29 As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time. Genesis 46
Joseph was the ruler of Egypt and of Pharaoh’s palace, a highly responsible position. God had given him grace to carry that role, yet when he met his father, ‘the floodgates opened’ and all his pent-up emotions poured out. People carry many hidden things which may deeply affect their lives and dispositions. Joseph obviously functioned perfectly well in his daily work, but somewhere deep within missed Jacob, his father. Some people may lose a parent early in life and it can affect their whole lives.
30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.”
Jacob in turn exhibited relief at meeting his son, whom he’d been told was dead. Jacob felt he was, ‘now ready to die’ after meeting Joseph again.
People may be carrying hidden things in their lives that only God knows about; a good reason to ‘walk softly’ around those we meet, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.
33 When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you should answer, ‘Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, JUST AS OUR FATHERS DID.’
Joseph accurately predicted the course of Pharaoh’s conversation with his brothers. Not so different from today, ‘what’s your job?’ A common question when people meet for the first time and try to get the measure of those they’re talking with.
Joseph ‘should have been’ a shepherd, but God had given him a different gifting, which initially caused problems within his family. Genesis 37:11 states that when Joseph shared his dreams, ‘his brothers were jealous of him, BUT HIS FATHER KEPT THE MATTER IN MIND. (Abraham Lincoln, didn’t fit well in his community, but like Joseph he rose to become president of his nation.) A serious question, has God gifted you, naturally and spiritually, for a very different role than you’re in right now? ‘Career Change’ is a major topic today, moving on to something very different in the next phase of life. A FATHER, NATURAL OR SPIRITUAL, MAY HELP YOU DISCERN IF GOD HAS SOMETHING NEW AND VERY DIFFERENT FOR YOUR FUTURE.
Joseph could probably have lived as a shepherd, but he was never called to be one and that’s why God removed him from his family environment. God may be calling someone reading this today to a radical change of life.
Immanuel, Stay Strong, God is with us.