Anyone who lives long enough will experience the strange phenomenon called "grief." Sooner or later we all lose someone close to us, and when that happens, we're likely to discover powerful forces have taken control of us whether we welcome them or not. Our emotions go on a rollercoaster ride, our thinking becomes cloudy, and even our bodies respond in ways that can be frightening. There's no way to stop the process of grief since its powers are far greater than our will, but we can cope with it much better if we understand what's happening and receive God's comfort while we're going through it. Even when handled well, grief takes time; if it's not handled well, it can go on indefinitely. That's why we need to study Joseph's grief. We can learn some valuable lessons from his example which can help minimize our own grief or make us more helpful when others suffer.

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It's only natural to evaluate a person's potential based on the obvious resources he/she possesses. The more money, talent, good looks, education, intelligence or social standing he/she has the more we expect him/her to succeed in life. And often this proves to be true. In the world these are the things that tend to make us successful. But when we turn to spiritual matters, these benefits can quickly become obstacles. We can find ourselves trying to serve God using the world's resources. Ironically, it seems when we enter the spiritual arena, it's the people who lack such resources and advantages that frequently take the lead. In Jacob's blessing of his grandsons we see this strange twist of circumstances once again. A person with no apparent reason to be favored receives God's blessing in measures beyond someone who seemed to have a rightful claim on it. Just as had happened over the past two generations, a younger son took the blessing from his older brother. In this study we'll try to understand why this happened and then apply what we learn to us today.

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When Jacob arrived in Egypt, he was not a happy man. For at least the past 22 years he had been walking through a dark valley of despair. So when he was introduced to Pharaoh and asked how old he was, he responded by expressing discouragement. He said his life had been unpleasant, and he expected to die early. Yet he didn't die right away. In fact, God kept him alive for another 17 years, and by the end of those years, his attitude had changed remarkably. Now he spoke tenderly of God's goodness because these last years changed the way he viewed his life. They were a joyful time of recognizing God's faithfulness. God had not let him die on a sour note but had set a limit on the darkness, bringing him at last into a new day, full of victory. What we see happen to Jacob is not an exceptional display of God's kindness but is in fact an essential part of His nature. He does allow dark valleys to come, but He will never leave us in those valleys. It's important to Him that each of us comes to the moment when we joyfully declare His faithfulness, realizing He has not allowed our enemies to triumph over us (Ps 3:3). As David said in the Psalms, though our weeping may last for the night, we can be confident a shout of joy will come in the morning (Ps 30:5). In God there will always be a morning.

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When father and son were at last together again after 22 years, the first thing Jacob must have asked Joseph was, "I thought you had been killed by a wild animal. What happened to you? How did you end up in Egypt?" Joseph's answer would determine the future of that family. Knowing Joseph as we do it's certain he neither lied nor hid information from his father. When asked, he surely revealed the horrible betrayal he and his father suffered at the hands of his brothers. This information alone would have hit Jacob like a blow to the stomach. It easily could have alienated him permanently from his sons and thrown him back into depression, disintegrating what was left of an already troubled family. But this is not what happened, and we have to ask the question, "Why? Why didn't Jacob turn in hatred against his sons?" The answer must lie largely with Joseph. He must have helped his father process the terrible truth he told him. Ironically, the only person who could save the family was the one who had been hurt most deeply by it. Only he had the right to beg his father for mercy for his brothers or help him process the pain of betrayal.

Many of us are in families or friendships which have disintegrated because of an outrageous betrayal of trust. Something has been done or said that stabbed the relationship in the heart like a knife so that it seems there is now no hope that love could ever flow there again. Yet, as we observe Joseph's role in the healing of his family, we see how damaged relationships, even those that seem doomed, can be restored by God.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge!

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Whenever God sows a seed, He has a harvest in mind. No farmer, least of all God, plants a seed without expecting it to reproduce itself many times. So if we allow ourselves to become a seed in God's hand, we too can expect our lives to produce a harvest for God. In fact, the Bible tells us that when He is in control of this process, we will see results that are "exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us..." (Eph 3:20). In other words, God loves to bring extraordinary results from meager human efforts, because, when such miracles occur, everyone's attention is diverted away from the work we've done, to the obvious miracle He's done. This proves to people that He exists and may actually draw them to believe in God and one day have the faith that brings eternal life.

In this lesson we'll identify the "seed" Jacob planted when he took his family to Egypt; next we'll examine two of Jesus' parables about seeds, and then we'll consider four things God requires in order for us to become His "seeds" which produce a miracle harvest, and finally we'll see the size of Jacob's harvest.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge!

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Jacob was headed to Egypt, but he was worried. His father had been told not to go to Egypt but to dig a well. Now, like his father, he was headed for Egypt to escape a famine. When he heard from God, God's instructions were exactly the opposite of what his father had been told. This illustrates an important point: While in many areas God's will is the same for all of us (moral standards, requirements for discipleship, fruit of the Spirit); in matters of personal calling and daily guidance, His will is very specific for each person, and we must hear from Him ourselves. God's instructions are often personal and cannot be automatically applied from one person to the next.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge!

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What appeared to be a tragic series of events caused by sinful humans yielding to their basest impulses turned out instead to be steps leading Joseph and his family into the middle of God's will. That's what Joseph was trying to explain to his brothers. At that point in time, all they could see was the devastation they had caused, and they grieved over it and were angry at each other. But, in the same moment, God showed Joseph the "bigger picture."

As he looked back over all that had happened, he understood that God had guided his life and used its harsh circumstances to bring him to this place where he could save his family and many others from starvation. As he shared this perspective with his brothers, despair gave way to hope. In spite of themselves, God had overruled their past and prepared a wonderful future for them.

In our lesson for today, we'll hear the promise that God can accomplish His will in our lives even when people and the devil try to destroy us. But we'll also remember that we must do our part for this to happen.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge!

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

Some people are easy to love. They have qualities we admire, and they make us feel good when we are around them. In these relationships love is a "two-way street." We love them, and they love us back. But sometimes we find ourselves in the confusing position of trying to love someone who does not love us or loves us less than we love them. No matter how hard we try, we are unable to win their heart. In these sad scenarios love is only a "one-way street." This is painful under any circumstance, but the level of pain grows exponentially when the person rejecting us is a member of our family. Parents, children, spouses and other relatives "ought" to love us because we belong to them. Yet, in some cases, try as we will, the situation never seems to change. This was the emotional reality for ten of Jacob's 12 sons. From childhood they were forced to face the bitter truth that their father loved two of their brothers far more than the rest of them. In our study for today, we observe a remarkable attitude in some or all of these rejected sons. The jealousy of their younger years has disappeared, and they have clearly chosen to love their father even though he has not changed his feelings toward them. Somehow they accepted their circumstances and chose to love an old man too broken to love them back. Since many of us also find ourselves loving people who don't love us back, we'll try to learn some of the lessons these ten sons must have learned.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge!

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.