“Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come near to me, please.’ And they came near. And he said, ‘I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, “Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.”’
“Joseph said to them, ‘Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 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. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.’ Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.” Genesis 45:4-11; 50:19-21
We don’t know exactly how God worked in Joseph’s heart, but we know that He did. The carefree eleventh son of Jacob, who was mercilessly mistreated by his brothers, grew deep in faith through his suffering and testifies to the blessed solace of knowing the Lord is sovereign. They may have sent and meant for one thing, but it was God whose ways were accomplished. And those were good. (Genesis 37:3-28;36; Proverbs 19:21)
Whatever the storm, for a child of God we can know He has sent us, and find great comfort in His presence there. Betrayal, supercilious treatment, or cruelty cannot intrude on His steadfast love for us. No attack penetrates His defense of us. When peppered with doubts about the motives of rivals, or the possibilities of what could happen, we can be assured that no reason or what-ifs can prevail against the purposes of the Almighty. (Proverbs 21:30; Mark 6:45-51; Romans 8:31-39)
What do we fear? Where do we fret? Only when we stew in pondering others’ whats and whys do we get so riled. Focusing on the difficulty of our circumstances or offenses we think someone may have intended, we take our eyes off the One who’s promised to work all things for our good if we love Him. (Romans 8:28)
Would we stop nursing hurts and instead work for healing? Would we choose balm over blame? What expectancy, peace, and gratitude might we enjoy if we accepted everything, even hardship, as coming from Him and existing for Him? (Romans 11:36)
Father, wherever You have sent me may I trust and praise Your name.
As the rain and snow 