“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’
Genesis 45:8-11
Sometimes life stinks.
There are days when you feel like you can't catch a break and you feel like the whole world - including your family and your friends - are conspiring against you.
You try to be a good person - to follow all of the rules - but at every turn you face obstacles, trials and even failures. You may be tempted to ask,"Where is God when I need Him?"
The story of Joseph is one which fits the "life sometimes stinks" mantra.
Joseph was the favored son of Jacob and his other brothers were not so keen on him being the "choosen one". They disliked him so much that one day they decided to throw him in a well and then they sold him off to some traveling merchants and told their father that Joseph was dead.
After being sold into slavery by your brothers, one might think this is as bad as life could get. Well, one would be wrong. Over the next several years, Joseph was beraged with a mirade of false charges and ended up in prision for years. He helped others redeem their freedom, and yet he was left to wallow in the pit. Until one day, God used one of Joseph's gifts - the ability to interpret dreams - to free him from his dungeon. From that point in the story, Joseph's life made an up turn. Based on the Pharoah's dream, Joseph prepared Eygpt for seven years of famine and in turn he was named as the second most powerful person in all of Eygpt.
Enter stage left - Joseph's brothers come to Eygpt.
The brothers are unware that the man with their fate in his hands is the brother they sold decades earlier, but Joseph knows and he had a choice. He could have enacted his revenge on his brothers and felt justified in the action or he could have given his brothers the food and shelter they desperately needed.
As you may already know, Joseph chose the latter. He chose mercy and he chose to see how God had orchstrated the events of his entire life for this one moment - to save Jacob's family, all of his sons and the forefathers of the nation of Israel.
When we face struggles and when life stinks we have a choice. We can wallow in the sorrow of the moment and allow our self-pity to destroy us. OR we can seek the grace and mercy God offers each of us, seeing His hand at work even in the midst of our misery.
God is always working and He always has a plan.
Our number one goal should be to trust His plan even when it seems like life stinks. You never know, you could find that you could go from the dungeon to the Vice President one day.
Scripture
Quote of the Day
A man with God is always in the majority. ~John Knox
Question of the Day
How can you trust in God when it seems you have no hope?
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