Read: Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Read Genesis 45:4-5 and 46:2-4a Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied. “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again.
We know that God had made a promise to Joseph, but there was an even bigger promise at work within his life. A promise made to Joseph’s great-grandfather Abraham, grandfather Isaac and father Jacob that their descendants would become a great nation and a blessing to the world (Genesis 12:2-3).
However, Jacob and his family were impacted by a severe famine which was devastating the entire region. They would need to survive if they were going to grow and become what was promised. How “convenient” that Egypt had planned for and stored up the resources needed to endure through this natural disaster. What a “coincidence” the man who had worked out the details, and was overseeing those resources, was none other than Jacob’s “lost” son.
Through Joseph, God had brought blessings to Egypt and through Egypt to their neighbors including Joseph’s own family. In Exodus we learn the nation Israel grew from Joseph and his brothers within the initial protection of the land of Egypt. Through the nation Israel we were given the promise of a savior, and Christ Jesus came into this world. Did Joseph enjoy those setbacks in his life? Of course not. Did he ever know his experiences would have such a powerful impact on the entire world for generations to come? We don’t know, but because he was able to grow through his pain, what a mighty blessing God ultimately worked for this world through His Son Jesus.
Jesus can work through your adversity as well, allow yourself to grow in Him. Whether or not you see the end results, you can have hope and a future through Christ, and you might just become a blessing for someone else in the process..
