Beyond the Weekend: Finding Hope in Family Conflict
In Finding Hope in Family Conflict, Pastor Jeff Manion and other teachers examines the life of Jacob. This series helps us see we make many of the same mistakes as Jacob. Like God does with Jacob, he is patient with us and continues to draw us closer to him. When we learn to rely completely upon God, we are more able to successfully navigate the conflicts in our own life.
Decision to Heal
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Joseph named his firstborn son Manassaeh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” Genesis 41:51
Read: Genesis 41:46-52
Listen: Genesis 41
TODAY'S MESSAGE
Our most challenging experiences reveal the heart we’ve been cultivating for a very long time. Small decisions, one after another, lead us down a path of either dependence on God or bitterness and self-will. Joseph had every opportunity to shake his fist at God for his series of unfortunate events. But he didn’t. He cultivated a heart towards God that demonstrated trust and dependence.
One evidence of this is how he named his children. Both names he chose, Manassah and Ephraim, attributed praise and recognition of God. In a foreign land where Joseph could’ve easily adopted the cultural pagan deities, he stayed true to the God of his father, Jacob.
We may not be able to will ourselves to heal overnight, but we can certainly will ourselves not to heal. We can hold onto a wound far longer than we should, allowing it to become our identity. Our wounds inform who we are, but they do not define us. And healing begins to take place as we identify more with what was done for us by Jesus Christ, than what was done to us.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
God is inviting you to release the wound that’s held you for so long and embrace his love for you. You might pray a prayer today like this, “Dear God, I’ve been hurt, and I don’t understand why you allowed it to happen. But I trust you and desire to find my identity in what you’ve done for me. I pray you help me to heal and be restored in you.”
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
