READING: Genesis 44-46, Matthew 14
If you’ve been in church for a while, you’ve likely heard Joseph’s quote in Genesis 50 as he reflected on his brothers’ cruelty and his experience in Egypt: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Gen 50:19). We turn to this text particularly when we emphasize God’s sovereign hand over difficult experiences in life. Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery, and Potiphar then imprisoned him. A prisoner failed to remember Joseph and keep a promise to him upon his own release from prison. Still, Joseph could later look back on life and recognize that God had a greater plan to use his struggles to save many people from death.
What we don’t often recognize, though, is that Joseph had spoken the same kinds of words earlier when he revealed himself to his brothers in Genesis 45. There, Joseph framed his words in terms of, “God sent me ahead of you to preserve life” (Gen 45:5). The wording is really quite striking to me. Joseph arrived in Egypt because God sent him there, but the means by which God sent him were brothers caught in jealousy and an Ishmaelite caravan who purchased Joseph for 20 pieces of silver. My guess is that had we first considered how God might send someone on such a journey, none of us would have come up with this plan. In no way would God have been pleased with the actions of Joseph’s brothers, but still He’s mighty enough to work through even what others intend for evil. The brothers may have sold Joseph, but God sent him through the same event.
PRAYER: “God, I don’t always understand the way You work. Grant me grace to trust You anyway.”
DAILY ACTION STEP: Take inventory of your life, watching for places where you can now see God’s hand—even if you could not at the time.
TOMORROW’S READING: Genesis 47-50, Matthew 15:1-28
