The Store is Still Open
Last night I had a sweet dream about a house I lived in when I was about five years old. In the kitchen of the house, there was a pantry where my mother kept all the food. Actually, there wasn't a whole lot, but she had a way of making a little seem like a lot. Every day at lunch she would make the cupboard into a store. She would be the clerk and I would be the shopper. I would buy what I wanted her to fix me for lunch. I can remember her sharing what little we had with our neighbors also. Yet, I never remember being hungry or knowing that we were poor.
In the dream, I was going through the abandoned house with several people. I told this story to them as we walked in the kitchen. Behind the door, the pantry was still there. I opened the doors and it was full of food! I opened a can of hominy and said, "It's still good." I guess the store was still open because I distributed the food to the people who were there with me.
In Genesis Joseph had a storehouse full of food that he distributed to all who were hungry during a great famine. God had placed him in a position in Egypt for such a time as this. It wasn't happenstance that Joseph had been sold into slavery and eventually wound up as a governor under Pharaoh. God had a plan of forgiveness and grace for Joseph's life. His brothers who had sold him into slavery, came to him hungry. They didn't recognize him, but Joseph knew them well. They received food and forgiveness.
Our lives are not just happenstance. He has a plan for each of us. Part of His plan for me was to "shop" in my mom's pantry when I was a child. Each incidence in your life serves a purpose that helps get you to the place God wants you to be. Today God has a storehouse full for all who are hungry. He offers love and forgiveness for all who come to Him and ask. The store is open!