Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. --Genesis 37:3-4
For wrath kills a foolish man, And envy slays a simple one.--Job 5:2
To My Precious Daughters,
So many of us are immersed in the sins of discontentment, and envy Looking around us we lament, "how come he, why not me or why shouldn't I? Envy brings along a host of other sins including malice and hatred. Envy is the pain we feel inside when someone gets something we want or we think we deserve. Malice is the satisfaction we feel when we see them fail. Slander usually follows. The person who lives in these sins, lives in a prison of their own making and defiles all who come into contact with them with their dissatisfaction, hatred and very often, hypocrisy.
Putting aside Jacob's sin of favoritism for this study, look at what envy, malice and hatred in the heart brought about for Joseph's brothers. Now God worked what they meant for evil for good and for the saving of the nation but it made them fall so far that they were able to throw their younger brother in a pit and have a picnic lunch surrounded by his pleas for mercy.
Beloved, be content with the possessions, the position and the circumstances that God has blessed you with. That is right...blessed you with. Take a few minutes to look back over your life and see how He has delivered you from your own desires. So often we think we know what we need to be happy. Don't go there...give it to the Lord. Allow Him to put you forward or keep you back. Position, power, prestige and possessions oftentimes come with very high price tags. Your God knows not only what you need but what you can handle. Psalm 84 tells us that the Lord will withhold no good thing from those who fear Him. Know this and surrender to His direction and will for your life. The Lord knows exactly what you need. He is your manufacturer and has already paid for you with the highest of prices...His Son's death on the cross.
All of us are vulnerable to envy and like other sins it begins in our hearts which the bible tells us are desperately wicked. Girls, keep your hearts with all diligence for out of the heart springs the issues of life and it is out of the abundance of the heart that your mouth will speak. Evil speaking is a symptom of malice, envy and deceit in your heart. Be ruthless with these sins. Feeding them or allowing them to fester will crowd your heart with selfish desires and wrong things and bring about your ruin. Fill your heart with Him and His word. Delight yourself in the LORD and He shall give you the desires of your heart. What does that mean, you ask?
As you spend more and more time with the Lord and His word, His desires for you will become your own desires for yourself. You will begin to not want anything else but His presence and His will in your life. You will, in fact, fear going your own way. The more we get to know the Lord, the more we will delight in His presence. The better we know the Lord the more we will rely on Him because our eyes will be opened to our own fleshly weaknesses and sin. Gladly will we relinquish the control and direction of our life to Him who does all things well! Gladly will we commit it all to Him! His desires for us are from His heart of love for us. Trust Him to do it all well in your life. He can see around corners...He sees the end from the beginning. You do not!
Love
Mom
