God's Heart for the Humbled (Part 1 - Joseph)

Here at Venture, we believe that God's heart is with the humbled.  He cares deeply for the poor, marginalized, and oppressed.  There are two main reasons God's heart is with the humbled: (1) He is compassionate beyond understanding and (2) He wants to make it clear to the world that when He does something it is Him doing it, not people.  So, we are going to take some time and take a tour of the Bible to see God's heart for the humbled.

One of the first times we see God's heart for the humbled is in the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50).  In this story, the second youngest of Jacob's twelve sons is made the favorite by his dad and hated by his brothers.  So his brothers sell him into slavery in Egypt where he is falsely accused of sleeping with his master's wife and thrown into prison.  He is a great example of someone who had been humbled.  It seemed as though his dreams would never come true and he was living in prison because of a false charge.

But, Scripture says that "the LORD was with Joseph" (Gen 39:2, 3, 21, 23).  And that was all Joseph needed.  How good is it to know that God is with the humbled?  We may work so hard to help them, and we are commanded too, but His presence with them is more than we could ever do. 

And, in Joseph's case, God's presence changed everything.  Because Joseph was made the number two ruler in all of Egypt and was used by God to save Egypt and the surrounding nations from a seven year famine.  Here we see God's heart for the humbled, that what the world may mean for evil, God intends to use for good (Gen 50:20).  He is with those who have been humbled, heartbroken, rejected, and thrown in prison.  And if His heart is for them, shouldn't ours?

Devlin McGuire
Venture Corps Chaplain
devlinmcguire.blogspot.com