January 23, 2023
Daily Devotion:
"In Good Times or in Crisis"
Colossians 3:12-13
God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So always do these things: Show mercy to others, be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Get along with each other, and forgive each other. If Someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord Forgave you.
If you are experiencing conflict in your home, don't despair-you are part of a long and proud lineage of family feuds. Jacob, one of the great fathers of our faith from the Old Testament, had twelve sons. As was the custom of the day, the sons were born of two mothers. Not surprisingly, there was sibling rivalry based on which mother the son was born to, but even more because Jacob clearly favored one of his wives-and especially one of his sons, Joseph. He was resented for his coat of many colors-a singular gift from his dad. He was hated for his dreams, including the one he told to his brothers, predicting that they-and his parents-would bow before him. Not even doting Jacob was crazy about that one.
When the conflict boiled over, Joseph's ten older brothers sold him into slavery and told their father Joseph was dead. While in Egypt, Joseph worked his way up to head of a household, was falsely accused and sent to prison, was forgotten in a dungeon of despair for seven years, and finally ended up as the Pharaoh's most powerful and trusted advisor. Oh, and he also forgave his brothers and saved his own people and that entire region of the world from a great famine.
Not every family meltdown has a storybook ending-it seems impossible when we are in the midst of a crisis. Children rebel and make terrible, self-defeating choices. Sibling rivalry hits epic proportions and tums a home into a battleground. Spouses lose touch. Busy schedules outweigh family bonds. In Colossians 3:12, Paul says: “Show mercy to others, be kind, humble, gentle, and patient." Maybe you are experiencing conflicts and problems that go beyond civility and preventative medicine right now. Draw comfort from Paul's instructions to “not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
And whether in good times or moments of crisis, our greatest step of faith will be to entrust our children to God.
