OUR DAILY BREAD                       Friday, January 13, 1995
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READ:  Genesis 41:46-57

                   WOUNDED OYSTERS

       "God has caused me to be fruitful in the
               land of my affliction."

                  - Genesis 41:52

When seemingly needless suffering invades our lives,
we often ask ourselves, "Who needs all this grief?"
But consider, for a moment, the origin of pearls.

Each pearl is formed by an oyster's internal response
to a wound caused by an irritant, such as a grain of
sand.  Resources of repair rush to the injured area.
The final result is a lustrous pearl.  Something
beautiful is created that would have been impossible
without the wound.

In today's Bible reading, we see Joseph in a position
of influence, a position God soon used to feed sur-
rounding nations and Joseph's family during famine.
But how did he become influential?  It began with a
wound  -- being sold into slavery (Gen. 39) -- which
produced a pearl of usefulness.  Because Joseph drew
on God's resources when humiliated, he became better,
not bitter.  He names his second son Ephraim, which
means "twice fruitful," and he said, "God has caused
me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction" (41:52).

Author Paul E. Billheimer says of Joseph, "If human
pity could have rescued him from the sad part of his
life, the glorious part that followed would have been
lost."  So if you're suffering, remember:  No wounds,
no pearls!

    -- Joanie E. Yoder

    If we accept adversity,
      Enduring every pain,
    Then we will learn what we should know;
      Our grief will turn to gain.

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           THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
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 Adversities are often blessing in disguise.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 40-42

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