The Source of the Gift

What a treat to see you walkin’ up the trail, friend! Now, pull yourself one of them ol’ rockers right on up here and set a for a lil’ ol’ spell. I’m mighty glad to have you stoppin’ by! Would you look at that? There’s that nosy ol’ porcupine that keeps comin’ around here like it’s inspectin’ the place for a new vacation home, and I’m plum sure that we need to runnin’ him off from here pretty soon because we’ve gotta be watchin’ out for the safety of our protective ol’ hound dogs so that they don’t git pocked with any of them porcupine needles. This ol’ porch has seen everything from a possum that tried to nap in my flour bin to a blue jay that hopped up on the rail lookin’ like it wanted to build its nest right here under the porch rafters. So, help me be on guard as we git to settlin’ our hearts and lettin’ God’s Word flow right through our spirits like warm, buttered cornbread aromas floatin’ through the kitchen.

Genesis 41:14-16 tells us that Joseph stood before Pharaoh, clean shaven, freshly dressed, and face to face with the most powerful man in the land. Pharaoh bragged on Joseph’s reputation. “I heard you can interpret dreams.” Now, friend, that there was plum Joseph’s big moment. If ever there was a time to toot your own horn, that was it. He could’ve listed every dream he had ever interpreted, every success, every blessin’. But Joseph didn’t puff himself up like an ol’ proud Banty rooster on a fence post. He just said, “It is not in me. God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

That there’s the kind of heart God can sho’-nuff’ use. Joseph knew his gift came from the Lord. He knew promotion wasn’t about polish or performance. It was about pointin’ to the One who gives every good thing. Psalm 75:6-7 says, “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge.” Joseph downright lived that truth. His humility revealed what was in his heart, and God honored it.

A country preacher once told a story about a woman named, Miss Hattie, a mountain woman who churned butter like she was plum born doin’ it. Folks all around bragged on her butter at every church supper. One day someone asked her how she made it so perfect. Miss Hattie took a moment and wiped her hands on her apron. Then, she said, “Friend, I just do the churnin’. The Lord does the blessin’.” That ol’ preacher said Miss Hattie sho’-nuff’ understood exactly what Joseph understood. When your heart gives God the credit, God gives you the increase.

Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” When you stand before important people or big moments, what spills out of your mouth shows what’s stored in your heart. Joseph’s heart was mighty full of God, so God came out.

Father, thank You for Your wisdom that guides me and Your Spirit that teaches me. Help me speak with humility, honor You in every opportunity, and trust You for every promotion. In Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.

Alright then, friend, let this truth git to settlin’ right on in you like a warm quilt laid across your shoulders on a real cool mountain mornin’. You gotta be lettin’ Joseph’s kind of humility be steadyin’ your spirit the way a strong oak tree steadies the hillside. Let God’s faithfulness rise in you like sunlight slowly stretchin’ across an open meadow. And let your heart stay tuned to Him, fully knowin’ He’s the One who lifts you up, leads you, and writes every chapter of your story with His own faithful hand.

With joy,

Gwen