Manasseh and Ephraim Part 2

Until a person makes peace with his past, it is impossible to properly proceed to you future. We can escape the place where we were born, the people who mistreated us, the school mates who teased us and the church members who maligned us. It is possible to move to a new city, obtain a new job, secure a new family and create new memories but until you properly deal with your past, it will impede your future and cloud your present.

God is such a good God that he gave Joseph this chance by giving him a Manasseh Miracle. He caused him to forget the pain of his past. This blessing allows you to remember the event without the effects of the experience. The things you used to cry about when you remembered them, God can help you cry no more. The memories upon reflection that made you cringe now don't bother you as much because has eased the sting and removed the weight.

This blessing is enough that we have reason to shout just on this; however, God gave Joseph a second blessing. Hod gave Joseph an Ephraim Experience. Ephraim means fruitful, twice fruitful, double blessed; he has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.

I must admit this blessing confused me. It seemed like an oxymoron. Like Jumbo Shrimp! A huge guy name Tiny! Fruitful and affliction shouldn't be in the same sentence, in fact it shouldn't be in the same thought process.

The testimony of the Ephraim experience is God made Joseph fruitful IN THE LAND of my affliction, my sorrow, my rouble, my grief. Whatever translation you pull, it still lends to the same tension of the text. God did not bless him outside his affliction, He blessed Joseph IN IT.

Many times we spend a lot of our prayer time asking God to remove the things we do not understand. We ask God to change this, fix this, solve this. If we have uncooperative co-workers, we ask God to move them or get us another job. If the area we live in no longer seems like the place for us, we ask God to find us another place. We pray for the Favor of God to move on our behalf and remove the pains that we deem unnecessary, the problems we think are are unneeded and the people we believe to be

God in his infinite wisdom teaches us He doesn't have to change our surroundings in order to bless us. He can bless us in it. God can give you more money in you check without a raise. He can give you a new car experience within the confines of the same vehicle you were driving.

Therefore, the Ephraim experience seems to suggest that our blessing comes not running from our afflictions but rather it comes when we become planted in God while going through our afflictions. He blesses us not when we get out or before we go in But God is so powerful he can bless us right IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR SITUATIONS.

The wonderful wisdom of God's Word is the fact He gives us witnesses to teach us how He works. Whether it's Daniel in the lion's den, the three Hebrew Boys in the fiery furnace, the Disciples on the ship in the middle of a storm or Paul and Silas in jail, clearly we learn that God is not limited by our circumstances. He can bless us where ever and however he chooses to do so.

Even in our desert experiences, God can give us an oasis. With limited funds, God can still allow us to sit at the Kings table. We can be promote to Prime Minister of the Palace even though we started out in the Pit and Prison.

God can give us an Ephraim Experience and make us fruitful in the land of our afflictions.