need to compare yourself to others. Going further, you are then able to see what God is doing with someone else, and be truly happy and excited for them. I feel like being excited for someone else is so important, because if they run into a spot where they are getting nervous about it, you can be there to verify that they are supposed to be there, and help them through it. (Genesis 27).
God’s love for us is constant. I think everyone goes through a time of doubt, or at least hesitancy, but there will be little things around you to remind you that God is all good, and full of love. Jacob did a lot of bad. He faked being Esau (his brother) and stole his blessing, and had Esau sell him his birthright just for a meal. Isaac still deeply loved Jacob, and continued to bless him just as God does for us. We sin so often against God, yet God is always waiting for us with open arms. (Genesis 28:1-4).
Do what will make God happy even without an explanation. That is what faith is, to trust or believe something so deeply that you do not need an explanation to do it. Esau did whatever Isaac asked him to without asking why, or even wondering, because he knew Isaac needed it or it would make him happy, and we should be the same way with God. If God wants us to do something we should do it and not even wonder why, because we know He is all good, and He is doing something good through you. (Genesis 28:6-9).
Do not let your relationship with God be circumstantial. We are called to be faithful and constantly build a relationship with God even when times are hard. Sometimes people tend to think “why would God be doing this to me? I don’t like Him until he puts me back into a comfortable position.” Here’s the thing though, God uses us most during the hard times. Testimony comes from hard times. I have never heard someone go stand on a stage, or write a book, or even just tell me in a casual conversation that they really grew in their faith when God gave them the perfect life and gave them all the money they could ask for, and no one in their family got super sick and they had never had a bad experience in their life and they just know that God was giving them the perfect life. Testimonies, just like fictional books, follow a plot diagram. There’s the beginning which is someone's childhood, then the rising action where you start to see a problem or uncomfortable positions, then the climax hits where you start living 100% for God and trusting everything He is doing for you. After that, sometimes things will start getting better, but sometimes He keeps you there and uses you while you are uncomfortable. Even while you are in your uncomfortable period in life, or in your waiting season, or when you are in a comfortable time, always trust God and uphold a good relationship with Him. (Genesis 28:20-21).
I want to start this one off with a story. Three groups of sheep were all lying next to a well, because it was where they were watered, but they couldn’t get water until a large stone was moved by their shepherd. The shepherd would wait until all the sheep were there before rolling over the stone, and once they were done drinking he would put it back. God does the same thing! When a group is together waiting faithfully like these sheep, He comes and “waters us.” These sheep waited by the well knowing their shepherd would come move the rock, as we should wait for God to come move our obstacles. Find a group, whether that be a church group, or just a small group of friends from school that you can worship, and fellowship with. (Genesis 29:2-3).
Be together, and gather in the name of the Lord. The shepherds wouldn't move the rock for their sheep until all of them were gathered around, because that’s what was productive. God is our shepherd, and wants us to gather while we wait for Him. (Genesis 29:8).
We’re going back to relationships. Everyone should have a level of standards and not settle for less. Like I mentioned earlier, God wants our relationships centered around Him and He created them so that we could help each other grow closer to Him. God is love, and He wants us to love each other deeply, especially our spouses. Jacob wanted to marry Rachel, but had to work for 7 years. You know he really did love her being that he did work, but then after the 7 years, Laban gave him Leah, so he worked another 7 years, meaning that for 14 years he acted as a slave just to marry the girl he wanted. That is the kind of love that we should crave, and work for. (Genesis 29:18-27).
God doesn’t forget you, he forgets what you put your worth in. throughout the bible, you hear “God remembered…” which would imply that He forgot. I know some people that really struggled with that, but when we look deeper into those stories you notice that God never leaves you, and He is always with you. So what is he remembering? Well we tend to put our worth into other things than God, and that is what he forgets. Jacob's wife, Rachel was not able to have a baby, but her sister Leah was, and that really affected Rachel. God saw that Jacob loved Rachel more, so to make up for that He allowed Leah to have a baby, and thought that was fair. Rachel prayed and prayed about it, and then God remembered that she put so much emphasis on whether or not she could get pregnant, so then he allowed her to. (Genesis 30:22-23).
