The AMI QT Devotionals from February 12-18 are provided by Pastor Shan Gian, who serves as the Fenway site pastor of Symphony Church in Boston. Shan, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania and Gordon Conwell Seminary (M.Div.), is married to Jenny; and they are the proud parents of Tyler.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
“Half Empty or Half Full?”
Genesis 45:4-8
So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
“Is the glass half empty or half full?” If someone answers that it’s half full, you can presume that he approaches life with optimism, but if someone says the glass is half empty, then he must be a pessimist, perceiving situations with a negative point of view. There’s no right or wrong answer, of course, but what this question shows us is that how a situation is perceived depends on one’s point of view.
If we look at how Joseph’s saw his own life at this point, it seems like he is a “half full” kind of a person. He tells his brothers that it wasn’t because of them that he was in the position he was in, but that it was God who sent him into Egypt so that he could preserve life. This is quite an amazing statement, considering all that Joseph had been through and what his brothers had done to him. If any of us went through what Joseph had experienced, we would be pointing our fingers and blaming these brothers for all of the terrible things we had to endure. Somehow, Joseph’s perception of his life was not that everything was so terrible and that he was treated wrongly or unfairly. Instead, Joseph was able to look at his life and say that it was for good.
Joseph’s view of his life is not an example of positive psychology or proof of the power of positive thinking. He’s not just a “half full” kind of guy with an optimistic view of life. Rather, Joseph was able to recognize the true reality: that his life belonged to God and that it was God’s hand that led him to where he was. When we think about our lives, our stories, or our past, we need to strive to have the same perspective that Joseph had. We all need the faith to see God’s hand working, no matter how good or bad the circumstances in our lives have been. Let us strive this day to see the reality of God’s presence which is with us always.
Prayer: Jesus, I think You for Your enduring presence and faithfulness in my life. Give me eyes of faith to see that You have always been with me, and that You will continue to be with me all the days of my life. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Numbers 34
Lunch Bible Study
Read 2 Kings 6:15-17: When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Questions to Consider
- Why was Elisha’s servant afraid?
- Why was Elisha not afraid, in spite of seeing this massive army surrounding them?
- How can we be like Elisha and not fear in our difficult circumstances?
Notes
- Because when he looked outside, he saw a huge army of horses and chariots (army of the Arameans) surrounding the city they were in, and they had come to capture Elisha. To see a vast group of your enemies surrounding you would certainly be something to be fearful of.
- Because he could see the full reality of the situation—not just the physical reality but also the spiritual reality. His servant could only see with his physical eyes, but after Elisha prayed, his eyes were opened to the spiritual dimension where he could see what Elisha could see, an even greater and more powerful army, the army of God surrounding them and protecting them.
- We need to pray that our eyes can be opened to the spiritual reality; not only are God’s armies with us, but God Himself, the Holy Spirit, dwells within us always. As 1 John 4:4 says, “…he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” We do not need to fear anything in this world because He is with us.
Evening Reflection
As you reflect on this day, did you have a sense of God’s presence with you throughout the whole day? It’s easy for us to forget that He is with us, so we must praying continually that our eyes will be opened to seeing Him and His presence with us. Remind yourself of His presence and pray that God will continue to open your eyes to see Him.
The following is possibly a true story found on the Internet: “We convinced my youngest sister that she was adopted; it was fairly easy because she was a platinum blonde and the rest of us are all brunettes… She got us back by being happy that she wasn’t actually related to us.”
Perhaps one of the most amazing realities of being a Christian is the ability to speak directly to God. At any point, any place, we have access to the Father – to speak with Him, to hear Him speak to us, to enjoy His presence. How amazing this is!
a Christian in college and I remember at my very first college retreat, during the response time to one of the messages, we spent a considerable amount of time in individual prayer. I was still a new believer, just learning how to pray, so my prayers were often very formal, even forced, since I felt like my prayers needed to be polished, like a well-written piece of literature! However, at this retreat, I was struck by many people around me who fell on their knees in prayer and were screaming in repentance before the Lord. What struck me was the freedom they showed in their prayers despite (or because of) this sense of unworthiness before God. They simply bowed before Him, desperate for His grace. This left a profound impact on me: realizing that I did not need to be so formal in my prayer, realizing that God was so much greater than me, I similarly fell before God and experienced a powerful sense of grace as I unashamedly expressed my desperation for God.
Joseph is being tricky. He is purposely trying to get Benjamin in trouble so that he can see his brothers protect Benjamin. In a sense, he wants to see if his brothers will treat Benjamin in a similar way to how they had treated Joseph before he ended up in Egypt. Still, Joseph returned their money and gave them more food than they paid for, though he secretly put his silver cup in Benjamin’s pack. All this made his brothers nervous and made them wonder what Joseph was really up to.
Many of us likely know the story of the prodigal son, a parable told by Jesus in Luke 15. A son, who was the younger of two brothers, asked his father for his share of the inheritance and, having received it from his father, left and went to live in a far country where he wasted all the money. But upon realizing his utter bankruptcy, the son thinks to himself, “Perhaps I should return home.” However, because of his worry that the father won’t accept him unless he returns as a servant, he plans a speech accordingly: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants” (Luke 15:18-9).
When I read this passage, what comes to mind is Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings. In the Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn promised to protect Frodo no matter the cost. He would stand by his side and ensure that no danger would come upon him. Similarly, in the Two Towers, Aragorn made it his mission to find Merry and Pippen, and to ensure that no harm came upon them by the hands of the Uruk-hai. Parents often do something similar: they tell their children to trust them, that they will guarantee their safety, as they ride a bike for the first time, or do something else that could be scary for the child.
As we know from the story of Joseph, there was certainly reason for him to be upset with his brothers. Because of them, he ended up as a slave in Egypt! Yet, as Joseph’s brothers came for grain during the famine, you can sense there was an eagerness for Joseph to be reconciled to them; however, before doing that he wanted them to bring Benjamin. In some way, this was how Joseph believed they would demonstrate their repentance for what they had done. But until then, his brothers wouldn’t see his face again.
The AMI QT Devotionals for February 5-11 are provided by Doug Tritton. Doug, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania, is currently serving as a staff at Symphony Church (Boston), while pursuing a M.Div. at Gordon Conwell Seminary. He is married to Cindy and they are proud parents of Audrey.
In our narrative in Genesis, however, we read that “the famine was severe in the land”—meaning that the scenario for Jacob and his sons is life or death, and they need bread, right away. They were in the throes of lasting, heavy hunger. So, imagine yourself in the shoes of Jacob’s sons. You are terribly afraid of Egypt after your first visit there, but you know you need to go back in order to get food. You know that you need to bring Benjamin with you, yet Jacob will likely not allow that. Between the competing demands and the severe hunger, you can probably imagine that this situation would be quite paralyzing for Jacob’s sons.
One of the most interesting lessons I had in elementary school was about metamorphosis. Every single classroom in my grade level adopted a house of caterpillars. We would watch the caterpillars wriggle about, eat plants, and even begin to create cocoons. What was incredible was that, one day, butterflies emerged. It was hard to believe that once they had been fat caterpillars!