“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.”
We don’t always say or do the right thing under pressure. We marvel at trained military men and how they act under pressure, or how a skilled businessman closes a deal. Someone once told me, “Under pressure, you never rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your training.”
There was a famine in the land of Canaan and Egypt. Joseph had been storing grain and food from the seven good years of abundance, and now the seven years of famine had hit, just as the Lord said in Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph had risen to the top of power in Egypt under the Lord’s hand and had been away from his family for over two decades. Back home, he was thought to be dead. With no food in Canaan and no options, Israel tells his sons to go and purchase food from the Egyptians. They load up and go down to Egypt, and here is where the stress and pressure rise to epic levels.
The ten sons of Jacob (not including Benjamin, the youngest) happen to find themselves right in front of the second-in-command of Egypt, Joseph. While they do not recognize him, Joseph surely recognizes them. So Joseph puts them into his own little game of Jumanji. He accuses them of spying and questions them extensively. He tells them he will hold one of the brothers in prison while the others return home and bring back the youngest one to prove they are not spies.
The game master, Joseph, invites them into his home, feeds them, and gives them the grain they asked for. But he also puts the money pouches they used to purchase the grain, along with silver goods, back in their grain sacks and sends them home.
Jacob hears what has transpired, and he is not happy. Verse 36 of chapter 42 tells us, “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!’”
Our verse comes into play now: “So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt…”
You mean to tell me they did not hurry back to Egypt with Benjamin to get Simeon out of prison? Yes, they waited until all the food was gone and they were forced to go back.
How many times have we done the same thing? Bad events happen, and they put us into a mode of survival rather than recovery. We tend to sit where we are and count everything as lost or dead. I will never get that job. She will never talk to me again. That emotional scar will never heal. All is lost, and we try to protect what we have left.
Jacob did that in verse 36. Instead of sending the boys back to prove they were not spies, he puts his family in survival mode, while Reuben even proclaims in verse 37, “You may put to death both of my sons if I do not bring him back to you.”
Instead of hurrying back to recover what was in Egypt, Jacob tells his family, “We will stay and eat what we have.” So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt.
Today, you may be in one of those rough spots. Life has given you some scars, and those scars are not pretty, they even hurt. Instead of praying the prayer of survival, “God, make this mountain a valley for me so I can get through it, Amen,” adjust your prayer and your attention: “God, you gave me the strength to climb over this mountain, because it is You who prepares me and equips me. Amen.”
Who are you leaving behind in your survival mode? We don’t know how long Simeon had to sit in prison before the food ran out and Jacob had to send Benjamin. God wants us to take ground and climb mountains. That may bring bruises and pain, but He is preparing us for great things.
The nation of Israel was born in Egypt. In other words, your hardest time in life could be the birth of something great. So stop sitting at home in survival mode, protecting what’s left. Move forward, in Jesus’ name!
Prayer: Father, help us to recognize You in every situation. I pray that we never stay in survival mode. I pray that we conquer ground, drive out Satan, heal the sick, and walk in victory, in Jesus’ name. I pray that the Holy Spirit would be our guide in every situation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Let It Go 
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