Surround yourself with those who find favor in God. There is another saying that you are who you hang out with, and I firmly believe that, because like I said earlier, you are always an influence, but everyone else is too. You are constantly being influenced. When you hang around people who live for God, you will become more like them. (Genesis 30:27).
Rely on God. there will be things that do not go how you think they should, and that’s just how it is. When that happens though, lean on God. He can get you through anything. I believe that sometimes He puts us through challenges just to show that we cannot get through without Him. My mom has always said since before I can remember, “If God puts you to it, He will bring you through it.” I swear she would tell me that every single time I ever had a problem no matter how big or small. I got sick of that quote, but when I would sit on it, I would realize how powerful it is. God does not give you something that you cannot handle. Maybe He gives you something that you can’t handle alone, but He doesn’t give you anything that you cannot get through without Him.(Genesis 30).
Fear was Jacob's fatal flaw. Every time I saw that he was afraid I would want to grab his shoulders, shake him, and say “STOP! God is with you, you know that and you make bad decisions every time you’re afraid.” But when I sit back and think about it, I am the same way, and actually most people are. We know deep down that God is always with us, and we don’t have anything to be afraid of, but when a challenge comes before us we become afraid, and try to prepare for something in our own way, which often leads to sin. God is thinking the same thing about us as I felt about Jacob. (Genesis 32).
I have read and heard about the night that Jacob and God wrestled so many times, but I have never understood it. I did some research on it, and studied the story and here's what I came up with... Jacob would not give his burdens to God, but God knew He had to take them from him, because with those burdens and the fear he had (at the time he was about to meet up with his brother Esau, who last he had heard wanted to kill him because of all the wrongdoings he had done to him) were causing him to make bad decisions that were not for God. God came to him that night and wrestled with Jacob, yes, but really He was wrestling/taking his burdens. Think about that for a second. I know that I hold onto my problems for way too long. I am not the quickest to give my burdens to God, but God actually WANTS to take them. I often think of it as His job, that He doesn’t actually care, and it would be easier for Him if I just took care of my own burdens, but this passage shows that God truly wants our burdens, He would even wrestle us for them, so please let Him have them. (Genesis 32:24-32).
We are called to love others like God loves us. His love for us is unconditional, and unchanging. When Esau saw Jacob again after many many years (at least 14, but we can assume more than that), Jacob was afraid of how he would react, because Jacob had done some bad things to Esau, and the last Jacob heard, Esau had planned on killing him. Instead Esau met Jacob with open arms, and was so excited to see his brother again. We are to do the same. People will lie to you, they will find your “weak spot” and use you, people will manipulate you, and people will make fun of you. It will happen and there is nothing you can do that will change that. Sorry. Despite everything people do, you are still supposed to treat them with love. Do not make how much you love someone be circumstantial. It is hard and it is not natural, but that is what separates those who walk with God from those who do not. The walk is not easy, in fact it is very hard, but the reward at the end is way more than anyone could ask for. (Genesis 33:4).
Following that story, Jacob set up an altar and called it God, God of Israel. Jacob was immensely grateful for how Esau treated him. I already talked about being thankful especially to God, but being thankful and being grateful are a bit different. Yes, they are synonyms and if you are just making a statement, they are interchangeable, but when we look deeper they are different.
Thankful: adj. pleased and relieved.
Grateful: adj. feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness
Like I said, very very similar, but there are differences. Being thankful is more of an internal thing, but being grateful is showing how thankful you are. It says being thankful is being pleased- it is more of a constant. This all reminds me of the difference of joy and happiness. A lot of the time what we feel is very similar, but they’re still different. Happiness comes from circumstances, but joy is constant and comes from God. The same thing is here. Being grateful is a feeling you get after someone shows you kindness, but being thankful is something that YOU decide, and it is not based on a circumstance. (Genesis 33:20).
