Genesis 45:26-27; 46:2-3 NIV
"They told him, "Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt." Jacob was stunned. He did not believe them. But when they told him everything Joseph hod said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph hod sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.
And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!" "Here I am," he replied. "I am God, the God of your father," he said."Do not be afraid to go dawn to Egypt,for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes."
After what he thought was the death of his son, Joseph, Jacob was determined to mourn until he himself died. Life seemed to lose the meaning it once had. Joseph was his favorite son. God had made covenant with Jacob and, on occasion, had appeared to him in various ways to communicate with him about the future. After Joseph's disappearance, no more encounters between God and Jacob were recorded until he believed Joseph was really alive.
Disappointments can cause us to lose hope, or to be fainthearted. Hopelessness can cause us to lose meaning for life. Hope is a vision. Without a vision, we Jose energy, motivation and zeal. When Jacob heard of Joseph's well-being and promotion in Egypt and saw the evidence of it, his hope returned. Life regained purpose, and he had another divine encounter.
Let us not allow hope to die. For all practical purposes, Joseph and Jacob were separated forever. Without an act of God, they may have never met again before Jacob died. Yet Joseph was alive all along. Jacob just did not know it. God did not tell him Joseph was dead, but he was convinced by his sons' lies and what appeared to be solid evidence. What might have happened if he had sought God about it? Is it possible that he could have gotten assurance that Joseph was alive and that he would see him again? We don't know anything, except what is recorded, but we can learn from what Jacob did as well as what he did not do.
Jacob did Jet the evidence convince him that Joseph was dead. He did not pursue any possibility of Joseph being alive. He gave up hope and determined to mourn continually until he died. Yet all the while, Joseph was not only alive, but God was preparing to reunite them under circumstances that would be much better than they had been before. He was a little house boy whose major accomplishments seemed to be spying on his brothers and reporting their mischief. He found a governor over a powerful nation who could guarantee the well-being of his entire family throughout the remainder of the famine and beyond that. He also found a daughter-in-law and two grandsons.
Although Jacob lost hope, Joseph did not. He did not allow the circumstances to discourage him. He excelled wherever he was - even in prison. Hope makes a difference in the quality of our lives. If you don't know that a situation is over, keep hope alive. If you know from God that it is over, stir up hope for a new thing. A new tree is born from the death of seed. Without hope, faith is inactive. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Without faith, we cannot please God, and we cannot see the greatness of God on our behalf.
If we regain, or stir up hope, we can get a new outlook on life. It can revive our spirits like Jacob's spirit was revived when he saw the wagons and began to hope again. God appeared to him again after he regained hope.
I will revive hope in areas where I have let it die. I will stir up hope in areas where I have let it become weak. My hope will give me something to use my faith for. As I release faith, I will please God. If I know from God that something is over, I will stir up hope for a new thing. God will appear to me in some way to give exhortation and direction as a result of the hope that is alive in me.
