Weeping for Joy
Today’s Scripture Selection: Genesis 45:2
“And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.”
After all the twists and turns; all the drama – Joseph is reunited with his family – the very brothers who had long ago sold him into slavery.
Does he take revenge? Does he rub their faces in the shame of their past actions? Nope. He excuses himself to the other room and weeps so loudly – for joy – that all the royal court hears him.
How different that is from normal “human nature.”
It is so easily to be slighted, intentionally or unintentionally, in this world of relationships in which we live – and even easier to lick our wounds once slighted.
Joseph is a wonderful model of faith in action.
He simply attributes all that has happened to him, good and bad, as the providential grace of God at work.
How often do we do that?
How often do we look beyond the surface to see the deep implication of all that God has planned for us?
I confess, not often enough.
Look for God at work – even in the most unusual or painful of circumstances.
You may be surprised what you see. You may even weep for joy.
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By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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