I have touched on this one, but I want to go deeper. Be faithful. Being faithful means to trust God even when you don’t know what is coming. God has a plan for you, and there will be things that you do not understand, but being content and willing to everything God asks shows your faith. We are called to let things go and give them to God, and part of being faithful is knowing that God will take care of you and all your needs. It is a step further than just trusting. It is knowing that God is good, and with you with your best interests at heart at all times, even when things don’t seem to be going in your favor. (Genesis 35:11).
You have probably heard of Joseph and the coat of many colors 1000 times since you were little, and there’s always a similar lesson that goes with it, but this time I want to stem off a little bit. Everyone has a different gift and calling from God. No one gift is better than the other, because they are glorifying God in different ways. We should cheer on others whenever they are doing something, even when you don’t understand it rather than compare it to what you are doing. If the brothers had seen that Joseph had a different calling than the rest of them, and that working in the fields would not have done God the glory that needed to be done, then the story would have been very very different. Comparison is a horrible thing that comes from the enemy, and it tears our body in Christ apart so much. It counteracts our different callings, and often causes people to stop doing a good thing just because of what someone else is doing. (Genesis 37:17).
Nothing is impossible to God. Joseph got sold into slavery, and God managed to make that a good thing. While Joseph was in slavery, he became very successful and worked for his Egyptian master. God made such a bad and uncomfortable circumstance into something good (I told you, God does most of His work during uncomfortable situations), but then his master's wife framed him, and he was sent to prison. God showed Joseph's gifts in prison even. He was able to interpret dreams, which ended up getting him out of prison all together. Just think how crazy it is that God can make slavery and jail a good thing! For us that is so unimaginable… if I got sold to slavery I would not be excited saying “Oh yay! My brothers betrayed me and now I get to work for someone else. I can’t wait to see what God does with me here!!” Maybe the oh yay part was an exaggeration, but we are supposed to be excited about every stage of life, because God will use it, and you often will not know why yet, but eventually God will reveal what his plan was- that’s where that faith I was talking about comes in at. (Genesis 39).
I’m sure you've heard of the saying “hurt people hurt people,” and if you have not you have probably heard of something similar. Pretty much it means that if you are hurting or in a dark place, you are more likely to do something that will hurt someone else. I don’t think it is exactly intentional, but naturally we make ourselves feel better by saying “well at least I’m not like…” When you are confident in yourself and what God is doing within you, you don’t feel the need to prove anything. The Egyptian's master’s wife found Joseph very attractive, and tried to get him to sleep with her. He stayed faithful to his master though, and rejected her. That would have stung, so she then frames him, and tells her husband that he had tried to sleep with her! She was hurt by his rejection, even though it was what was right, and her reaction was to hurt him more. We are called to break that cycle, and while it is often harder to do, we will feel so much better by doing it. (Genesis 39:14-15).
Okay I want to go back to how God can make ANYTHING good, and how faithful Joseph had to be. After the master’s wife lied about Joseph, he was thrown in jail. My first thought would most likely be, “Why would this happen to me? I did what was right, I thought I was supposed to be protected.” That was not Joseph's first thought! God does protect you, and he protected Joseph while he was in jail, and Joseph showed God the kind of faith we should all try to have. We got to see the first really big gift that Joseph had while he was in prison, and God knew that he would have to be in jail for that gift to be highlighted. Know deep down that God is good, and He can do anything. Stay faithful to Him in all stages of life, and never forget how powerful He is. (Genesis 39:21-23).
Everyone has a waiting season. Joseph interpreted the cupbearer's dream, and asked him to tell Pharaoh or his gift, so that he could get out of prison, but the cupbearer forgot. Human love is so limited. Only God can give us an unconditional unchanging love. I’m sure the cupbearer did not intentionally keep Joseph’s gift a secret, but he had just gotten out of jail and was excited! It was not on the forefront of his mind, believe me it wouldn’t be on mine either. Joseph had to wait another 2 years in jail before the pharaoh heard of his gift. I’m not sure what Joseph did during his waiting season, but I do know this: we can choose what we do during our waiting season. COVID was a waiting season for so many people, and a very very uncomfortable one. It sucked and I think everyone would agree with that statement, but a lot of good did happen during it. Everyone was stuck in quarantine, and with the amount of time we had a lot of people learned something new. Some started doing art, some started journaling, some simply spent more time with God. My motto throughout quarantine was “enjoy the pause.” I know that throughout the school year I often get so busy and stressed out, and I catch myself saying, “If only there were more hours in a day, or even better I could pause time to get all my stuff done.” That was one of my prayers I would have a bit regularly, and God had an interesting way of answering it. I had wayyy more time than I needed. I got a bit off track there, but everyone has a waiting season, and you can either sit there and wait for it to be over and feel sorry for yourself that you have to wait, or you can be productive about it. If nothing else, get closer to God in that time. (Genesis 40:16).
