There are seasons in life when it seems like nothing is going right. The bills stack high. Relationships grow tense. Your dreams fade in the moonlight. I love how God knows all the seasons and has a purpose in each one of them. Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 about a success story you will never believe.
The Character of God
Our seasons provide us insight into the character and nature of God. Some attributes are revealed instantaneously, while others are gleaned over time.
Christmas is a great time for reflecting. A time to look back at your life. What have you learned about yourself this past year? What have you learned about God?
Over the past few days, we have glanced at the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Today we lean into Joseph…read Genesis 37 and 39.
I think a lot of us can relate to Joseph. He is someone whose life never went according to plan. Despised by his brothers. Sold into slavery. Rose to power, only to be banned. Imprisoned and forgotten.
But the story doesn’t end here.
Joseph became known as a dream-teller, and God uses him to interpret the dream of the king (Genesis 41). Quickly, Joseph (foreigner and former slave) rises to a position of great power, directing the affairs of the Egyptian nation. And then, a severe famine breaks out and all food is sparse, causing Joseph’s family to come search for aid in this foreign land (Genesis 42).
Throughout this long discourse into the life of Joseph (30% of the book of Genesis), we learn that God is our PROVISION. God is providentially involved in all the details of Joseph’s life…which I find incredibly comforting. When I can’t make sense of the in’s & out’s, twists & turns, and my details unnerving…I can trust in God’s sovereign care. Knowing He’s got this! And He always will!
As for Joseph, he finally sees the hand of God as the master-weaver. He successfully sees the hand of God working all things together for good (Rom. 8:28) when, from his vantage point, things looked like a disaster. Listen to the words Joseph spoke to his traitor brothers at the end of a turbulent life journey…
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.
Joseph Discovers Success in God’s Economy
After all these years, Joseph could see that God never abandoned him. The same Good Shepherd is here with you today…through the good, the bad, and the ugly. He will be with you until the end. I love it when the puzzle pieces fall together!
You might not see how God is going to work out your current situation for your success. But don’t lose hope. Don’t give in. Keep pursuing Him! God is after a relationship with you…not merely a result.
Will you trust God’s narrative when you haven’t finished reading the current chapter of your own life?