When Life Doesn't Make Sense

“It doesn’t make sense!”  Have those words ever  come out of your mouth?  They have mine, even this morning as my husband and I took a walk.  I have a hard time understanding why things have had to happen in my life they way they have.  My life hasn’t been all bad, I know a lot of people who have gone through so much more than me but today I struggle as I try to reason things out.  That is what was happening in Genesis, chapter 42 with Joseph’s half brothers.  The only difference is that they had done something very wrong and they knew that God knew that they had done wrong and they felt they were now being punished for it.

To recap yesterday for those who did not have a chance to read it:

Joseph’s dad told his ½ brothers to go to Egypt to get some of the food for their family.  They were all just standing around looking at each other, I think because they knew that they had sent their brother to Egypt as a slave and they were afraid of what might be in store for them if they went.  They must have known that God was not happy with them because of their actions.  After they arrived in Egypt Joseph’s half brothers had to bow before him (but they didn’t know that it was him) to ask to buy some of the grain from Egypt for their starving family.  Joseph accused them of being spies and  sent all but one of them back to their homeland to get their younger brother and kept one (Simeon) in prison.

Now that we are caught up, I will continue with the story from Genesis 42.  Again I would urge you to read that chapter:

Joseph had each of their bags filled with grain and also had their silver put back in the bag along with provisions for their journey back home.  Just a little side note, this is the same journey that the Israelites would go on with Moses, remember, it took them 40 years to get there!   On the way home one of them opened their sack and discovered that his money was there.  Have you received something unexpected before?  Were you excited about it?  Their response was a little different, Genesis 42:28b Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, ‘What is it that God has done?’

When they returned home they told their father what they had been accused of in Egypt and  how they had to leave their brother there.  They told their father how they told the governor that they were honest men but they didn’t tell him how they had been dishonest so many years before.  They never told him that they were afraid because of what they had done to their brother Joseph.  Do you know people who tell ½ of the story?  They let you know how they have been wronged but fail to tell you the part where they may have been wrong.  I think all of us have, at some time or another, fell into that trap.  It is so much easier to share how we have been wronged than to share how we were wrong.

The story goes on to say that they soon discovered that all of their silver was returned with the grain.  When they saw this both Jacob and the brothers were frightened.  At this point Jacob blames his sons for the disappearance of Joseph and also of the capturing of Simeon.  Genesis 42:36  Their father Jacob said to them, ‘You have deprived me of my children, Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin.  Everything is against me!’  Poor Jacob is feeling so much pain at this point.  He has given up on ever seeing Simeon again.  Notice how he says, “he is no more” when he is in prison, he hasn’t been killed.  All that is required of him is to send his other son but he doesn’t want to let go of him for fear that something bad will happen to him.

Is there anything in your life that you are holding on to and you are afraid to let go of it?  Maybe God is asking you to let go in order to have a blessing.  Maybe He simply wants you to trust Him .  Some of you might be like me and have been hurt by people that you had tried so hard to please.  Or maybe you have hurt someone who you know was trying to please you.  Maybe you are holding on to those things that we have no control over, that is what I do.  When I find myself in that situation, I have to continually pray and let God take a hold of the wheel and guide me through the situation.  Like Joseph, we will hurt, but we also need to be like Joseph and trust that God is in control.  There is a song that talks about this, if you have time, take a moment to listen to it.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lydBPm2KRaU

I don’t know what road you are traveling today.  Maybe it is a happy road or maybe it is rough, steep, or curvy road.  Whatever road you are on, I would like to encourage you to allow Jesus to take the wheel, and guide you.  He will do this for you as you seek Him and find Him when you seek Him with all your heart.


Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila