The scripture for today, July 18, is Acts 7:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“Then another king, who knew nothing about Joseph, became ruler of Egypt.”
Does God really answer prayers? When the Jews first arrived in Egypt, they received “royal treatment” because they were relatives of “Prime Minister” Joseph. Then he died, but his relatives stayed. Eventually they were resented, then feared, then made slaves of the Egyptians.
For the following 400 years or so, the Jews prayed for God to release them from their slavery. Generation after generation died believing that God does not answer prayers.
But God saw the big picture. He saw that the 70 relatives of Joseph who originally went to Egypt would become over three million over the next four centuries. Then and only then would they be large enough to begin a new nation ~ the Jewish nation. In Egypt during those centuries, they were in a form of “protective custody”.
Are you frustrated and confused because God is seemingly not answering some very important prayers? Perhaps you are part of a bigger picture that God knows about. Perhaps your job is to stay where you are and just keep hanging on. Are you up to the task God has assigned to you?