God will make sure that hear and understand Him. Often we do not listen to Him, so He will repeat it. I do the same thing. If I am talking to someone, and they did not hear me I will say it louder, and if they do not understand what I meant then I will rephrase what I said. God is the same way. I mean it when I say he wants a relationship with you, and He wants to talk to you. Sometimes He is answering something, sometimes He is warning you about something or telling you what you need to do, and sometimes He is just casually responding. He gave Pharaoh a different dream a few times, but He was always saying the same thing: warning him that there would be an abundance in the land for 7 years, but then a really really bad famine that would follow for 7 years. God wanted Pharaoh to know about it, and He was willing to tell him as many times, and in as many different ways as needed. (Genesis 41:25).
God will give you enough time and allow you to prepare. He gave Pharaoh the dreams about the 7 year abundance followed by the 7 year famine, so that he could prepare during the abundance for the famine. God does give you challenges to see how you react, but He will never put you through something that you cannot get through, and if He does, He will give you time to prepare. (Remember “If God puts you to it, He will bring you through it.”) Sometimes He knows that you have already prepared, and will not warn you before, but He will not put you into any danger without giving you enough time to get ready for it, and do not expect to always get a straight forward “my plan is this, so this is exactly how you need to prepare,” rather it maybe something very small like a “gut feeling” from the Holy Spirit to do something. Always listen to your gut. I strongly believe that it is the Holy Spirit in you, and that is why so often people have a gut feeling and it ends up helping them. God doesn’t have weird coincidences… He is so so intentional. (Genesis 41:29-30).
Others notice God in you. I have struggled with this one, because so often I hear about how kind someone was and loving, but not often do I hear how that ties into them with God. Back in bible times everyone had their own god they believed in, and they knew others believed in a different god, so when someone had a special gift that always protected them and others, and when people did things that were not of the world, others assumed immediately that it was because of God. Now it is so common that people don’t even think about it, even when they are believers, so I often question how people will know that it is not just you being a kind person, but actually the God inside of you. Here’s what I have come up with… we are to humble ourselves, allow others to see God through us, that doesn’t mean do something nice and say “oh God made me do it,” rather have Him SO present in your life that others can SEE it, not just hear it. God gave us all a gift, and sometimes I don’t think we even know what ours is, but others can see it. A gift to share God’s goodness and grace is not always being the latest and greatest influencer, musician, TV star, author, preacher, ect. Look at how many people that are… a very small percentage (0.0086 % of people are famous or otherwise well known1) so yeah, very few. I think that if you just bring 1 person closer to God then you have used your gift. Maybe not everyone, actually certainly not everyone will see God in you- people didn’t even see God in Jesus, and he was killed for it- but live your life with God so present, and someone will. (Genesis 41:38)
You are made new and born again when you truly give yourself to God. I know this is used a lot, but it’s so true. God used to completely rename people… not when they got baptized, but even before baptisms were a thing. When you give your life to God and live for Him, you are new. Your sins are forgiven, your past is erased, you are free. (Genesis 41:45).
