ARE YOU PREPARED
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and soon all the land belonged to Pharaoh. As for the people, he made them all slaves, from one end of Egypt to the other.
Genesis 47:20-21 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
We now see the outcome of Pharaoh’s dream and Joseph’s plan. There are seven years of abundance and Joseph collects 20% of the abundance and stores it, then comes seven years of famine. After a few years of famine, the people run out of food and come to buy it from Joseph. As the famine continues the people sell their livestock, their land, and eventually themselves to get food. The nation of Egypt becomes very wealthy. Joseph then gives the people seed to plant to grow their food but demands 20% of the harvest. This makes Egypt even more powerful. Note something here, what if the people had been disciplined enough during the times of abundance to save their own crops? What if they had stored up during their times of abundance instead of using up all they had? They paid a “tax” of 20% to the government and used up the rest. In times of difficulty, they had to turn to the government for help. They got the help but became slaves to the government. A great lesson for us. We must pay taxes to the government for them to provide protection and order to our society. But we should also consider paying ourselves every month. We should be preparing for those times in life when it might be difficult. I have prayed with lots of people who have made great money in their lives but spent it all thinking they could always make money. They didn’t plan for the future. They never put money aside for their future and when trouble came (as it will) they were dependent on the government or others to help them out. I believe God wants to be our provider and we should not wait for the crisis to prepare. God, in His wisdom, can direct us today to be prepared for tomorrow.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit help me to be a good steward of what You have given me. Help me start today to prepare for my future. You know what I need to be doing. Please show me.
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