Genesis 45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!

As we continue our look at Joseph: A Life with Many Colors, his revelation and proclamation probably wouldn’t have been reassuring for the brothers to hear.  He remembered that they had sold their own brother into Egypt.  But to see Joseph’s true character, they needed to know he had not forgotten, but had done something much better.  He had forgiven… completely.

Joseph realized that the brothers may have done the selling, but God did the sending because He had been planning ahead.

Genesis 45:5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.  6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping.  7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Joseph never saw that plan when the Midianites dragged him away to Egypt.  He could only wonder Why?  Joseph had no inkling when he was diligently working for Potiphar and Potiphar’s wife was hitting on him, begging him to sleep with her.  Why did she have to ruin a good working situation and lie about him?  Joseph could not have foreseen how the unjust imprisonment factored in.  Joseph’s question, “Why?” must have echoed off empty prison walls.  But, in each of those moments, the very same God was at work.

Genesis 45:8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

The brothers needed to share the good news of what God had done.

Genesis 45:9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay.10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me– you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’12 “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”

Think about it:

• Did Joseph know in his darkest hours that God had glory planned?
• Did Jacob know when he sent his one beloved son, worrying he’d be lost too, that he’d receive both beloved sons back?
• How did Joseph’s claim that God sent him ahead serve to reassure his brothers?
• How does this much later Scripture apply?  Romans 8: 28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  How does God’s advance planning make that possible?

Joseph saw that Judah was willing to sacrifice himself rather than letting Benjamin (Joseph’s full brother) suffer. Now he began to see beyond the present and hint of a future in which God had something bigger in mind.  But the first step was to make himself known.

Genesis 45:1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

This was an unexpected turn of events.  The brothers had not recognized him at all!  They were beginning to see, too.  But the outcome wasn’t immediately overwhelming joy.  Rather, the brothers’ terror only increased at his identity.  It is no wonder that they were terrified.  Joseph knew they’d sold him out.  What was he going to do to them?

It was more than Joseph’s identity that was about to be revealed. 
They were about to get a glimpse of his true character. 

Think about it:

• How did Joseph’s identity not act as reassurance for the brothers?
• Had Joseph been a different kind of guy, what power did he hold over his brothers?
• Why might Joseph have commanded everyone to leave except his brothers?
• How are rescue and righteousness bound together with revelation? Read “This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.” Isaiah 56:1

Genesis 44:14 Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him.   15 Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”

 16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves– we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”

17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”

The test has become completely personal now and Judah, the one who originally proposed selling Joseph (Genesis 37: 26-27), now steps forward into repentance and leadership.

18 Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself.  19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’   20 And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’ 

Read Judah’s heart again, humbly recognizing that Joseph is very powerful.  Pleading on behalf of an aged father and his youngest son, the only one left of his mother’s children…and his father loves him.  And his father loves him.

 21 “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’   22 And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’   23 But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’

 24 When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said. 25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’   26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’   27 “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since.   29 If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’   30 “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life,  31 sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow.

32 Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’   33 “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.

(I will take his place.)

 34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”

Think about it:

• The leader substituting on behalf of the beloved.    In what way does Judah display his heart and willingness to bear punishment?  How does this act hint at the Messiah one day arising as the Lion of the tribe of Judah?
• When Joseph says he can learn things by divination, it doesn’t mean he engages in sorcery or pagan practices.  How does this statement elicit Judah’s confession that God has uncovered their–especially his own–guilt?
• It’s not enough to feel the guilt.  God wants us to go the next step and repent.  Read Isaiah 59:19 From the west, people will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the LORD drives along.  20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the LORD.

Genesis 44:1 Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack.  2 Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said.

3 As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.   4 They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?   5 Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.'” 

6 When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. 7 But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that!  8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?  9 If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”

Protesting their innocence
with a little added drama probably wasn’t the best idea.

10 “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.”

Something got lost in translation here.  It was supposed to be one dies and the rest are slaves…not one stays as a slave, the others are free from blame.  Maybe the steward was told why he was given such odd instructions to speak when Benjamin was caught with the silver cup.

11 Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.   12 Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.  13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

Think about it:

• Had they been willing to sacrifice Benjamin, would they have torn their clothes? 
• Think back to Jacob and this special son of Rachel.  Why did they tear their clothes in grief?
• If they would sacrifice Benjamin too, would they have loaded their donkeys up and all returned to the city?
• What might the appearance of all the brothers say to Joseph about their character and whether they were changed men?

Finishing out Genesis chapter 43 in our series, Joseph: A Life with Many Colors, Joseph sees his full brother Benjamin for the first time.  Overcome with emotion, Joseph abandons his duties as host and goes to weep in his private room.

Genesis 43:31 After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, “Serve the food.”

What must the steward and servers have thought?  What must his brothers have thought?  Joseph is not just a sensitive guy.  He was well-built and handsome, remember?  He’s not a child anymore, but a grown man with children.  What was it about this particular group of Hebrews that made Joseph want to honor them by inviting them to dine with him? What about them caused such emotion for him?  In the flow of the story, the brothers are left to reconcile this mystery for now.

