Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. Genesis 37:3

Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons and he showed this by making a beautiful robe for him. It wasn’t just any robe, it was probably a robe similar to the kind worn by royalty which was an outward signs for Joseph’s brothers to be reminded yet again; “dad likes Joseph better than us.” Ouch, that has to hurt.

I’m sure you’ve been in a situation of jealousy before. Maybe you were the one who was jealous or maybe a friend was jealous of something you had. During the summer months I become very jealous while I’m on Facebook looking at everyone’s summer vacation plans. Once I’ve had my vacation time, I don’t feel nearly as envious, but before that – I would sit there and live vicariously through everyone else’s snapshots of their adventures.

We must be very careful how we handle jealousy. We might not think it’s a big deal at the time but look at what eventually happened between Joseph and his brothers. The bitterness kept building and building until one day his brothers decided to kill him. Luckily God had other plans and they ended up selling him to the Midianite merchants, who then sold him to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials. But what started off as probably a small annoyance became stronger and stronger. This is a lesson I have to remind myself on a daily basis too my friends – the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Just because someone’s life might look great on the outside, doesn’t mean that it’s picture perfect on the inside. We have a God who loves us and will provide what we need, not always everything that we think we want, but He will provide our needs if we ask. Let’s focus on that today and be grateful for who we are and all that we have through Christ Jesus.

Prayer

God of Jacob You always have a plan for our lives. Help us to trust in You to carry out those plans, even when the road may seem bumpy or just plain treacherous. Help us to let go of all jealousy, bitterness and rage and to remember that God is love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.