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V1 – How long does your famine last? How long do the difficult times last? Does it matter how long it lasts?       

Psalm 30:5 NLT

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.

        It does not matter how long the difficult times last; the Bible says they last only for a moment. God’s kindness, on the other hand, is forever. The most important thing is my posture in the difficult times. Am I in despair, worry, and anxiety? Or am I in hope and trust, waiting on the Lord and hearing what He says? Am I asking, “what does the Lord want me to learn during this time?” ” Is there something He is correcting in my life?” “Is my dependence on Him?”  “Is my heart repentant of my sin?” “Am I or Have I been walking with the Lord?”

V2 – The good thing about our God is that even in difficult times, He is still kind. He provides Egypt; a place where we will still get our provision. He will still provide what we need.

Be it comfort in the pain, financial provision, guidance, etc. He will give it.

V9 – Jacob is finding it difficult to let Benjamin go. And so, Judah says some “very strong words”— that He personally guarantees the safety of Benjamin. We have to be careful only to say words when we are willing actually to do them. Judah was essentially laying down his life for the sake of his brother and family.

Are we willing to lay down our lives and take up Jesus and his call for the sake of our brothers and sisters? Those who have not known the Lord?

V11 – Jacob uses this strategy of gifts again when He is faced with a tough man whom He does not know how to deal with. Initially, in Genesis 32: 3-21, He sent gifts to Esau, his brother whom He had robbed. Why does He do this?

      What is the meaning and place of gifts? One clear meaning is that gifts are a sign of humility. But also a sign of love. That’s why God sent Jesus; He is a gift to all of us. And Jesus himself offered himself for us; He gave his life as a sacrifice for our sins. God gave us the ultimate gift… He died and paid our penalty of sin so that we may live.

        So, what should really happen when someone does this? When you owe someone your life, literally? When, basically, your life was in their hands, and they gave it back to you? What is the right response? The truth is that the right response is absolute humility towards Him. You must remember why your life was in God’s hands in the first place, why you deserved punishment… it is because of sin. And that’s exactly why God tells us:

Micah 6:8 NLT

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

 Another thing I learn here is that we should learn to give gifts. To God, we give the gift of our lives and ultimate submission. And to men, we give the gift of God’s word.

We can also learn a lesson about the meaning of gifts, and we can learn to give them. Gifts have a way of softening people’s hearts. It’s a good idea to make it a practice. Some simple gift ideas include notebooks, unique pens, water bottles, etc.

V14 – Jacob now moves from despairing to putting his trust in God. “May God Almighty give you mercy.” and He lets the matter be in God’s hand.  He says, “But if I must lose my children, so be it.“

But Jacob takes a long while to come to this place of letting go. We know this because of Judah’s words in verse 10 – “If we hadn’t wasted all this time, we could have gone and returned twice by now.” He really fights before letting go.

Isn’t it just easier to let go and trust God? You are powerless anyway! The Lord is the all-powerful one, the omniscient and omnipotent! — Nothing! Absolutely nothing defeats Him.

V18 – You get all kinds of wrong ideas and thoughts when you are guilty and fearful. When you have Jesus and are humbling, walking with Him, rested, and trusting in Him, you get forgiveness and enjoy a unique gift:

John 14:27 NLT

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

V1 – When there is a need, what do you do? Do you look around at each other? Or do you ask the Lord?

(Prayer – Lord, I often forget to come to you about everything. I easily go into despair. Help me, Lord. I know you are present; you are always with us, ready to help and do wondrous things.)

V2 – After asking the Lord, your next step is to do something. Do not be idle. If there is a specific direction from the Lord, do it. If there is no specific direction, the Lord will still provide/make a way because it’s His word, and you trust Him. Remember:

Ecclesiastes 11:6 NLT– “Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.”

God has called you and me to a life of working hard. Work at all times, put effort. Sow your seed. Don’t worry about the growth of the seed. It’s the Lord who causes it to grow.

V4 – Jacob fears and does not Let Benjamin go because of Trauma, He fears what happened to Joseph might happen to Benjamin as well.

(Lord, help me rise above trauma and past failures or pains. I must put my trust fully in you in every moment.)

V6 – God gave Joseph the dream interpretation, made him ruler of Egypt, and now we see Joseph’s quality of hard work and diligence. Even if He delegated and had workers, He was still present overseeing. His brothers went to Him.

When you have a task/dream/duty/business etc, be there to oversee. You must know what’s going on.

V9 – Joseph now remembers the dreams. With dreams or God’s messages or plans for us, it can happen or be fulfilled after many years. Until his time comes.

V21-22 – When you sin against the Lord and do not repent or make restitution, you will always hide, and guilt will always be with you.

Repentance and restitution.

This website explains it this way… “Repentance demands a radical turning from sin and a sincere turning to God (James 4:7-10). Sincere repentance leads to moral renewal, often evidenced by restitution – the effort to right one’s wrongs whenever possible.” ¶610.3 REPENTANCE AND RESTITUTION – The Free Methodist Church in Canada (fmcic.ca)

V36 – When they tell Jacob the story, Jacob complains bitterly against them. Jacob had never healed, and because of past wounds, Jacob says in despair, “Everything is going against me.”

