Overcoming Trials

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading titled Overcoming Trials was written by Allison Keita. Anne grew up in poverty and pain. Two of her siblings died in infancy. At five, an eye disease left her partially blind and unable to read or write. When Anne was eight, her mother died from tuberculosis. Shortly after, her abusive father abandoned his three surviving children. The youngest was sent to live with relatives, but Anne and her brother Jimmy went to Tewkesbury Almshouse, a dilapidated, overcrowded poorhouse.

A few months later, Jimmy died. At age 14, Anne's circumstances brightened. She was sent to a school for the blind where she underwent surgery to improve her vision and learn to read and write. Though she struggled to fit in, she excelled academically and graduated valedictorian.

Today, we know her best as Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller's teacher and companion. Through effort, patience and love, Anne taught blind and deaf Helen to speak, to read Braille, and to graduate from college. In the book of Genesis, Joseph too had to overcome extreme trials. At 17, he was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and was later wrongly imprisoned. Yet God used him to save Egypt and his family from famine. We all face trials and troubles, but just as God helped Joseph and Anne to overcome and to deeply impact the lives of others, he can help and use us. Seek him for help and guidance.

He sees and hears. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Genesis chapter 50 verses 15 through 21. When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him? So they sent word to Joseph saying, Your father left these instructions before he died. This is what you are to say to Joseph. I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly. Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father. When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. We are your slaves, they said. But Joseph said to them, Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

So then don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children. And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for using others to help us through our trials.

Use us to be a helper to someone else. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. I'm Rachelle Traube, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.