Allow God to work within you. God wants to help you, and I think we tend to just think that God will help us and make our lives the easiest thing… yeah I know when you sit back and think about it you know that’s not true, but does your subconscious believe it? God can and will help you overcome hardships and heartbreaks internally. Most of our problems are ones that we hold inside, maybe it’s a pride reason, maybe you don’t think anyone will listen, maybe you don’t know what to say. There are so many conflicts we face within ourselves, and most of them just make us sad, but when we don’t deal with them or have a hard time getting over them they lead to other emotions. God never said sadness was a bad thing, but acting of anger because of it is. God wants to help us out of our hard times, especially the ones we deal with internally, but we can’t just talk to him every now and then and ask Him to help, then go on and act as if He isn't there. He cannot work if you don’t let Him in, and ALWAYS have an open heart. (Genesis 41:51)
I’m sure you have heard the quote, and it has been becoming a lot more common recently, “what the devil meant for bad, God can use for good.” Okay let's break this down. The devil means evil. ALWAYS. He never wakes up with a forgiving heart and wants to help us, ever. God is the opposite. He means good. He never wakes up and wants to hurt us, ever. So of course this quote is true, and I’m sure it can go the other way as well. It is all dependent on who you allow to live within you. Here’s a hard truth to hear and even harder to accept, but if you are not letting God and the Holy Spirit to live within you, and guide you, then you are allowing the devil to do that. God wants you, and not just part of you, not just when it is convenient for you, always. He has already won the war, He just wants as many people to be saved as He can, but He's not going to allow anyone in, the devil has no restrictions, he just wants people to not follow God, not necessarily follow him. The good news is though that if you allow God in your heart, and you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, what the devil sends your way as a hardship, and something to get you to leave God, God will help you through it, and turn it into something better than you could ever imagine. Look at what he did to Joseph… his brothers sold him to slavery, and after plenty of challenges he became a leader of sorts of Egypt. Something unimaginable. Slaves did not become leaders, but God… Joseph wasn’t just a slave, he was a child of God. (Genesis 42:6).
Allow yourself to have quiet successes. Don’t boast about everything you do, not everyone needs to know every step you’ve made. Think if you had a football QB tell you about how he can make perfect 40 yard throws, and avoid getting sacked every time he did one of those in practice. You would go to his game to see this amazing quarterback, and when he messed up you would be disappointed and unimpressed, but he still actually had a really good game, and not having any above average expectations prior, you would be blown away. It is the same way with everything. Allow God to work in you, and don’t talk about your every move. Allow others to just see how much God has done. Don’t even give them the chance to second guess God’s power because you didn’t/don’t know His plan. (Genesis 42:6)
God tests you, and you may not even know it. He wants to know your heart, which is the most raw version of yourself. It is who you really are, not what you want to be, not what you put out for the world to see, and sometimes you don’t even know your own heart. I didn’t for a very very long time. I read books, articles, and looked up random techniques to learn my own heart. Not those BuzzFeed quizzes to see who you really are, yeah those can be fun but they won’t actually tell you who you are. You have to look deeper than you probably even want to, but you won’t change your heart without identifying it. I’m sorry but your heart needs to change. You have to learn your heart, and fix it. There are good things I know, but there are bad. It is in everyone, we just need to identify it, and change it. A heart is the hardest thing to change though, because you can change what you say by thinking before you say them, you can change your actions the same way, you can even train yourself to think a certain way, but you have to do all of that and some to even begin to change your heart. Some things I do is say out loud what it is I need to change. For example, I am quick to blame people. I like to see a situation and blame someone for it. I know deep down that some things happen to people that we don’t know about, and for odd reasons, but when I hear something I feel as though an effect only occurred because of what someone did or did not do prior. That’s not right, and it definitely is not my place to do it. Okay so I identified it, but now I need to fix it. I would then verbally say every time I caught myself blaming someone. Then I’d pray: for forgiveness but also to help me not do that again. I started to catch myself before coming up with the whole theory, and now I still do blame people for their circumstances occasionally, but it is a lot less, and it affects me much much less. Don't hide your heart from God. Allow Him to live in it and help you fix it. (Genesis 42:28).
