Genesis 41:52

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.Now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more...

God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction" (Gen. 41:52).

To share what we have may minister temporarily to the physical; but to minister to the spiritual in an eternal way we must share what we are, and that calls for growth in the Lord Jesus Christ.

As a general rule, God's people cannot stand material prosperity. They thrive much better under adversity. In his parting song, Moses predicted that Israel's prosperity would ruin them spiritually: "But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation" (Deuteronomy 32:15).

The prophecy was fulfilled in...