Daily Devotions – Allow the Impact of our Messages to Bring Glory to You

Daily Devotions – Allow the Impact of our Messages to Bring Glory to You

Photo by ROBIN WORRALL on Unsplash

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:

 

Genesis 37:2-11 (NIV)
2 This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he had been born to him in his old age, and he made an ornate robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. 9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

 

Puritan Joseph Caryl wrote: “Faith is a sword that can slay four monsters of the sinful heart.” Discontentment, Envy, Pride, Contempt
Which monster is found in today’s text?
Is there some way you may need to apply your faith to one or more of these monsters?

 

It is not always wise to tell everybody about the dreams, visions or all the accomplishments that you have for your own life. Joseph’s mistake was to tell everyone about his dreams. this led to hatred and jealousy from his brothers. Today, we have this thing called social media that feeds discontentment, envy, pride, and contempt. We see things that make us want more, we compare us to them with things shared that cause envy and jealousy, we display things to highlight our successes to brag, and things get heated when people can’t respect each other’s ideas and opinions. Lord help us put our pride in check so that we can share our joy without bragging, allow us to celebrate other people’s successes without feeling that we need to compare and compete and help us to filter the words that we post so that we do it respectfully and not with anger or to intentionally hurt others. Unlike Joseph, give us discretion in how we speak, interact and share the dreams, visions, and accomplishments of our lives, especially on social media. Let us instead be witnesses for You in all that we say and do and allow the impact of our messages to bring Glory to Your Holy Name. Amen