Take accountability and responsibility. Intentional is a word I have been hearing a lot recently, and normally it's been very casual, but when you look it up:
intentional: adj. Done on purpose; deliberate
Okay pretty simple, but in your life think about how much you do that is not intentional. Probably often. We tend to go through the motions a lot. When we do that we don’t want to take responsibility. Yeah sure we will say “Oh sorry that’s on me I just wasn’t thinking” or something along the lines of that, but that is not really taking responsibility. We should be doing things for God, and when we do we need to think about what we are doing, and be confident in it. That is not saying second guess His instructions, or find out every detail, it just means be confident that what you are doing is for Him, and be so faithful that you are willing to take full responsibility for it. Judah had faith that Joseph (not knowing who it was yet) would give all the brothers back to Israel/Jacob if he brought Benjamin to him, so he offered to be responsible for Benjamin. We should be so faithful in God that when we are doing something for Him, we are willing to put ourselves on the line prior to seeing the outcome. (Genesis 43:9).
God has the power of someone’s heart. We are told to forgive, and may I just say I am not good at it. I am better than I used to be, but I make a LOT of justifications as to why I should not forgive someone. God can change their heart though. He has changed mine, and I know many others, I am sure you do too even if you don’t realize it. Forgive people and have an open heart and mind towards them moving forward. Pray too. I think sometimes praying over people you don’t particularly like seems snide, but if you are praying with a pure heart for them to get better then it truly is not, but only you will know. I have prayed before that if something is going on in someone's life that it gets better, and that God will be there for them to help them through it. I was not trying to be mean. I didn’t ask for anything to be taken back or for them to stop being mean, I just asked God to be there for them. (Genesis 43:14).
Fear is so much worse than what could actually happen. God makes it very clear to not be afraid, rather put all your confidence in Him. When we are afraid we often come up with scenarios that are so much worse than what would ever actually occur. I mean think of times that you were afraid. It’s rarely just “oh I'm scared of this…” no you are scared of that because xyz may happen. I've been nervous for a test before, and why? Well, because I might do bad on the test, then not do great on other grades I have in that class, then get a bad grade that semester, and obviously that means I’m not going to a good college. Yeah I know that’s not the exact thought process, but it really is. Why would you care about getting one bad grade if you didn’t think it was going to largely affect you? But when we put it into those terms it sounds dumb to be afraid, because what we are afraid of is so far-fetched. I know it is hard, and it is a task that you have to work on constantly, but try to identify what you are feeling, why you are feeling that way, then break it down to simple simple terms. No matter how big or small, it is NOTHING in comparison to God, so just don’t be afraid. (Genesis 43:18).
Trust other people. This world has taught you to not trust others. It’s become popular to have trust issues. That’s not what God says though. Don’t judge others based on a bad experience with someone else. When you automatically not trust someone you are judging them, and claiming to yourself that they are a liar. We know it’s wrong to be judgmental, so trust others. Joseph’s brothers had built such a strong trust in one another that it actually proved their innocence in a set up. Build trust, a stronger trust with people that you are closer to. Make an unbreakable bond built on trust. (Genesis 44:7).
Show others grace. God has given everyone grace no matter what they have done. To Him, or to the people He loves. Use Him as an example of how you should live your life. I had a realization a few years ago that has helped me so so much with forgiveness and grace. It will be hard to explain, because it was something that was so heavy on my heart, and so impactful, but here’s what it was: I was ill-wishing someone who lets just say I was not best friends with. I was hoping she would be faced with some of the same difficulties she had caused me. (This was a situation much bigger than most, I have actually not even told anyone except my parents about what happened, because it was so major.) While I was doing this, I was even praying that God would let “what goes around come around” and let me be around when it “came around.” Okay, that just made me sound pretty bad, but I was almost congratulating myself, because I was not going around gossiping about this, or doing something back to get revenge. Yeah, God was not congratulating me, He told me something that has stuck with me like nothing else. “You have parents and they love you so much despite everything wrong you have ever done, and everything hurtful you have done to them. Everyone has someone who loves them despite everything they have done wrong. Everyone has flaws, and flaws unfortunately affect other people, but think of them as though they were your child, or best friend, or parent, or anyone you are close to.” That was the most powerful thing I have ever been told. I have friends and family that I am blind to. I don’t recognize the wrong they do, because I don’t want to, because of how deeply I love and care for them. Since that day I have 1) stopped ill-wishing, and 2) done whatever I can to have such a deep love for everyone I come across, no matter what I think they “deserve.” (Genesis 44:17).
