Day 19
Wednesday, March 24
The Way Through Mistrust
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to trust someone when they've lost your trust? Or how hard it is for someone to regain your trust after it was lost? Trust is such a valuable part of any relationship.
I can remember telling my children as they grew up that if they lost the trust of their parents or friends, it would be a hard life for them. If this happened, they would spend so much time and energy trying to get people to trust them again that it would be easier to just make sure they did not give anyone a reason to mistrust them in the first place.
Looking at the life of Joseph, we see how trust is lost, and we see the fear that can come from losing that trust. Joseph’s brothers threw him in a pit, sold him into slavery, and told their dad that a wild animal killed Joseph. The story begins with lies and jealousy—two of the main reasons that trust is broken and lost.
Joseph had gained the trust of Pharaoh and was placed in charge of Egypt. God blessed Joseph with the understanding of dreams and because of this, Joseph was able to prepare Egypt for a famine. When the famine came, it extended into Canaan, the land where Joseph’s brothers lived. Joseph’s brothers heard that Egypt had food that could be purchased.
When the brothers arrived to buy food, it turned out that Joseph was the person from whom they would purchase it. Once Joseph revealed himself, the brothers were terrified. However, because Joseph had learned to trust God first, he recognized that God was in control of his life.
Joseph trusted God when he was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, put into prison, had accusations brought against him, and when he was brought before Pharaoh. It was because of that trust in God that he was able to forgive his family and reunite with them.
-Michelle Williams
Bible Reading for the Day:
Think and Act:
1.What happened in your life that caused someone to lose trust in you? How difficult was it to repair the relationship?
2.Looking back, what could have been done differently so that the trust would not have been lost in the first place?