Genesis 43: 15-34
 
These verses describe a scene that is filled with emotions. Emotions are something we deal with every day of our lives. They are powerful and can control our lives if we allow them to. We must always remember that our emotions arise from our minds, or our souls. Since we are fallen creatures, our emotions have been affected too. We must learn to check our emotions against the Word of God to ensure that we are not led astray by our feelings.
 
Young girls will give up their purity because they are lost in a sea of emotions. Men abandon their families because they get caught up in emotions. Families and churches are ripped apart because people allow emotions like anger, bitterness, jealousy, and resentment to control them.Of course, God works in our emotions too. He uses the natural responses we have to the events of life to teach us about Him, His will, and what He is doing in our lives.
 
In this reunion scene between these brothers, we see 12 men who are displaying The Power of Emotions. I want to point out the emotions that are portrayed here and the lessons they have to teach us.
 
I.  VV. 18-24 When these men are brought into Joseph’s house, they become “afraid.” This word means “to be filled with dread.” So, with their hearts still pounding in fear, they prepare themselves for the arrival of Joseph for the noon meal.
 
Fear is a terrible emotion! It is paralyzing in the effect it has on our lives. Fear renders us incapable of trusting the Lord and looking to Him for the help we need in life.Here are eleven men who have been brought up to know Jehovah, the only true and living God, yet, they are so overcome by the emotion of fear that they are unable to see His hand at work in their lives. They have to be reminded of God’s grace, His sovereignty, and His purposes by an Egyptian pagan.
 
Haven’t we all been there at times?
· Life comes at us with all its problems and it tragedies.
· When it does, we become filled with fear and dread.
· Instead of faith in God, we are gripped by worry and dread.
 
You can’t allow fear to dominate your life. Learn to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Pro. 3:5-6. If you can learn to trust the Lord in all of life, you will never have anything to fear.  
 
II. VV. 25-30 Now, Joseph enters this scene. He pronounces a blessing on his brother, v. 29, and is immediately overcome with emotion. He makes a retreat to his private chamber where he gives way to all the emotions that are raging within his heart and he breaks down and he weeps. 
 
There are times when a person becomes overwhelmed by the events of life. Has that ever happened to you? I praise the Lord that He understands our times of weeping and brokenness. Let me just remind you today, God cares about the things you and I face in this life. 1 Peter 5:7: “Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you.” Psalm 34:1: “The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry.” Sometimes life hurts, and when it does, we have a God who understands and One who cares about His children!
 
III. VV. 31-34 When Joseph comes back he has gotten his emotions under control again. So, this chapter ends with all the brothers eating a meal together and being “merry.” They are all experiencing the emotion of joy. I suppose that joy is the favorite emotion we humans share.In fact, God teaches us that joy is actually a very healthy emotion. Pro. 17:22… “A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.” Pro. 15:13, “A joyful heart makes a cheerful face…” Pro. 15:15, “All the days of the afflicted are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast.” 

If you aren’t happy and enjoying the joy of the Lord as you walk through this life, you ought to get before the Lord and ask Him to help you have His joy.
 
So get your fear under control and trust in the Lord. If you’re in the midst of one of those overwhelming situations that is tearing your heart apart it’s okay to weep, and just know that He understands. And lastly, choose today to walk in the joy of the Lord. It is available to you, but it is up to us to make up our mind to walk in it. And when you do you will be stronger than you have ever been because it’s within His joy that we find our true strength!
 
God Bless and have a great week.
 
Pastor Brad Tuttle

1 Samuel 22:1-4
 
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by life?  We all do from time to time! 
 
Our text in 1 Samuel finds David in one of those times. He’s in a dark, damp, dreary, depressing cave. He’s experienced the loss of everything and everyone he leaned on in his life. David is in one of the cave experiences of life. What David did not see at the time, but soon came to understand, was the fact that God was going to use his time in the cave to help David grow stronger in the Lord.

So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him.      
     
David has been brought to the absolute bottom of life!  He is hurting, he is broken and he is defeated. The Crown Prince of Israel is living in a cave!  We should not expect to get through this life untouched and unaffected by hardship, sorrow, or trial, especially as a true Believer.
 
God allowed David to come to this cave so that David might learn not to lean on the props of family, friends, finances, fame, the flesh or the future. David was taught, through his sufferings, to wholly lean upon the Lord. God was attempting to develop David into the man of God the Lord wanted him to become. When the Lord has brought you to a place where you have no one and nothing but Him, He has done you a tremendous favor. 
 
VV. 1b-4… and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him. 2 Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him. 3 And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” 4 Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.
 
After a while, people began to show up at David’s cave. David’s family came out of fear of Saul; the rest came because they believed David was God’s man for the future. God used this motley group of people to show David that He still had a plan for David’s life.
 
David rose to the challenge and the truth of his character was revealed in what he did during those times.  Suffering through troubled times will expose your heart like few other things can! Nothing demonstrates our level of commitment to God more than our continued obedience and faithful service, even when we are in one of the caves of life!  
 
V.2… “Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him.”  
 
David’s family comes to him in that cave. Here are people who used to doubt David.  His own father ignored him, 1 Sam. 16:11. His oldest brother Eliab publicly rebuked David and criticized him, 1 Sam. 17:28. Now, they see in the man before them God’s man and God’s choice for king.  
 
The distressed came to David. This word means “to be under stress and under pressure.”  We are also told that those who were in debt came. This speaks of those who “could not pay their bills.”  The discontented also came.  This word refers to those who are “bitter and who have been mistreated.” I am sure that David couldn’t see in his life what they saw. While David could only see the cave; those who came to him could see the Crown!  They gathered themselves around him and believed in him, even when he was down!
 
Going through the pain of seeing all his props taken away was a painful experience for David.  It was a humble beginning, but David was focused and soon he would walk out of that cave and accept the crown. If there is any one benefit of the cave that stands out is that it will tighten your focus onto that which is most important: finding and doing the will of the Lord. 
 
The cave refined David’s life and helped to prepare him as a vessel to be used by the Master.
 
What about you?  Are your cave experiences blessings to your life, or are they burdens that seem too heavy to carry?  You must learn to “See Reason IN YOUR Cave”