If you missed Sunday's broadcast, please catch up by following the link below. (For the foreseeable future, we be running our Sunday morning services digitally. Please go to our website on Sundays at 10:30 to join in)
The bible makes it clear that every good thing that we have is a gift from God. James writes,
‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.’ (James 1:17 ESV)
Joseph received many good gifts, all of which were used in the fulfilling of the dreams that God had given to him. Here are some of the good gifts that the Father gave to Joseph:
The coat that spoke of being favoured (Genesis 37:3)
The dreams (Genesis 37:6, 9)
His life was protected (Genesis 37:21, 26)
Success in his work (Genesis 39:2, 21)
Ability to interpret dreams (Genesis 40:8, 41:25)
Promotion that led to the salvation of many (Genesis 41:41)
He’s reunited with his family (Genesis 42:6, 46:29)
God will provide all that we need for the fulfilment of His purposes in and through us.
Hudson Taylor wrote,
“Depend on it. God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply. He is too wise a God to frustrate His purposes for lack of funds, and He can just as easily supply them ahead of time as afterwards, and He much prefers doing so.” (Hudson Taylor)
RESPONSE
I know that I can often fail to notice the many good gifts that God is giving to me. Whether it’s gifts of provision, people, opportunities, health, abilities… I’m sure that we could all do with being conscious of and thankful for the good things He’s doing and gifts He’s giving.
How thankful are you to God? It’s important that we are thankful for the gospel of our salvation, right through to the meal that we are eating. Have you formed the habit of thankfulness?