Joseph

I love the story of Joseph.  It's full of drama and has a happy ending.   I can just imagine Joseph as a young teenager (and being the favored child) telling his older brothers about his dreams.  Both dreams had them bowing down to him.  I can see how this fueled the already raging fire of their hostility.

Why in the heck did he share it with them?  It was probably just his immaturity...and excitement over hearing from God and being eager to share what he heard.  And maybe just a little bit of arrogance.  The favored child and all...  And he probably expected this thing to happen soon!  I know I've done the same thing.  God has spoken to my heart and in my immaturity, eagerness and certainty, I've shared the message to only have God wait years for it's fulfillment.  I've learned.  When God speaks, it doesn't necessarily mean the fulfillment is now.  There will more than likely be time before it comes to pass.

And then his brothers sell him as a slave.  Actually, most of them wanted to kill him...but Reuben & Judah convinced them to spare his life and instead, sell him off as a slave.  They go home with a lie and without a brother, telling their father that a wild animal killed him.

Sibling rivalry is a terrible thing.  It kills.  As does parental favoritism.

But God had a plan.  I think that's why I love this story so much.  In the midst of terrible circumstances, others' choices for him, and false accusation, God continually promoted Joseph.  Even in prison, he prospered.  He prospered until he became second in command in all of Egypt.  And by interpreting Pharoah's dream, he knew a famine was coming.  And God used him to prepare and provide not only for the nation of Egypt, but for the surrounding nations.

Can you see in your own life how God has prepared you?  I can look back on seemingly obscure things in my life and see how God was preparing me for something later in my life.  I had no idea that my mothering skills would prepare me to be a director of a benevolence ministry.

Oh how I wish I could have been there when Joseph's brothers arrived at the palace and bowed down before him!  Joseph remembered his dreams and then tested his brothers.  You can't help but believe it was just a little pay-back.  They must have been shocked when he sat them according to their birth order.  I love that the Bible is so honest with us--Jospeh's anger, his weeping, the brothers' fear.  And the infamous last line of Joseph in the story, "As for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive, as they are this day."

And I love that it's the same promise God gives us.  "We are assured and know that (God being a partner in their labor) all things work together and are (fitting into a plan) for good to and for those who love God and are called according to His design and purpose."  Terrible things may happen in our lives.  People may sell us out.  We may be falsely accused.  We may be thrown in prison.  But...GOD.  God is able to partner with all those things and ultimately use our lives to save a nation.  I'm believing for a happy ending to my story.  You can, too.