What if?

I’ve been reminded lately of Joseph and his struggles through life. His brothers threw him in a pit and planned to leave him there to die, only to then sell him into slavery. But after years of struggling, look where he ended up, the second in command of all of Egypt where he saved them from starvation! And when his brothers came to him fearing his wrath against them his response was “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.” (Genesis 50:20)

Romans 8:28 tells us that “God works all things for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose”. All things? Really?

What if his brothers had never thrown Joseph into that pit, what would have happened to all those people in Egypt during the famine? The evil deed that Joseph’s brothers performed out of jealousy and anger is the very thing that God used to get Joseph headed in the right direction. It placed him precisely where he needed to be at precisely the time he needed to be there. If there had been no pit, no sale to slavery, then there would have been no trip to Potiphar’s house. If Joseph hadn’t been in Potiphar’s house and been accused of molesting Potiphar’s wife, he never would have been in that prison to meet Pharaoh’s cup bearer. And if he hadn’t ever met the cup bearer and shared his talent for dream interpretation then Pharoah’s dream would have gone un-interpreted and the prophesy of the famine would have fallen on deaf ears causing all of Egypt to suffer. Sure, God could have used someone else to save them, but He wanted Joseph to be that person. He had chosen Joseph for that position of honor.

My point is this, so often we bemoan the rough moments in life without realizing that it is precisely those moments that are taking us to where God wants for us to be. That pit took Joseph to Egypt. And your pit can take you to where you need to be too. The thing about Joseph is, he didn’t let it get him down; he used it to lift him up. He continued to serve God even in those rough patches where life kicked him while he was already down. He believed that God would do what He said He would do for Joseph.

“Let not your hearts be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me.” John 14:1