I read this today and grieved for this family. The father lost his job and saw the only way out of the tough times they were experiencing was to kill his entire family. His solution to tough times took the lives of innocent children.
There are few people who have been unaffected by the economic situation in the US and world. But there are other situations that produce tough times as well: Marriages in trouble. Kids in trouble. Drugs. Wars. Politics. Religion.
I saw a news report of people sleeping in a catholic church that their diocese planned to shut down. They hoped their sleep-in would keep the church open. Tough times.
I sat the other day with a family whose matriarch is dying. She couldn't respond to them and it was breaking their heart. Tough times.
I counseled a couple who thought their marriage was over because they were facing in law problems. Tough times.
And I saw the offering reports for January and realized the economic effects affected the work of His Church too. Tough times.
I know that tough times are never really absent, just less visible sometimes. So I want us to look at one of God's special people, Joseph, and how he handled his tough times. Those tough times actually were used by God to change their world and ours. We owe much to Joseph and his response to tough times so I figured we could learn from him. I also think that future generations (including my grandchildren) will have to live with our response to tough times, so it really matters how we respond as believers and Christ Followers. Historically, Christians have been light (Mt 5) in tough times. That's one tradition I hope we continue.
Join us on Sundays in February. We might say something you can use in your own tough time.