Allow yourself to be raw. It is not easy to be your raw self, because it is not who you want to be, it’s who you are. God doesn’t want us to all seem perfect. He wants us to be who we are, and show that even the worst of people are His. God doesn’t want us all to look perfect, He wants us to be us, and when we are at our most basic self, the most healing and growth will come, because we are not hiding what we need to be healing. I have shared several stories of growth that I have come to, but each of those start with something that I do not go around telling everyone. It is not something I am proud of, and it wasn’t even what that was part of who I was. I did not overcome it though by hiding it. I overcame it by identifying it, admitting it, then asking God for help and guidance through it. Joseph wept so many times after seeing his brothers again, sometimes in private, but also in front of them. He allowed himself to be vulnerable, and show his raw emotion. Please please please do not be afraid to show yourself. I know it isn’t popular, and I know it is not comfortable, but so much good comes from being who you are. (Genesis 45:1).
Have an open heart. Seasons of doubt are common. Everyone goes through them, and it is not always doubting God is real or that Jesus died for us, for some it is, but for others it can be doubting that God is all good, or that He has big plans for you, ect. When you go through them, pray about it. It’s difficult, because you’re hesitant, but we KNOW the truth, it is just sometimes hard to believe. Pray that God will confirm the truth, and help you out of the season. God can revive a heart, so allow Him to do so. He revived Jacob's/Israel’s heart just by seeing his son again. Trust that He can do the same for you. (Genesis 45:27).
I have mentioned this one a few times, but I saw it again. Always give thanks, even during uncertain times. Jacob/Israel was leaving for Egypt, where his son, who last he had heard was dead, was there. During the trip he was not completely confident that Joseph would be there, but he still gave back to God. (Genesis 46:1).
When God is with you, there is no reason to be afraid. It is said so often, some say 365 times, to not be afraid, so obviously it is a common theme that we hear a lot, but even knowing that and hearing it, we often are still afraid. God is with us. Jesus allowed God to always be with us, even when we were sinning, and when God is with us there is absolutely no reason to be afraid. (Genesis 46:3).
Forgive! I have brought this one up before too, but good things happen when you forgive someone, and not just from them. Think of every sin as a chain on you, and sometimes it really does feel like that. Not forgiving someone is another chain on you, because without even realizing it, you are allowing yourself to still be hurt over something, and you are spending effort on not giving someone your kindness and love. Joseph forgave his brothers, because he was able to see that everything they had done to him was actually a part of God’s plan for him. Joseph was going to end up in Egypt starting as a slave whether his brothers sold him or not, because that’s what God wanted from him. “Bad” things that happen to you just allow you to react to it in a Godly manner, and show the world God’s grace. Don’t take that away from God. Forgive them, and show the world the God that is in you! (Genesis 46:31-34).
Work for everything. Nothing is free. Yes, the price tag to you may be free, but everything costs something, and if not to you, then to someone else. Everything that is free to you, count as a gift, even if it is not presented that way. Joseph’s brothers were allowed to live in Egypt, but they ended up as slaves for Pharaoh. That was a huge thing for them. God had given them all gifts that made them a great team to work together, and living in Egypt was huge, because it was the only place who had prepared, and had food during the famine. (Genesis 47:3).