Genesis 43:32 They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians.  33 The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. 34 When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feasted and drank freely with him.

Think about it:

• The Egyptians did not eat with either Joseph or his brothers. The brothers were served from Joseph’s table.  How might that raise questions for the brothers or make them see Joseph differently? 
• The brothers’ astonishment only grew as they were seated in birth order.  How did this draw attention to Benjamin being the youngest?
• When Benjamin was given 5 times as much as anyone else, how did this amplify the test of whether the brothers were changed men?
• They all ate and drank freely.  What does this say about the fairness of this test?
• Read Malachi 3:10  “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”  In what way did the brothers’ bringing Benjamin act in the same way, testing Joseph’s word while he was testing them?

I’d say it’s hard to believe we’re only a month away from Advent 2019, but I just finished shoveling Halloween snow here in Illinois so I’m not stuck with more leftover candy than I should eat.  Therefore, it’s time to plan for Advent devotionals and announce this year’s theme: “God’s Christmas List.” 

“Aw, come’on,” you protest, “God doesn’t need a Christmas List!”

Granted, God has no needs for Himself.  He’d be the ultimate hard-to-buy-for if He was on our gift-giving list.  But the good news is this list does not indicate what He wants for Himself, but what He wants for us.  In Christ, we are on His gift-giving list.

I came to this theme in an odd way this year, and of course, it gets harder every year I do these.  (After all, how do you tell the same story without being repetitive?) All the prior years’ series are linked below so you can see, it’s been a few different ways.  This year, I was thinking about a song that gets me choked up every time.  Maybe it’s because I have grown children and young grandchildren.  Maybe it’s because the world we’re living in right now is so tumultuous.  But maybe the best reason is my heart longs for the childlike innocence missing in so much of life these days.

What is the name of the song that gets me choked up?  Grown-Up Christmas List. Perhaps you know it, too.  If you’d like to hear it, here is Michael Bublé whose golden voice is clear as a Christmas bell.

While David Foster’s version with Natalie Cole was the original, it never rose on the charts the way it did with other artists, notably Kelly Clarkson and Amy Grant.

Listening to it anew this year, it occurred to me how many of the things in this song’s lyrics God would wish for us. Peace, love, and joy that God wants for our benefit. How? As we receive through Him, His inexplicable gift: Jesus Christ, His Son and our Savior born in Bethlehem that Christmas Day!  He wants us to come to Him in innocence as a small child. But with faith–faith enough to know that material things of this world will never satisfy the way He can by giving us His peace.  That’s the message of these secular lyrics (written by Linda Thompson-Jenner) reflectively sung to Santa, but as a grown-up Christmas list. The second verse goes like this:

• As children we believed
• The grandest sight to see
• Was something lovely wrapped beneath the tree
• Well heaven surely knows
• That packages and bows
• Can never heal a hurting human soul.
• No more lives torn apart,
• Then wars would never start
• and time would heal the heart
• And everyone would have a friend
• And right would always win
• And love would never end, oh
• This is my grown-up Christmas List

Join me beginning December 1, 2019 by signing up on the sidebar of my Home Page to receive these daily devotionals. Let’s enjoy exploring what might be on God’s Christmas list.

Acknowledging inquiries about an entire season’s devotionals for your study group’s planning purposes, Seminary Gal’s prior seasons’ Advent devotionals can be accessed via the archives to the right and are as follows:  

• Last year’s Advent Devotional Series (2018) Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.

With Simeon back with the rest of the brothers, Joseph’s steward began giving the brothers a royal welcome in today’s installment of Joseph: A Life With Many Colors.

Genesis 43:24 The steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys.   25 They prepared their gifts for Joseph’s arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there.

Eating at the Governor’s house was an unexpected and somewhat confusing turn of events for the brothers who were still fearing the worst, even though the steward had already reassured them.

Genesis 43:26 When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground.  27 He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?”

Two questions more!  Hadn’t they already said too much?

Genesis 43:28 They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him.   29 As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?”

(Gulp!  Here was the moment they’d been dreading!)

“And he said, ‘God be gracious to you, my son.’”  30 Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.

Think about it:

• In what way should Joseph’s blessing have been reassuring to everyone?
• What must the brothers have wondered seeing Joseph hurry out after seeing Benjamin?
• The host of a meal would not normally abandon his company out of regard for the issue of hospitality.  In what way, did the hospitality question form a crucible (a situation of severe trial, a high temperature change-point)?  For Joseph?  And for his brothers? 
• How did the sight of Benjamin bring the test to its boiling point?
• We aren’t told how much time Joseph wept before returning.  What kinds of conversation must the brothers have had?
• This test goes both ways: receiving hospitality and showing it. “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2 How do the concepts of “strangers” and true hospitality apply in our story today?

