The story
of Joseph from the book of Genesis in the Bible is one that speaks to my heart. I come back to his story time and time again,
because as I look at each twist and turn in Joseph’s story, it helps me find
peace, comfort, hope and even joy in the story of my life.
Joseph as
a teen, was the favorite son of 12 sons.
He had high and lofty dreams that he would someday do some great things.
His
brothers hated him. They considered killing
him, but instead they betrayed him and sold him into slavery.
The next
20 years of Joseph’s life were painted with the lowest of lows, and the highest
of highs, followed by more painful betrayals, discouragement and ultimately imprisonment.
Yet Sovereign hand of God was with Joseph through it all. He still had a plan.
As a
result of interpreting dreams, Joseph becomes the righthand man of King Pharaoh
and is put in charge of leading the kingdom through a devastating time of famine
in the land.
During
the famine, the brothers of Joseph come to him for help, not knowing that this
powerful man is their long, lost brother whom they had betrayed and sold into
slavery.
I have no
doubt that Joseph struggled with anger and resentment toward his brothers. He even puts them to the test. But this scene of the story is the one that
resonates with me the most.
“But
Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me,
but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving
of many lives.’”
Joseph
had learned that his God was big enough to make sense out of all the chaos,
hurt, betrayal and devastation in his life.
What about
you? Who do you need to forgive and let
go of resentment? How can you release all the pain and hurt of your past or current circumstances into the hands of the
Sovereign God who is BIG ENOUGH to turn even what others intended for harm into
something good?
No comments:
Post a Comment