“And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. / And they said one to another, Behold, t his dreamer cometh. / Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.”
Genesis 37: 18-20
“And Joseph said unto his bretheren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. and he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt… / And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. / So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”
Genesis 45: 4; 7-8
As I write this, there are so many hurtful situations around me. They don’t involve me specifically, but I see them. I see the situation, and I’m beginning to see outcomes. Most of these outcomes are devastating and hurtful. They’re hard for me to accept and take in. I see families hurting from the sucker punches that life has just thrown their way. I see lives ruined over bad choices. I just see so much that it’s overwhelming. However, amid it all, God just whispered: I am good even when things are not. He is, friend. He is good even when things are not.
Joseph & The Will of God
I’m reminded of a certain man in the Bible named Joseph. He was the favorite among Jacob’s twelve sons. To me, it seems unfair that he was chosen to be the favorite. Nevertheless, Joseph didn’t ask to be the favorite. He also didn’t ask for God to give him dreams in which he saw his brothers bowing down to him. Joseph didn’t ask for any of this.
Because of this favoritism and his dreams, Joseph’s brothers became envious. One day, in Genesis 37:18, Joseph went to see his brothers. They saw him coming and “conspired against him to slay him. / And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh” (Genesis 37:18-19). Friend, Joseph was about to be killed over circumstances that he couldn’t control. He didn’t do anything wrong. He was right where God placed him. Thankfully, Reuben intervened on Joseph’s behalf and begged them not to kill him. Instead, he proposed that they throw him in a pit because he was going to secretly take Joseph back to their father behind their backs.
The brothers listened to Reuben, and they threw him in the pit. As they sat down to eat and Reuben was gone, they saw some men coming. They were Ishmeelites on their way to Egypt. So the brothers jumped on the opportunity of a lifetime. They sold their brother into slavery for twenty pieces of silver. That’s right. Twenty pieces of silver is all they got out of the deal. This may seem like bleak circumstances, but really… it was God making provisions because he is good even when things are not.
God’s Plan & Provision
Joseph went to Egypt as a servant, and God raised him up later in life to be the second in command over Egypt. He gave him a wife and children. He was even blessed to be part of the lineage of Christ! What a plan God had for him!
When the famine came to Jacob and his family, they came to Egypt looking for food. Joseph was used by God to be a means of grace to his brothers and his father. He could have had his brothers put to death for what they did. Instead, in Genesis 45 verse 4, he tells them who he is. He’s the one they sold into slavery, but my favorite part is when he acknowledges that it wasn’t his brethren that did this to him. It was God’s perfect plan for him.
In Genesis 45 verse 7 and 8, he goes on to say, “And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. / So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.” He could have let his brothers starve in the wilderness for what they did to him. Instead… he chose to extend mercy and forgiveness. He even acknowledged that God used them to accomplish his perfect will. What a true picture of Christ, friend! Christ has every right to condemn us, but He shows us mercy and grace instead. What a friend we have in Jesus!
He Is STILL Good Even When Things Are Not
I doubt Joseph pictured this moment when he was younger. I’m sure when Joseph was in that pit and was being sold as a slave, he would have never imagined what God was going to do. He had no idea how good God really was. I’m sure without a doubt that after all he endured, he would tell you himself: He is good even when things are not.
When I consider the outcome of that particular situation, I try to remind myself that He sees around the corner. He knows what He is doing. He uses circumstances to mold us. To be honest, I don’t always look to God like I should when life is good. I tend to look up more when things are spiraling out of control. That’s when I must fully put my trust in Him and remind myself that He is good even when things are not. Also, just because things are out of control does not mean God is angry at you. Joseph was in God’s perfect will the entire time! Know this: He will take care of you and me, and He will take care of others. But friend, even when things don’t work out, I promise: He is still good even when things are not.
If you’d like to read more devotionals, click here!
If you’d like to watch my cooking videos, follow me on Instagram or Facebook!