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Servant Leaders Embrace the Value of Spiritual Relationships.

In this finale of the Joseph narrative, we see that servant leaders value relationships for eternal reasons. Genesis 44 deals primarily with relationships inside the home.

The climax of the passage comes in 45:5-7. Joseph says to his brothers, “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.”

Joseph endured much because he knew God was using him to preserve a spiritual seed for generations to come. He honored God’s Word that he received through his dream. God used his obedience for the physical protection of his family and as a testimony before the lost souls in Egypt. Every lost soul needs a Spirit-filled example of faith.

In a family and in a local church, true saints work through disagreements because they are conscious of leaving a seed to represent Christ. We honor each other as royalty because we have been made holy by Christ.

In the whole book of Genesis, God’s Spirit does not tell us one vice of Joseph. Why not? He is an example of maturity regardless of conflict. The same should be said of us as we grow in the Lord. The same omnipotent, transforming, saving grace that sustained Joseph is what sustains you in your walk.

Application Points

• What are you willing to endure as an example of the Lord’s sustaining grace?
• If you have been in the Lord a long time, how “blameless” is your testimony? Could anyone – believers or unbelievers – say they have something to level against you?
• Who are some faithful examples in the Lord? Keep your eyes on them.

Tools for Further Study

Cross References to Explore:

• 2 Corinthians 4 – A Christian’s endurance.
• 1 Thessalonians – A New Testament church for which Paul had no criticism.

A Hymn to Encourage: “My Faith Looks Up To Thee”

My faith looks up to thee,
thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
take all my guilt away,
let me from this day
be wholly thine!

May thy rich grace impart
strength to my fainting heart,
my zeal inspire!
As thou hast died for me,
may my love to thee
pure, warm, and changeless be,
a living fire!

While life's dark maze I tread,
and griefs around me spread,
be thou my guide;
bid darkness turn to day,
wipe sorrow's tears away,
nor let me ever stray
from thee aside.

When ends life's transient dream,
when death's cold, sullen stream
shall o'er me roll;
blest Savior, then in love,
fear and distrust remove;
O bear me safe above,
a ransomed soul!