Prayer: You are a good God and we praise Your name! Please keep us focused on Your goodness through times of uncertainty. Amen
Scripture: And we know that for those who love God all things work for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 ESV
Throughout all of scripture God has woven a narrative of who He is and how He loves us. This story is filled with sacrifice, love, mercy, correction, and eternal hope. Satan also has spread his narrative throughout history. His story fills our minds with doubts and fears. His voice can lead us to believe that God has forsaken us, abandoned us, and forgotten us. Satan is screaming this message into our world today.
God’s narrative is as true today as it was at the beginning of time. We can see evidence of this in the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Joseph was loved by his father Jacob. He was given the gift of interpreting dreams. One of his dreams offended his brothers, so they sold him into slavery. While serving, he was falsely accused by his master’s wife and thrown into prison where he was left for many years. While there, he was able to interpret the dreams of two prisoners who just happened to work for the pharaoh. After one of them was released, he shared with the pharaoh about Joseph’s gift after the leader was concerned with one of his dreams. Joseph interpreted the dream and was put in a position of authority and ultimately was used by God to save Egypt from a terrible famine. In the end he also saved his own brothers from starvation and restored his family and the people of Israel.
Some estimate that it was over 15 years between the time Joseph was sold until the time he was put into a place of authority. That was a lot of time waiting to see the fulfillment of God’s plan. I am sure that the enemy spoke messages of doubt, fear, and abandonment to Joseph. But one thing that we can discover is that Joseph put his trust in God. When Joseph got out of his dark place, he recognized the Lord and what He had done for him. In Genesis 50:20 he says to his brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
Joseph’s story reminds us that we can never judge God in the middle of a situation. We can only judge him on the other side. We have hope in God’s narrative today. We face many unknowns. Much of what we have put our hope in has been shaken, but God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. In the middle of the storm let’s be reminded that God is good and trust that He will reveal great things on the other side of the chaos we may see.
Copyright Heather Kohnen.
Heather, formerly an elementary teacher in Minnesota, now serves as the director of the AWAKE project for Christian Educators.
To connect with Heather, email hkohnen@christianeducators.org.
One Response
Hi Heather,
I started reading through the Bible in January, so read the book of Genesis not long ago – your thoughts on Joseph are encouraging this morning. Thank you for all that you do!
Nancy