The story of Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery and eventually becoming a great leader in Egypt, tells of God making something wrong, right.
“So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt. And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.” (Genesis 41:43-44 NLT)
It's easy to say, “God is good” when things are going smoothly. It's something else to say, “God is good” when our lives fall apart.
“Joseph named his older son Manasseh for he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.” Joseph named his second son Ephraim for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.” (Genesis 41:51-52 NLT)
When the time came where Joseph was in a position to repay evil for evil, he chose instead to repay evil with good.
“But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.“ (Genesis 50:19-21 NLT)
When we read this incredible story of God's goodness (and His control), are we able to compare our situation with Joseph's and begin to understand that our Heavenly Father also has something wonderful planned for us?
“The tender heart of Joseph, his deep compassion for his brethren, comes out most clearly when he reveals himself to them, and again when they doubt his love after his father's death. Like the One of whom he was but a foreshadow, he was a man of tears. As he beheld his brethren, he could not refrain from weeping, and when they feared that he would remember their sins after the burial of Jacob, their distrust of his love moved him again to sobs uncontrolled. He loved to be trusted; he could not bear to be doubted, and in this how truly he portrays the character of the Lord Jesus.“ Harry Ironside
Faithful people in pain speak with authority. If you're in pain, don't waste your suffering. Instead, use it as a platform for proving the amazing grace of God.
“Joseph learned, hundreds of years before our saviour taught it from the mount of the beatitudes, the blessedness of the pure in heart. He could not have anticipated the exquisite symmetry of the form in which the law of that blessedness was expressed. That could only be coined and minted by the lips that spoke as never a man spoke. But he most certainly drank a deep draught of divine sweetness and light from the crystal vase of his manly purity.“ E.B. Meyer