Seeing God in Our Lives
Genesis 37:3-8, 17b-22, 26-34 and Genesis 50:15-21
This week, I have been reflecting on one of my favorite stories from the Bible. It’s a story with a spoiled little brother, vindictive older brothers, and a story arc that ends in tragedy turning into a blessing. This story has captured the minds of many and has even been turned into a musical.
When you read the story, the beginning is quite confusing. His father favors Joseph, Joseph has a dream about his family bowing down to him, and then lacks the wisdom to keep it to himself. He shares his dream and the interpretation with his brothers. As expected, the older brothers get mad and set out to kill him. They change their minds to leave him for dead and then change their minds once more to sell him into slavery. They lie to their father, saying Joseph was killed by a wild animal. In this opening to the story, we see Joseph go from the promise of power to a lack of power. We see Jacob’s sons doing what he has done throughout history: taking what they think is ultimately theirs by lying and cheating.
As we read further, we see Joseph’s life get better, worse, and better again. He works for Potiphar but gets accused of something terrible and ends up in prison. There, he interprets others’ dreams, which leads to him interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams in Egypt. This leads to him saving Egypt and, ultimately, his family. Today, we are looking at the story as a whole, so please forgive me for skipping over some of the more dramatic details, including Joseph setting up and testing his brothers.
The final passage we look at this week is the end of Joseph’s story. We hear of the death of his father, Jacob, and are left with a cliffhanger of Israel (Jacob’s family) in Egypt. On the surface, we like to look at this story and think of the often-shared quote, “God works all things for good.” However, sometimes we think the good in this story was for Joseph, or that God orchestrated all these bad things so they would end the way they did. While God could have, scripture doesn’t say that. It is possible that God worked through the broken decisions of Joseph and his brothers to get to the result He had planned from the beginning. Not only that, but God’s plan for Joseph was still more about a larger plan of bringing Jesus Christ into the world through the nation of Israel that all started with a promise to Abraham.
As I think back on my relatively short life, I can list a lot of times when life was complicated. I can even list a bunch of times I made significant mistakes. Yet, as I retell the story of God’s working in my life, I can’t help but share the moments when God did something despite me. This has stirred in me a desire to trust where God is leading earlier and have more patience along the way, hoping to follow his lead rather than get in his way with my assumptions about this life.
So, today, where has God been at work in your life? And what is he calling you to be patient with?
Lord, help us see your work in our lives and trust where you lead us next. Amen.