I'm looking out for my Brothers

There is a fictional story about a man who was the sole survivor of a ship which sank at sea. He was able to make a small raft from the ship’s cargo and eventually drift to a desert island. There, he constructed a make-shift shelter and lived on the little food he could salvage from the wreckage. Time after time, he attempted unsuccessfully to attract the attention of a passing ship. Finally, he saw a ship approaching more closely and hurriedly set a signal fire ablaze. To his dismay, the ship passed by and was quickly fading from sight. Accidentally, sparks from the signal fire set the thatched roof of his shelter in flames, and the man watched hopelessly and helplessly as all of his provision burned to ashes.

Looking out for my brother - story of Joseph

All was lost, he reasoned, and life could not last much longer. Suddenly, he noticed that the ship which had passed him by was turning around and approaching the island more closely than before. To his great relief, he was seen by the crew and rescued. Once on board, the grateful survivor went to the captain of the ship to express his thanks. “But what caused you to turn around after you had already passed by me?” he queried. “Why, we saw the signal fire you made by setting your shelter on fire,” the captain responded.

The very thing which seemed to seal the doom of this marooned man was the means of his delivery. What seemed to spell disaster for him became an instrument of his salvation. That is precisely the case with Joseph.

The words that make this article's title was made by Joseph, when his father sent him to his brothers. The journey was a long one - a five days journey. However, he was committed to the task, because of the love he had for his brothers although they never had same mind towards him. From a young age, Joseph believed God had destined him for greatness. In dreams, God assured Joseph that he would rise to a position of leadership over his parents and brothers (Gen. 37:5-11). From Joseph’s point of view, these dreams were evidence of divine blessing, rather than his own ambition. From his brothers’ point of view, however, the dreams were further manifestations of the unfair privilege that Joseph enjoyed as the favorite son of their father, Jacob.

Though Joseph's brothers intended to harm him, God intended to work through their actions for good. If you read the latter end of the story, you will see that, she still looked out for his brothers when he saw them in Egypt, he never had animosity toward them, he welcomed them with love and open arms. The story of Joseph is an exceptional one in the Bible, it gives you moral lessons you can't find anywhere.


To put it more briefly, God’s providence secures his promises.  God’s providence, his actions in creation to advance His purpose, secures the promises He has made to humanity. And because God is at work in Joseph’s life and in yours and mine, in bigger ways than you and I could ever comprehend we know that we can press on. We know that because He has promised in Romans 8 . . . all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. That doesn’t mean we will understand all things. But just because we don’t understand them doesn’t mean they aren’t good.

As the heavens is far from the Earth so are the ways of God far from us and his thoughts. Sometimes we just have to sit down, and let God have his way.
 

So I have just one question for you, are you looking out for your brothers like Joseph? Or you will say "am I my brothers keeper like Cain"?



2/Post a Comment/Comments

Please drop a comment and use the Social Media Buttons below to share to friends and family.

  1. On a Monday morning, this hits differently, starting a new week with love.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm happy that you have started this week with love.
      And I pray it continues

      Delete

Post a Comment

Please drop a comment and use the Social Media Buttons below to share to friends and family.