With Jacob’s permission to send his precious second son of Rachel, Joseph’s brothers departed Canaan.  Continuing our series, Joseph: A Life With Many Colors,

Genesis 43:15 So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph.  16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal; they are to eat with me at noon.”  17 The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house.

18 Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys.”

Deprived of independence and ending up as a slave would seem to be perfect justice for men who had sold their brother into slavery.  So, they confess.

19 So they went up to Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house.  20 “We beg your pardon, our lord,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food.  21 But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver– the exact weight– in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us.  22 We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.”

The steward must have smiled at the unnecessary confession.  Didn’t these men know they were about to be honored?

Genesis 43:23 “It’s all right,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

Think about it:

• In the flow of the story, all the brothers know is that the man who spoke harshly demanded and summoned the precious brother and favorite son of Jacob (now that Joseph is “no more”).  Their guard is up because they know what they had to do to get Benjamin to come with them.  They are girded with apprehension.  How might this explain their desire to confess and fail to see the honor being prepared?
• The steward’s statement that their father’s God has given them treasure must have been confusing on many different levels.  What might some of those be?
• Have you ever been so worried that you couldn’t see the honor or blessing in front of you?
• How can fear stand in the way of our seeing the storehouse of blessing ahead?  “For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; … Do not be afraid, for I am with you;  Isaiah 43:3,5

Persisting in trust pays off and in the case of Joseph’s brothers pleading with their father, it seems the third time’s a charm in our series “Joseph: A Life with Many Colors”.  First, all the brothers stated what must be done: bring Benjamin.  No, Jacob doesn’t budge.

Genesis 42:37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.”38 But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”

That went well.  Somehow the surety and guarantee of killing two other sons, Jacob’s grandsons, fails to be a compelling reason winning Jacob over to Reuben’s side. (Duh.) Meanwhile back in Egypt, the two brothers considered “no more” are still waiting, waiting, waiting…and very much alive.

Genesis 43:1 Now the famine was still severe in the land. 2 So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”3 But Judah said to him, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’  4 If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you.   5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you. ‘”

Just a little theology note:  At this point in the Bible, Judah (later, the large tribe from which the Messiah comes) begins emerging as a leader, and Benjamin (later known for loyalty to Judah) would become the tribe that’s small but fierce, hence the wolf imagery in Jacob’s blessing from chapter 49.

Then Jacob, also known as Israel, asked, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?”  (He’s still brooding over this, dragging his feet on the test.)

Genesis 43:7 They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’ he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”

Judah takes the leadership now.

 8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die.   9 I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.

And then Judah states the pièce de résistance, pointing out that Dad has been dragging his feet.   Genesis 43:10 As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice.”

Third time’s a charm, or at least perseverance pays off.

Genesis 43:11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift– a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake.  13 Take your brother also and go back to the man at once.

If persistence pays in sending Benjamin,
there’s nothing like a little last-minute prayer as protection.

Genesis 43:14 And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

Jacob’s not exactly the model of trust here, but the story’s not over. 
God has something far more amazing in mind.

Genesis 43:15 So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. 

Think about it:

• How is dragging our feet in a test not the right response?  What does God desire from us instead?
• Read James 1: 12 “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” 
• Does God ever test us to do evil, bring fear, or cause destruction?  Why does He test us? 
• Do fear and destruction fall into the category of test … or judgment?  Ought genuine followers of Jesus Christ ever be afraid of the test or the judgment?
• Sometimes a succession of difficulties can move us beyond thinking we can handle it all.  To Whom do we cry out for help when we’re at our wits end?

Genesis 42:29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, 30 “The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 32 We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’

Continuing our series, “Joseph: A Life with Many Colors,” good grief, those brothers blabbed a lot, and it’s bad.  What was left to tell?  The map coordinates of Jacob’s tent?  His net worth?  Wait, it gets worse.  Now the brothers drop the bomb.

 Genesis 42:33 “Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. 34 But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land. ‘”

If you look, you can see the glazed look of panic pass over Jacob’s face as he turns a lighter shade of pale and knocks on their empty skulls.  You can almost hear Jacob’s wail of “Aieeeeee!”  What did they have now but trust that “the man” (aka Joseph, shhhh don’t tell anyone) would be good for his word?  Could it get any worse?? (Yes.)

Genesis 42:35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”

Melodrama aside, Jacob wasn’t taking it like a man.  “Everything is against me!” 
Everything. Wow, he doesn’t even blame just God.

Think about it:

• Do you ever feel like everything is against you?
• Simeon wasn’t “no more” … since he was still there in Egypt with very much alive “more” Joseph.  Two mores when he thought they were “no more”.   What does this tell us about the fullness of our knowledge?
• How does fear change our viewpoints?
• How did the tell-all result in the test which results in the trust? 
• Will God sometimes test you?  How does that relate to your trust in Him?
• Enjoy this verse about trust! Psalm 13:5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing the LORD’s praise, for he has been good to me.