“Grace Still Wins!” 

Dear Faith Family, 

He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!”  At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us,” (Genesis 42:28). 

“Did it bother anybody else that the guy from the operation game was clearly wide awake?”  Found that quote online.  That’s disturbing.  While people are attempting to replace the guy’s heart, his funny bone, and even his spare ribs, the guy on the operating table is lying there with his eyes wide open! 

I know that the later chapters in Genesis offer us a look into the work of God in the life of Joseph.  But, what about his brothers?  God is constantly at work revealing His character in more than one person at a time.  (The only time God only worked in the life of one person was pre-Eve.) 

We catch glimpses of God’s work in the lives of Joseph’s brothers, they do have names (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin).  The hardness of their hearts is all too obvious in their desire to kill Joseph.  Then they sold him into a life of slavery.  The end of Genesis 37 finds the brothers collectively lying boldfaced to their father. 

For some twelve years Joseph’s brothers had to live with the guilt, the shame and the grief ushered in by murder and lies.  And then came a famine, the Surgeon’s scalpel.  God was using the famine to lay bare the hearts of his own.  So off to Egypt they did go.  They thought that they were going for food.  They didn’t know that God’s redemptive grace would show up in a famine! 

At this their hearts failed them, (Genesis 42:28).  They returned home from Egypt with grain and a refund.  Their response?  What is this that God has done to us, (Genesis 42:28)?  When back to Egypt they did go, the brothers confessed to Joseph’s steward that the money was found in their sacks.  Even the steward served up grace, Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you, (Genesis 43:23)! 

The floodgates of grace opened wide in Genesis 45 when Joseph made himself known to his brothers and promised to provide lavishly for them just as God had orchestrated even their twisted plans.  All is well as the family reunites in Egypt.  What a family reunion!  It’s all good.  That is until Jacob breathed his last.  That’s when fear, guilt, and shame slithered back around the heart. 

No fear!  No guilt!  No shame!  Grace still wins!  Through Joseph, God painted His sovereign grace vividly for the brothers to see.  He was operating on their hearts while they were wide awake! 

Maybe you feel like the wide-awake guy having open heart (and everything else) surgery?  Take comfort in whose steady hands your life rests.  Know that nothing is ever wasted.  Not even the evil set against you.  Look for His grace.  Even in the clouds. 

Grace still wins, 
Pastor Karl