Hope in Every Season – A 30 Day Journey Through Joesph’s Story ~ Week 2 – Sparrow’s Song Ministries

Hello family,

Welcome to Week Two of the Embrace the Word study — Hope in Every Season: A 30-Day Journey Through the Story of Joseph.

(The link to the FREE Devotional Guide is at the end of this email.)

This past week: 

• we saw how Joseph endured challenges, many at the hands of his own brothers. (Genesis 37)
• We saw how unchecked emotions can threaten peace but how hope in God can encourage your soul (Psalm 42:5). 
• We saw how faithfulness in service and integrity in trials can bring God’s favor, blessing, and strength (Genesis 39:1-6, Genesis 39:7-12). 
• We saw that using your gifts to serve others can bring hope to others, even when we ourselves have to wait. (Genesis 40:1-23, 41:1). 

We explored so many things through Joseph’s story, but one thing stood out from the study. 

Genesis 39:21 says, “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” 

The Lord was continually with Joseph, and God showed him His steadfast love! The word often translated into the phrase steadfast love in Hebrew is ḥeseḏ. Different translations render the word as lovingkindness, mercy, kindness, goodness, and favor.

This phrase is found in many places in Scripture. One of these places is Psalm 118. 

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for His steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 118:1. 

The phrase “For His steadfast endures forever” is found five times in this Psalm. Its different rendering from other translations can be distressing to some. I, however, find this to be beautiful—absolutely beautiful. The word ḥeseḏ is so rich in meaning that it transcends the limitations of language. While words like lovingkindness, mercy, kindness, goodness, and favor may be synonymous, they only scratch the surface of ḥeseḏ’s depth. Every word, when attempting to express the magnitude of God’s love, falls short, reminding us of the incomprehensible nature of His love.

It was this steadfast love that kept Joseph through all that he endured, and it is this steadfast love that will keep us. 

Remember, the first major point from our study: God’s plan for our lives cannot be thwarted!

While God is working His plan for our lives, He is keeping us in His steadfast love! Oh, how that should give us hope! 

This week, we will go further in the story of Joseph, exploring the encounter with Pharaoh and his encounter with his brothers in Egypt. 

As always, you can engage with this ETW study in many ways. You can:

• Follow the ETW “Hope in Every Season” reading/writing plan. It includes 30 days of Scripture related to the topic.
• Download the FREE Hope in Every Season Devotional Guide, which includes weekly teachings with daily Pause, Prayer, and Praise reflection prompts to guide you as you study God’s Word. This month’s guide includes a character study tip sheet and a character study map

Download Week Two HERE!

Download Week One ​HERE​!

• Like and Follow Sparrow’s Song on​ Facebook​ or​ Instagram​ for additional content.This a place to share your insights, questions, comments, or testimonies! Also, check out our hope checks this month!

Join us as we look for Hope in Every Season! Come with expectant hearts, ready to be filled with hope. Bring your Bibles, questions, and even a friend who is down for a journey into hope. Join us in this journey of hope! Let Joseph’s story inspire you to trust God’s plan, forgive freely, and live with hope that sustains and inspires every day.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13

Your friend in the journey, 

Remember: The Word W.O.R.K.S. We are walking in Wholeness, Obedience, Righteousness, and Kingdom Success through the Word of God.