And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!” Genesis 48: 11, NKJV.
Merciful God, please help us to live within the reality, that Your goodness to us will always be greater than our expectations! In the name of our Savior Jesus Christ we give You thanks. Amen.
Most of us have heard the Gospel song, “You Can’t Beat God’s Giving. Isn’t that the Gospel truth? I have proven that over and over, and over, again. While I am giving God thanks for what I believed was more than I could expect of Him, He surprises me with an even greater blessing! Now what I have begun to say is, “The best is yet to come!” In that way, I am constantly living in expectation of God’s surprises.
The words of Scripture for today are from one of my favorite Bible stories – The story of Joseph. Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, realizes that his days here on earth are coming to an end. Therefore he sends for his son Joseph so that he can bless his grandsons before he dies. In the process, of the blessing, in a moment of deep reflection, he realizes that it was the grace of God, that had brought him to that moment, and he utters these words: “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!” In other words, God has done more for me than I could ever have deserved, or expected!
Many times we do not expect much because we feel that we do not deserve much. I know that is true for me. We often forget that it was because we could do nothing to make ourselves worthy, that Jesus came and died, and placed His worthiness on our behalf. Therefore, God chooses to bless us through His Son, Christ Jesus, the Lord! ” ‘ “Do not fear, little flock, for it is [our] Father’s good pleasure to give [us] the kingdom” ‘ ” (Luke 12: 32) Let us rejoice in that fact! Emphasis provided. Let us not forget that He also takes pleasure in giving us “many times more” in this life (18: 30)!
Christ in us, does the deserving. You and I, by God’s grace, do the receiving – of God’s surprises!