Going on with that thought, everything costs something, so do not be afraid to ask for payment. People from other countries would come to Egypt, and pay for food with silver, but eventually they ran out of silver too, and would still ask for food, because without it they would die. Now no one is typically willing to just let someone die if they can do something about it, but to give others food at the time was taking food from their people, who had worked for it. So yes, Joseph needed to give them food, but it wouldn’t be fair to just give it away, so instead he asked for their livestock. It is okay to ask for payment, just work within others means. Also, a little side note, it is not for you to decide whether someone deserves something or not. The other countries got to eat great and work minimally during the time of abundance, and now they were struggling, but Joseph never even mentioned that, because he knew that it was not his place, and he had no reason to decide if anyone deserves anything. (Genesis 47:16)
Be selfless. Eventually the other countries even ran out of livestock to give, and so Joseph allowed them to work on the land and they could keep 20% of the earnings, and give the rest to Pharaoh. None of it did he ask for himself. Give to others, and don’t ask for things in return. Allow for someone to go in front of you in line, let someone over while you’re driving, skip out on an event if someone needs help, go to an event that you aren’t exactly excited about because you know it is important to someone else. Selfless acts can be so small, but start incorporating them into your everyday life, until it becomes a part of who you are. (Genesis 47:24).
Stay true to your word. If you make a promise, stick to it. With that being said, don’t say something if you cannot hold true to it. God has made so many promises, and covenants, and not once did He back out of one. If you say you are going to do something, do it. (Genesis 47:27)
Everything you have is from God. So often we think “well I worked really hard, so I’m in the position I am in because of what I have done,” but that is simply not true. Well, yes you have worked hard, but you wouldn’t be where you are without the help of God. He puts you in the position to even do whatever it is that you are, and He gives you what it takes/ the qualifications of it. Don’t take God’s blessings for granted. God doesn’t have coincidences. (Genesis 48:11).
Back in old testament times, you had to be a “chosen one” for God to show the kind of love and grace that He shows us now. We get that because of Jesus. He treats everyone the way that He treated His chosen ones back before Jesus.
“God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all harm-” -Genesis 48:15-16
Jacob/Israel said that, because he had seen and felt God’s grace first hand, and as I was reading I thought of it, and actually, we could rephrase it just a little bit and it fits true to everyone today. God has been my shepherd all my life, the Holy Spirit has redeemed me from all harm. Read this to yourself, and make yourself truly believe it.
It is okay to be sad and mourn. I struggle with this sometimes, actually pretty often because I will get sad, and all I can think is that I am supposed to have an everlasting joy in Christ. I often get sadness and joy mixed. Sadness is the opposite of happiness. Misery is the opposite of joy. Happiness is circumstantial, and that is why God never says “You will find happiness in me.” He knows that's not true, your life won’t be easy and fun all the time following God, but you will have an internal peace and joy knowing that is not your circumstance forever. Things happen that will make you happy, but things will also happen that will make you sad, and don’t try to tell yourself that you’re not sad, because that will lead you into a very dark place. Being sad and mourning is not bad, but what is bad is allowing your sadness to develop into other emotions. If you do not mourn your sadness, it will most likely lead to anger and that will lead to aggression… be sad, because bad things will happen, just make sure to deal with it, and don’t close God out when you do. Always, always, always make God present in your life. (Genesis 50:10).
Forgive, comfort, be kind. We know that what the Devil means for evil God can make good. Trust that even when someone does something that isn’t in line with God that He is changing it into something good behind the scenes. Forgive them, know that it was not the person themselves, rather Satan that committed that action or those words or whatever it was. Comfort them, show them God’s grace, use times like these to reveal God to others. What I have noticed is that a lot of people know of God, and know He is good, and could even quote you scripture, but they don’t actually know God. They do everything according to the “rule book,” but they haven’t spent the time with God to actually know Him and His goodness. There’s a difference between knowing that God is good, and shows people grace and knowing God’s goodness and grace, so use challenging times to comfort someone and show them who God is and allow them to actually get to know him through you. (Genesis 50:19-21)
God is with you. I find this so powerful, because it is at the very very end of the book. You know when you write essays, or letters, or anything really you put a conclusion and you put the most important or meaningful piece in it. I really think that’s what Moses was doing with this book. At the end of essays you’re taught to write one really small paragraph at the end with a little summary, in a letter you write one last sentence and then “thank you” or “love” because that’s the final thing someone will remember. Well in Genesis one of the very last sentences Joseph told his brothers,
“God will certainly come to your aid.” -Genesis 50:24
I guess if there is anything to remember from the book of Genesis, it is that God will always be with you, and be there to help you at any given time.
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