Our Daily Bread 12th January 2024 Friday ODB Devotional Message
Read Our Daily Bread 12th January 2024 Devotional, ODB Message written by Amy Boucher Pye and Today’s Insight By Arthur Jackson
Topic: God’s Worker
Bible in a Year: Genesis 29–30; Matthew 9:1–17
The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. – Genesis 39:23
Today’s Scripture
Genesis 39:19–23
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Today’s Insight
In Genesis 39, the word translated “prospered” (v. 2) or “success” (vv. 3, 23) is the Hebrew word tsalakh. In Genesis 24, it’s used in connection with the mission of Abraham’s “senior servant” to find a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac (vv. 21, 40, 42). Elsewhere in Scripture, “success” is associated with obedience to the Scriptures. After the mantle of leadership had been transferred from Moses to Joshua, God told Joshua that he’d be “prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8) when he obeyed God’s law. In Psalm 1, the person who delights in the words of God “is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers” (v. 3). The success of God’s servants is based on God’s provision—His presence and His strength to obey Him.
Our Daily Bread Devotional January 12, 2024 MESSAGE
In a refugee camp in the Middle East, when Reza received a Bible, he came to know and believe in Jesus. His first prayer in Christ’s name was, “Use me as your worker.” Later, after he left the camp, God answered that prayer when he unexpectedly secured a job with a relief agency, returning to the camp to serve the people he knew and loved. He set up sports clubs, language classes, and legal advice—“anything that can give people hope.” He sees these programs as a way to serve others and to share God’s wisdom and love.
When reading his Bible, Reza felt an instant connection with the story of Joseph from Genesis. He noticed how God used Joseph to further His work while he was in prison. Because God was with Joseph, He showed him kindness and granted him favor. The prison warden put Joseph in charge and didn’t have to pay attention to matters there because God gave Joseph “success in whatever he did” (Genesis 39:23).
God promises to be with us too. Whether we’re facing imprisonment—literal or figurative—hardship, displacement, heartache, or sorrow, we can trust that He’ll never leave us. Just as He enabled Reza to serve those in the camp and Joseph to run the prison, He’ll stay close to us always.
Reflect & Pray
When have you experienced God’s redeeming action, such as Reza and Joseph did? How does Joseph’s story help you to trust Him more?
Saving God, You never leave me, even when I face the hardest of circumstances. Please give me hope and eyes to see Your work in my life.
Our Daily Bread 12th January 2024 Friday ODB Message. Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.