Have you/I found yourself saying that? Where is your trust? All things are the Lord’s and all people, even our family members and children. Give it all to the Lord, and you will not suffer from this kind of pain. In all things, trust the Lord in prayer and have peace from God in your heart. It’s clear that God had a plan for all this, but Jacob did not understand it, and He never had peace. It also seems that his trust in God in these moments was almost not there. He therefore had no peace.

So, when you find yourself in life’s pains, what do you say? Do you say, “Everything is going against me!” or do you say “

But when I am afraid,    I will put my trust in you. 4 I praise God for what he has promised.    I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?    What can mere mortals do to me? Psalm 56:3-4 NLT

And at that point, when you despair, do you remember this:?

Romans 8: 35-37

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

V1 – After the cupbearer and the Baker, next is Pharaoh, who dreams. A unique characteristic is that they all seem to realize that these are not just dreams.

Is it possible that God speaks to us a lot in dreams, but we keep ignoring and rubbishing dreams off as “I ate too much” or “It’s because I thought about that too much yesterday.”– An even bigger question is, “How do I know which dreams are from God? “Are all dreams from God?”

This blog says, “So here’s the bottom line: Always remember all dreams, visions and prophecies must agree with the written Word of God.” How can I know if a dream is from God? | Kenneth Copeland Ministries (kcm.org)

V2-7 – Sometimes, dreams are repetitive. We have to be sensitive to realize that God is speaking to us. We should also ensure to measure everything by God’s word. We can also pray for wisdom from God when we don’t understand something.

Asking for understanding from God is consistent with God’s Word, see these verses:

James 1:5 NLT – If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

Philippians 4:6 NLT – Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

V8– Dreams are only interpreted through the Holy Spirit. It is the Lord who gives us understanding. Don’t trust your own understanding.

V9-13 – The Chief cup-bearer finally remembers his failure of forgetting Joseph. Two lessons here:

1. God has a divine plan for me, and everything happens exactly at the time God wants. The Chief cup-bearer remembers at just the perfect time.
2. When we plant words, especially God’s Word, in people… it never gets lost. The Spirit brings it to remembrance.

V14 – Don’t be careless about how you present yourself before people, an interview, church, etc. Be modest. Joseph, when called by Pharaoh, shaves and showers. He ensures He is presentable before the King.

V16– Joseph gives the glory to God. It is the Lord who reveals mysteries, not us. Joseph testifies about God’s power.

(Prayer – Forgive me, Father, for every time I take your word for granted. Truly, your word teaches us everything for life and Godliness. You teach us, Lord, by your Spirit. Like Joseph, help me to testify about you before all people and to give you Glory.)

V25-32 – God can come and tell us what will happen in the future. When there is a time of famine/difficulty coming, He tells you and is ready to prepare your heart. The biggest preparation that the Lord does is in preparing your heart. In Him only is true comfort and peace for all circumstances.

Question: How is your walk with the Lord? Is He the center of your life? Have you surrendered fully?

He tells Pharaoh what He is going to do. It’s also clear that God gives Pharaoh two dreams to insist He has decreed it.  God directs leaders for the sake of everyone they lead and for his glory. He cares for us.

But do our leaders listen? Or do they ignore God’s word? Does our President listen? Do our Pastors listen?

(Prayer – Father, help our leaders to listen to you and to Heed what you say. Break our hearts and cause us to humble before you. If your message is unclear to them, may it be crystal clear, and may you remove doubts from their hearts. May you cause our leaders to understand that you tell us because you care for us.)

V33-36 – After God gives the dreams and their meaning, He now ensures that Pharaoh knows what needs to happen to prepare. God makes the message clear.

V37 – Pharaoh and the leaders heed and listen to God’s message. Pharaoh is wise. When our leaders listen, the people will be preserved.

V38 – Pharaoh and his people also see that Joseph is filled with the Spirit of God and that He is different. People see God in you when you are with Him.

V40 – God’s plan over Joseph continues coming into place. In an instant, Joseph moves from prisoner to Ruler of Egypt. He is second only to Pharaoh. Oh! How great God’s plans are for us. The key to life and its circumstances is to trust in the Lord and wait upon Him.

Psalm 27:14 – “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (ESV)

Lamentations 3:25 – “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” (ESV)

Psalm 130:5-6 – “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.” (ESV)

Psalm 37:34 – “Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.” (ESV)

Isaiah 64:4 – “From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.” (ESV)

Wait upon the Lord. Put your trust in Him. Stay with Him. Obey Him. Walk in Holiness. Love the Lord with everything you got. Love His Word daily. Regardless of the circumstance.

V46 – After He is made ruler, Joseph goes to work to inspect Egypt and gathers so much food that He stops counting. Joseph is a hard worker. He works hard and puts his trust in the Lord. We have to be this way!

V50-51 – Through the names of his sons, He testifies that the Lord has indeed been good to Him and wiped his tears.

V54-57 Because of obeying God, all of Egypt had food. And when it ended, Joseph had enough supply for everyone. All because of obeying God and then being diligent.

(Prayer – Lord, help us to obey you and be diligent to do what you say and follow your direction.)

In this website, I plan to share what I learn from God’s word in my daily bible study.