Joseph: planned in advance

Cover to Cover

Reading: Genesis 44:1-47:12

Focus: Genesis 45:3-11

The blessing of hindsight is one I’m sure we wish we could replace with foresight. It’s all fine and well to look back and see how it all fits together, but to go through all the pain and struggles during the journey is not something many of us enjoy—after all, it’s hard! Yet, I’ve come to realise, where does faith come into play? Where does character development come into play? Where does the journey come into play if we know how things are going to turn out? The story of Joseph would be an extremely different story if Joseph knew that he would end up as the governor of Egypt, charged with the mission of guiding the nation through the famine.

As Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, they simply could not believe it, but Joseph was able to share with them the wisdom of hindsight, detailing all that God had planned in advance for Joseph and his brothers. “So then, it was not you who sent me, but God.” Just imagine the bombshell this would be to digest for his brothers (and later, his father, Jacob). However, this was God’s plans all along sending Joseph ahead in order “to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”

This is God; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of the people of Israel. The God who sets things in motion for the benefit of those who call upon His name. Despite the struggles that one may go through, ultimately, God has the best intentions in mind for His people. As it appears in the story of Joseph, God is in business of preserving and caring for His people and it is no different today.

Through the trials, through the struggles, through the pain…God is there. At the end of the day, God has a better plan for His people but there are no promises that it’ll be easy (as I’m sure we can all testify). Through the journey we learn to trust God, we learn to rely on God, we learn to open ourselves up to growing in character and wisdom… When we begin to understand that God has our best intentions in mind, life is no longer as daunting or as hopeless as it once seemed.

Next Reading: Genesis 47:13-50:26