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HOPE BEYOND THE GRAVE (48 OF 50)

by Donald Cantrell

Scripture: Genesis 48:1-22
This content is part of a series.


Hope Beyond the Grave (48 of 50)
Series: Genesis
Donald Cantrell
Genesis 48:1-22


Theme: ‘‘Jacob places a special blessing upon Joseph and his sons’’

I - The Sincere Meeting (1 - 2)

II - The Servant Remembering (3 - 4)

III - The Special Blessing (5 - 16)

IV - The Son Disagreeing (17 - 18)

V - The Strange Rearranging (19 - 20)

VI - The Superior Outpouring (21 - 22)

Hope and Hopelessness

John Ortberg, in his book If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat, cites a medical study in which 122 men who had suffered their first heart attack were evaluated on their degree of hopefulness and pessimism: ‘‘Of the 25 most pessimistic men, 21 had died eight years later. Of the 25 most optimistic, only 6 had died! Loss of hope increased the odds of death more than 300 percent; it predicted death more accurately than any medical risk factor, including blood pressure, amount of damage to the heart, or cholesterol level.’’

Then Ortberg adds his own humorous thought to the study: ‘‘Better to eat Twinkies in hope than to eat broccoli in despair.’’

Is it possible to have hope after facing hopelessness?

The question reminds me of an ad I once saw offering a cash reward for help with locating a lost dog with a description of the dog. It said: ‘‘He’s got three legs; he’s blind in the left eye and missing a right ear; his tail has been broken off; he was neutered accidentally by a fence - ouch! - he’s almost deaf, and he answers to the name ‘Lucky.’’’
C. Phillip Green

Jacob had learned to make the most of it, while he had been getting the worst of it. This was a perfect description of his life and the life of his favored son, Joseph, both men had learned to make the most of it, while both men had often experienced the worst of it.

Jacob is now a God fearing man that has learned to walk by faith.
I - The Sincere Meeting (1 - 2)

Gen 48:1 KJV - And it came to pass after these things, that [one] told Joseph, Behold, thy ...

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