Thank you so much to everyone that joined us online or in person at the Empowered Jesus Girl Teen Conference Friday night! It was such a blessing to be able to worship with each of you! If you haven’t sent me your pictures, please do so today so you can be entered to win our Empowered Jesus Girl grand prize gift basket! Email your pictures to Kayla@EmpoweredJesusGirl.com. Also, if you or one of your youth made a decision to follow Christ during the conference, please share the news with us! We would love to celebrate with you and send you a free devotional! We are praying for each of you and hope to have an in person event as soon as safely possible.
If you missed the conference on Friday, you can find it at the link below:
As we learned Friday night, sometimes God allows you to go through obstacles to strengthen you for what He already has planned. Joseph went through a lot in his life including being hated by his brothers, thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, falsely accused of rape, and put into jail for 2 years. He was completely isolated from his family for 22 years. Every obstacle he faced seemed to be worse than the last. Many times in hard situations people will ask, “Where is God?” In Joseph’s situation, before the rest of his journey even began, the scripture says “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him.” Acts 7:9 Despite the struggles Joseph went through, God never left his side. From the day he was sold into slavery to the day he breathed his last, God was with him.
Genesis 37-50 explain the whole story of Joseph but the part that stuck out with me the most was when he forgave his brothers in the end. Joseph said to his brothers, 22 years after they had sold him into slavery, “So it was God who sent me here, not you! And He is the One who made me an advisor to Pharaoh – the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all of Egypt.” Genesis 45:8
As Joseph looked back at all the obstacles he had faced in his life, he realized that God had a purpose for each one. It was God who sent him there, not anyone else. Because of his journey, Joseph would be in the right place at the right time to be able to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams that would warn him of the upcoming 7 year famine. Without warning about the famine, thousands of people would have died. God sent Joseph to save the people. He also sent him there to fulfill the covenant He had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel. Years ago, God made a promise with Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, He would bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him, He would protect and He would prosper him, and most importantly his bloodline would lead to the Deliverer (Jesus Christ). His bloodline would bless all people. If a famine ended that bloodline, that promise would have been broken. In case you haven’t noticed through scripture, our God does not break promises.
If Joseph wasn’t there, exactly where God had placed him, when Pharaoh needed his dreams interpreted, then the famine would have wiped out the bloodline that led to Jesus Christ. Joseph may not have seen his purpose as he sat in the bottom of the pit and waited on his brothers to decide what they were going to do with him, but as he stood before them, saving them from the famine in front of him, he knew that God had used him for a purpose. He forgave his brothers, saved the people from starvation, and continued the bloodline of his family. Joseph did more than just save people from a famine, he made a way for the Deliverer to one day save you and I.
It’s amazing to see how God works things out in the end. If you feel like God is nowhere near, I want you to know that He is right by your side. Even when you don’t see it, He’s working.
Be patient. Be faithful. Be who God wants you to be.
May God bless you and show you His grace every day!
-Kayla Rampey