Keep On Believing

Keep On Believing

Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house.

They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys.”

Genesis 43:18

Joseph’s brothers didn’t know what was going to happen to them. They certainly didn’t expect this ruler of Egypt, who was actually their brother Joseph, to be kind and sympathetic to them. They didn’t expect this man to make them rich and promote them to positions of honor. It wasn’t time for them to recognize the wonderful things God was doing for them.

In the meantime, they were sleeping and snoring, paying no attention to God’s promise. They thought they were going to be severely punished. Everything they thought, said, and did was happening as if they were in a dream. Later on, when Joseph told them, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!”(Genesis 45:4), they would wake up and see that everything they were so afraid of was nothing but a dream.

Often we too live as if we were sleepwalking. No one can tell we’re asleep by looking at us. But we aren’t awake. If we truly believe God’s Word, a time will come when we will finally wake up and open our eyes. But when facing difficult situations, our hearts might not be able to be as strong and confident as God’s Word requires. Then, at the very least, we should keep on believing in a weak sort of way, as Joseph’s brothers did here. We shouldn’t start complaining against God or grow tired of praying and calling out to him. In difficult times, we may not be able to believe God as strongly, praise him as wholeheartedly, and pray to him as sincerely as we do in good times. But at least we should believe and pray as much as we are able.