“And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them.”
– Genesis 42:9
Genesis 42:9 Reminds Us that Nothing Can Thwart God’s Will
So here in Genesis 42:9, we see the brothers of Joseph who sold him into slavery, the same brothers that Joseph had dreamed about bowing down to him. Now they come to him begging for food. This verse says Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. I read this and I’m just reminded that what God says will come to pass will indeed come to pass. Nothing can thwart the will of God. Nothing. Even the brothers.
You think about it. They tried to destroy this dreamer. But their attempts at destroying the dreamer like selling Joseph into slavery actually ended helping to fulfill the dream. They had no idea that in what they were doing they were actually bringing about the fulfillment of this dream that Joseph had had. I just see this and I think “Yes, God’s will is rock solid, guaranteed.” Therefore, we put all of our trust in God and His word. His promises will come to pass.
Genesis 42:9 Reminds Us that God’s Glory Will Be Known
I think about specifically His promise to make His glory known in all nations. It will come to pass. There’s no question. I was praying today for the Muslin Kanuri in Nigeria, an unreached people group there. It’s guaranteed. Nothing can thwart. Muslim Kanuri will be represented around the throne. Revelation Chapter 7: “Every nation, tribe, tongue, people gather around the throne.” The Muslim Kanuri are going to be there, and nothing can thwart that.
Therefore when we pray like that, when we pray for the spread of the Gospel among people groups like that, when we go to make the Gospel known among people groups like that, we can know it’s going to happen. It’s going to happen. It’s guaranteed. We give our lives to the mission of God, to see disciples made in every single nation.
Oh, just let this soak in. That’s a mission that is guaranteed to succeed. What other mission is guaranteed to succeed? Guaranteed? Oh, this affects the way we live. We give how we use our resources, don’t we? You think about it. Stocks, like we put our money in what we think, what we hope will bring the greatest return. Well, what better place to put money than in the mission of God and seeing the Gospel spread to the nations because we know it’s guaranteed to return that reward? It will happen. Oh, this affects the way we give. It affects the way we go, the way we live. God, use us to bring about the accomplishment, the fulfillment of that mission, seeing disciples made in all the nations. This affects the way we pray.
This Verse Leads Us to Pray for Unreached People
We pray right now. God, we pray. Specifically, we pray right now for the Muslim Kanuri in Nigeria. We pray for them. They’ve yet to hear the Gospel. But we know you’ve promised that they will hear the Gospel. So we are praying right now. God, use us to get the Gospel to them. God, use Christians close by in Nigeria to get the Gospel to them. Send out missionaries to get the Gospel to them. We pray for the Muslim Kanuri in Nigeria to hear and receive the Gospel. Also, we pray for church plants there and for new disciples there. We know your will cannot be thwarted. And this is your will.
So we pray with confidence that it’s going to happen. We pray with confidence right now. We pray you’d help us to live in light of that confidence. Help us to give toward that which we know will happen and to give for the accomplishment, the fulfillment of your will. Help us to live toward that end today as we work, as we play, as we spend time with neighbors and coworkers and go here and there.
This Verse Leads Us to Pray for Help Sharing the Gospel
God, we pray that you would help us to share the Gospel, help us to point people to Christ, help us to point people to you and know that as we do that, you will save people from their sins. You will draw people to yourself for this is your will. Also, you desire to see people come to know your love. Oh, God. Use our praying right now for the Muslim Kanuri in Nigeria, our lives right now wherever we are, our churches. God, your kingdom come, your will be done, your absolute rock solid guaranteed will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We pray in Jesus’s name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
