Ephraim

And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. – Genesis 41.50-52

Joseph’s  second son was called Ephraim. Ephraim literally means fruitful. Joseph called him that because ‘God made me fruitful in the land of affliction.

I don’t think anyone really like affliction or troubles or hard times. I have a tendency when things start getting hard to just sort of throw up my hands and say ‘what’s the use.’ When you do everything you can do and to right and live godly and things still are hard you start to wonder.

It is a matter of perspective.   Instead of looking for the difficulty of the difficulty we all need to look for the fruit that God can bring in difficulty. We just want the affliction to be over. Joseph looked back and saw how God gave him fruit in his troubles.

For those going through affliction at the moment don’t look at the misery of affliction. Look to the Ephraim, the fruit that God wants to produce in the affliction.