December 13, 2023 – Our Daily Bread Devotional Wednesday ODB Message
Read December 13, 2023 – Our Daily Bread Devotional, Wednesday ODB Devotional Message written by Alyson Kieda and Today’s Insight By Arthur Jackson.
TOPIC: Overcoming Trials
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Bible in a Year: Hosea 12–14; Revelation 4
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. – Genesis 50:20
Today’s Scripture
Genesis 50:15–21
Our Daily Bread 13th December 2023 Insight:
In Genesis 50, we see the mysterious interplay and tension between human responsibility and God’s sovereignty. When the survival of Jacob’s offspring was threatened, God’s preservation plan was already in play. Joseph, who’d triumphed through trials, was at the right place, at the right time, occupying the right position. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (v. 20). This verse weds humanity’s evil and God’s sovereignty and previews what we see in the crucifixion of Jesus. Peter’s preaching on Pentecost included these words: “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead” (Acts 2:23-24; see 4:24-30).
December 13, 2023 – Our Daily Bread Devotional | MESSAGE:
Anne grew up in poverty and pain. Two of her siblings died in infancy. At five, an eye disease left her partially blind and unable to read or write. When Anne was eight, her mother died from tuberculosis. Shortly after, her abusive father abandoned his three surviving children. The youngest was sent to live with relatives, but Anne and her brother, Jimmie, went to Tewksbury Almshouse, a dilapidated, overcrowded poorhouse. A few months later, Jimmie died.
At age fourteen, Anne’s circumstances brightened. She was sent to a school for the blind, where she underwent surgery to improve her vision and learned to read and write. Though she struggled to fit in, she excelled academically and graduated valedictorian. Today we know her best as Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller’s teacher and companion. Through effort, patience, and love, Anne taught blind and deaf Helen to speak, to read Braille, and to graduate from college.
Joseph too had to overcome extreme trials: at seventeen, he was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and was later wrongly imprisoned (Genesis 37; 39–41). Yet God used him to save Egypt and his family from famine (50:20).
We all face trials and troubles. But just as God helped Joseph and Anne to overcome and to deeply impact the lives of others, He can help and use us. Seek Him for help and guidance. He sees and hears.
Reflect & Pray
How has God helped you through a trial? How have you been able to help another in their struggle?
Dear God, thank You! You helped me come through a trial. Please help me to be a helper to others.
Our Daily Bread Devotional 13th December 2023, Wednesday 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.
READ MORE TOPICS: OPEN HEAVENS, OUR DAILY BREAD, IN TOUCH, SEEDS OF DESTINY, STREAMS OF JOY, JOEL OSTEEN, MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE, DCLM DAILY MANNA, UCB WORD FOR TODAY
