Thanks for returning for the fourth in our Advent series on “Thanking Jesus.” We are exploring people in the Bible who expressed thanks to God for His blessings.
Today, once again, it is not the family patriarch but one of his sons who expresses thanks to God. The patriarch Jacob, who has every reason to give thanks when he learns that his son Joseph is alive, leaves no record of thanks. But Joseph, who has experienced slavery, injustice, and prison, leaves a forever record of a grateful heart. He who was ripped away from his family, now is the second most important man in all of Egypt. He has finally married and formed a new family of his own. In Genesis 41:51,52, Joseph’s wife gives birth to two sons. Their names reflect Joseph’s grateful heart. He names his first son Manasseh because “God has made me forget all my troubles,” and he names the second Ephraim because “God has made me fruitful in this land of my suffering.”
Like Leah, Joseph did not give in to discouragement. He trusted God to bless him in the midst of suffering. And later he was grateful.
Are you facing difficult circumstances today? Can you trust God to make you fruitful in the land of your suffering? How can you express thanks to the Lord today?
