Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.
Genesis 37:18 NKJV
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Genesis 41:41 NKJV
Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50:19-21 NKJV
The story of Joseph is a great story of restoration and redemption. Joseph was his father’s favorite son and his father did not hide it well. He gave Joseph this coat of many colors (Genesis 37:3). Joseph then began to have dreams about his family bowing down to him which angered his brothers even more (Genesis 37:8). In our first scripture passage today, they are so fed up with their brother they conspired to kill him. They decided to sell him into slavery instead. Imagine being a young boy who is living the good life as a favored son and suddenly you are sold into slavery like a farm animal and transported to a foreign land. But nowhere in this entire story are we ever told that Joseph was bitter or had a pity party.
He was purchased by Potiphar, a captain of the guard. We are told in Genesis 39:2 that the LORD was with Joseph. He was successful and was in the house of his master. Joseph found favor with him and he made him overseer of his house and put all that he had under Joseph’s authority. Joseph was a good looking young man and was well built and caught the wandering eye of Potiphar’s wife. She began to come on to Joseph, but Joseph turned her down saying that he could not do this great wickedness and sin against God (Genesis 39:9). But one day she became more aggressive and grabbed at Joseph. When he pulled away, part of his garment came off in her hand. She accused Joseph of trying to rape her. Who’s the husband going to believe, the slave or his wife? Joseph lands in prison. But again no bitterness and no pity party.
Instead, Joseph gains favor of the warden and is put in control of all the other prisoners. We are told in verse 23 that the LORD was with him and whatever he did the LORD made it prosper. Joseph ends up interpreting a dream for one of Pharaoh’s servants and the servant promises to mention him to Pharaoh but forgot. Joseph spent an additional two years in prison. Pharaoh had a dream that needed to be interpreted and this jogged his chief butler’s memory and he mentioned Joseph to him. Joseph interpreted his dream and the Pharaoh put Joseph second in command in all of Egypt.
Now this is Romans 8:28 in action, all things work for the good of those who love the LORD and are called according to His purpose. Joseph never gave up. He didn’t choose to sit around and be angry and bitter at his brothers. He chose to do the best he could. We are told in Colossians 3:23 that we are to do all things heartily or to the best of our ability as though we are working for the LORD and not men. We must remember where our reward comes from.
Joseph was richly rewarded for this and was able to save the lives of his father and his brothers and many other people as well during this great famine. In our final scripture passage, Joseph’s brothers fear that after their father dies, Joseph may finally seek retribution. Joseph assures them that all they did was in God’s plan to put Him in the place where God intended for Him to be.
When life is dealing you lemons, know that God is blessing you with them in order for you to make lemonade. Know that God’s got this and He’s got good plans for you. Trust in Him and know that He is working all things out for your good. This is how we rise above it all.
My prayer for you today is that whatever you are experiencing, know God will take good care of you if you will commit to Him. He will even help you to put away any anger and bitterness so that you can love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:43-48). When we trust in God and do things His way, He will bless us beyond measure.
No matter what others may do to us, we can rise above it all. Whatever they mean for our harm, God can use to bring us to the good place he has chosen for us. When we walk with the LORD, we can rise above it all.
Have a great weekend!