Today we find ourselves in the book of Exodus, which continues Moses' historical account of the people of Israel. If you remember back in Genesis, Joseph's family had come to Egypt during the famine, having received Pharoah's blessing to enter the land. The first chapter of Exodus reminds us of this humble beginning. Although they began as 70 people (Exodus 1:5), they eventually became "fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them" (Exodus 1:7).

But the people of Israel soon encountered a problem. We read that "there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph" (Exodus 1:8). This king, fearful of their great numbers, enslaved the people of Israel and even put their newborn sons to death. Despite this horrific situation, God was still at work to deliver His people and fulfill His promise.

In Exodus 2:23-25 we read that "the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help" (Exodus 2:23). We see that "God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel - and God knew" (Exodus 2:24-25). Although the situation looked dire, God hadn't forgotten His people. God was faithful to deliver Joseph and his family from the famine, and He would continue to be faithful to His promise that Abraham's descendants would be "as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore" (Genesis 22:17).

As we read the rest of Exodus (and Numbers, and Deuteronomy, and...) we see that God did exactly what He promised. He raised up His servant Moses to lead God's people out of Egypt. He later raised up Joshua to lead the charge into the promised land. Today, we see God's promises to Abraham fulfilled in Jesus and the Church (Galatians 3:29). When we consider the great multitude of Saints from all tongues, tribes, and nations, we see that God was faithful to His promise that Abraham's descendants would be as innumerable as the stars of the sky or as grains of sand on a beach.
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Because God has and always will fulfill His promises, let's consider what this means for the Christian.
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1. The Word of God and the promises contained therein serves as an immovable anchor and true north for the Christian whereas the promises that the world has to offer are at best untrustworthy and at worst perilous to the soul.
2. The Christian can live without fear. Even in the worst of circumstances, the child of God can rest assured that nothing can separate him from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39) and the eternal salvation he's received through His atoning death.
3. One promise yet to be fulfilled is the return of Christ. Because God always keeps His promises, the Christian can live with the absolute certainty that Jesus Christ will return and  that we'll spend an eternity with Him in glory.

Never forget that our God is the perfect promise keeper. Take a moment to thank Him for this remarkable truth.

In the book of Genesis, we read about the life of Joseph. If you remember how the story goes, Joseph was one of twelve sons of his father Israel (formerly Jacob). Being the son of Israel's beloved wife Rachel, Joseph was specially loved by his father. Because of this, Joseph's brothers developed a deep hatred for him, which was only accentuated by Joseph's dreams of them bowing down before him. When the opportunity presented itself, the brothers formed a plan and sold Joseph into slavery.

Joseph found himself in Egypt where he was bought by Potiphar to serve in his household. After being falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, Joseph spent two years in an Egyptian prison, only being released after accurately interpreting Pharaoh's dreams. His "luck" quickly changed when he now found himself as the number two man over all the nation of Egypt. His task was to prepare for the coming seven years of famine.

If we jump ahead in the story, we find Joseph once again reunited with his brothers who have since moved to Egypt to escape the foretold famine. His brothers are worried that now that their father had died, Joseph would want to extract his revenge. "But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today" (Genesis 50:19-20). God had been working behind the scenes to accomplish something remarkable. The brothers did something genuinely wicked in selling Joseph into slavery, but God was using that event to save Joseph's family, the Egyptians, and countless others in the midst of this famine.

What does this mean for us today? It means that things may not always be as they appear. Although we witness terrible things happening in the world, we need to remember that God is still at work accomplishing remarkable things. I can't tell you exactly how God uses tragedy and the evil intentions of man to accomplish His plan, but I trust that He does. There truly is no meaningless evil.

This is especially true for the Christian because "we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

God is weaving a divine tapestry that won't be fully seen until we're with Him in glory. When it's finally and totally revealed we'll all agree that God's plan was good. God's plan was infinitely better.

What an awesome God we have!