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The great English preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head.” This belief enabled Joseph to not only be at peace with his history but also to reconcile with his brothers who had treated him so unjustly.

Our study has focused on Joseph, but our passage today reminds us that the Joseph story is about more than simply the experience of one individual. This is the story of a family, a community in relationship with God. God had made a covenant with Abraham that necessitated the creation of a family. Several generations later, we can see how God’s...

People who move to a new country—whether as immigrants, refugees, or missionaries—often try to learn their new culture while maintaining their previous national and cultural activity. The first generation might keep their language and customs, but their children and grandchildren assimilate more until the original cultural identity is subsumed...

Second-generation immigrants often struggle to know where they belong. In Affinity magazine, one second-generation teenager said: “I feel too American to be Chinese and too Chinese to be American.”

Since the earliest recorded history, humans have wanted to know the future. Some of the earliest written texts are attempts to forecast the future by tracing the pattern of the stars or through examining the entrails of a sacrificed animal. The desire to know the future is just as strong today. From forecasting the future of the economy to...

“Don’t forget where you came from!” This advice is often given to first-generation college students, people moving to another area of the country, or those who become more financially successful than their parents and grandparents. It is a call to remember that they have not achieved everything simply because of their own effort. Rather, many...

A person’s will usually reflects what they value as most important. In 2007, hotel owner and businesswoman Leona Helmsley died with an estate worth an estimated $4 billion. Much of that money went to a charitable trust; however, she also left a $12 million trust fund for her dog, Trouble. She left two of her grandchildren $5 million each (contingent...

Is there a difference between the will of God and the guidance of God? Question 1 Yes, there is a difference between the Lord’s will and the Lord’s guidance. God’s will for our lives is plainly revealed in Scripture. For example, it is God’s will for us to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:16–18).

I was told that according to Matthew 18:20, all that is required for a church to exist is two or three people gathered together in Jesus’ name. Is that the teaching of this passage? Question 3 No. This is a misunderstanding, the result of not paying careful attention to the context of this verse. In context, the concern under discussion...

Moses and the Burning Bush In the opening passage of her book Dakota, writer Kathleen Norris described its “spiritual geography”: “The high plains, the beginning of the desert West, often act as a crucible for those who inhabit them. Like Jacob’s angel, the region requires that you wrestle with it before it bestows a blessing. . . . Nature,...