Garry spoke this morning from Gen 42:6-17, the part of Joseph’s story where he meets his brother again. It appears from this passage that this meeting triggered in Joseph a memory of his original dreams. Dreams often seem to die, but at this point, Joseph must have realised that God was working in the situation. God does not forget the dreams, evne if we do!
The situation must have been difficult for Joseph and his reaction seems quite harsh, almost vengeful, even if fully understandable after all his brothers had done to him. Eph 4:17-24 reminds us that our reactions should be different to those of the world. It is easy to appear ‘nice’ for short periods of time, but when the pressure is on or something totally unexpected happens (like the brothers’ appearance), what we find expressed is often our raw reaction, the ‘real’ us. We have to be aware that the enemy is always prowling around, ready to devour us, and must allow our new nature to shine through. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us at such times so that we can reflect our new natures, our changed selves.
Joseph ultimately let go of his bitterness and harsh attitudes and struck a deal with his brothers. (Gen 42:18-20) He was prepared to let the changes God had been working in him to shine through. We must understand the times and allow God’s new nature to shine through us. There must be a difference in how we act!
