Christian Devotional – January 14, 2019
Acting in faith. In Hebrews 11:1 it defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.” Joseph’s final words were words of faith as he asked the people to promise something that they couldn’t even really imagine at that point.
Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.”
Genesis 50:25 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/gen.50.25.NASB
Joseph knew that God had a promised to take the people of Israel back to the Promised Land at some point, and Joseph want to go and be part of that promise as well. Joseph speaking these words of faith demonstrates just how deeply he loved and trusted God. No matter what he could see with his eyes, Joseph knew what God had spoken in his heart, and he trusted it.
Do we have faith to trust God no matter what we see with our eyes? God’s promises are true, I just can’t always see them, or see how God will fulfill them. But my lack of vision is not a problem for God. Will our lives be like Joseph’s and be characterized by faith in what is unseen and hoped for?
2 Comments
Helen Waters
This is so good and such rich material! An added element to this is that Joseph is an old man here as well, and has the hindsight of being able to see God’s faithfulness all through the years. He was SURE of the future because he had seen the faithfulness in the past…He was sure of God! The sad commentary lies in Judges 2:10 – that Joseph’s testimony and demonstrated faith is not passed to future generations….
Kristi Burchfiel
So true Helen! Hindsight can certainly increase our faith in what God can do in the future! And to your point, if only that had carried through the generations…. Thankfully, we can pick up the torch and begin again from where we are!