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Daily Devotions

A Heart Revealed

By February 2, 2016No Comments

Read Genesis 43: 26 – 31

And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.  Genesis 43:30 KJV

It does not surprise us when Joseph first saw his brother he had to leave the room and weep. It would be a surprise had it not happened. The tears revealed his heart. The years and heartaches had not made Joseph hard, bitter, and resentful, but wise, mature, and loving. Difficulties did not make the man; they only revealed the character God was developing in him. We have been raised in a culture where weeping is often taken as a sign of weakness, but Joseph was not a weakling. He was betrayed by his brothers, and sold as a slave, but never became bitter. He rejected the sinful temptations of Potiphar’s wife and never looked back. He was forgotten in prison, but never gave up. He handled power and position well without using it selfishly. Joseph was a strong man with a tender heart. His tears reveal the kind of man who is shaped by God and not his circumstances.

Lord, too often I allow my circumstances to shape reactions to people and the feelings of my inner being, but instead I want to be shaped by you. Use the circumstances of my life to strengthen me and to soften me at the same time.

A question to ponder: How have difficulties worked in my life, have they been allowed to make me hard, or have they caused me to trust in God?