Week 4: Use their gifts - Joseph

Pardon the Mess with Scarlet Hiltibidal - Christian Motherhood, Biblical Parenting, Raising Christian Kids

Scarlet Hiltibidal and Christian Parenting

Christianity, Parenting, Religion & Spirituality, Kids & Family

4.9 • 850 Ratings

🗓️ 29 September 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. (Genesis 50:20 NLT)

Joseph had every reason to be angry and bitter at the world. His brothers picked on him, tricked him, and sold him into slavery. He was taken to Egypt where he was eventually imprisoned for something he didn’t even do. It would have been easy for Joseph to call life unfair and give up. But God gifted him the ability to interpret dreams, and Joseph used that gift to help himself and help others. He was raised up as a leader in Egypt and he saved many lives from famine—including the lives of his brothers.

Practically speaking, we want our kids to use their giftings to help themselves: to excel in school, relationships, sports, music, jobs, etc. We know that when our kids lean into how God made them, they will thrive. But we also want them to use those gifts to expand God’s kingdom and help others. Joseph’s brothers meant to harm him, but they couldn’t outdo what God had planned: God planned to use Joseph for good.

God made each of us, including our kids, perfectly and wonderfully with spiritual gifts to use for a good purpose. When we see those giftings in our kids, we have the privilege of encouraging them and building them up! Helping our kids discover and use their spiritual gifts well will help them see the bigger picture of how they fit into God’s kingdom.

This week, let’s pray that our kids use the gifts that God has given them for the purpose he calls them to.

Jesus, help us to see the spiritual gifts you have given __________ and build them up in those giftings. As they grow up, I pray they use their gifts to help others, help themselves, and bless you. Remind them that you use every circumstance for good, and mercy and goodness are the right choice, even when it’s hard to see. Amen.

If you love this episode and don’t have your copy of A Great Cloud of Witnesses yet, it’s not too late to get yours! Go ChristianParenting.org to get your copy and follow along. And don’t forget to tune in to Pardon the Mess every Monday for more prayer episodes.

Order A Great Cloud of Witnesses today

Pardon the Mess is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. For more information visit www.ChristianParenting.org

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Christian Parenting.
0:03.5	Christian Parenting.
0:14.4	Hey friends, welcome back to Pardon the Mess.
0:16.4	I'm your host, Courtney Defeo, and on Mondays we pray together.
0:19.7	And so we are on week four of a journey,
0:22.9	a journal, a journey and a journal called A Great Cloud of Witnesses that the team at Christian
0:27.3	Parenting put together. And each week we just do a short and simple chat about a particular
0:32.2	person in the Bible, what God taught us through that story. And then we're going to pray for that
0:36.5	specific thing for our kids today.
0:38.4	But before we go to that, let's talk Bibles.
0:41.2	And so I've had some of you reach out to say, what's your favorite Bible?
0:44.2	And I wish I could say I have a favorite.
0:45.7	I have many.
0:46.3	So I contacted my good old buddy, Lisa Tirkhurst, who's a longtime Bible teacher, and I'm like, what's your favorite Bible?
0:51.8	And she said, I don't have a favorite, but if I'm starting out, or if it's a new believer, I would tell them to get the NIV life application Bible. And so I busted that one back out that I've had for years. I think my mom gave it to me. And I'm really enjoying because it's got a commentary and some life application and lessons built into the Bible, which really helps sometimes when you're like, I don't know what this is saying. And then Joel Minamale, who is the theologian that is on her staff, he says
1:16.2	CSB Virgin. It's his favorite. And then for my kids, they use an ESV journal Bible. And the reason I like
1:24.0	that one for them is because it's got a column on the side where they can take notes and write things that they're learning. So so many Bibles out there. And as my pastor would say, whichever one you'll read, whether it's on your phone or one from third grade, we just want you guys reading your Bible. And I have to switch it up sometimes. If I'm getting bored with a certain translation or lost, I kind of switch it up sometimes. So if you do not have a Bible, that is really important to me. Will you message me? And I'm getting bored with a certain translation or lost, I kind of switch it up sometimes. So if you do not have a Bible, that is really important to me. Will you message me and I will find a way to get you a Bible? Because I think it's really, really important for you and your kids and your family to have one that you're regularly reading in your home. So on week four, we talk about Joseph. And Joseph is the guy that was picked on by
2:01.8	his brothers. He was tricked and sold into slavery. You've heard about his coat. It's a very long story you can find in Genesis. But if I look at him, I'm like, man, it would have been so easy to give up on life and on your family and on, you know, just what God is doing in your life based on all the events that happened to Joseph. You've got to read all about it. But today,
2:19.7	we're going to narrow in on a very specific... and on, you know, just what God is doing in your life based on all the events that happened to Joseph.
2:17.8	You've got to read all about it.
2:18.9	But today, we're going to narrow in on a very specific part about Joseph's story, that Joseph was given a gift by God to interpret dreams.
2:27.3	And he used, God used that very same gift to help him, help himself, and help others.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Scarlet Hiltibidal and Christian Parenting, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Scarlet Hiltibidal and Christian Parenting and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.