But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result-the survival of many people. Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your little ones.” And he spoke kindly to them.  Genesis 50:19-21 HCSB

I don’t know much about football. My husband has very patiently tried to explain the intricacies of the game to me. I understand the basics, like when the clock says they have 10 minutes left that could mean another hour. I get that there are 11 people from each team out there. I get that whoever has control of the ball is trying to get it to their goal to make a touchdown and the other team is trying to stop them from doing that. I also understand that the team that doesn’t have the ball is trying to get the ball away from the other team.

Sometimes life is like that. We have the ball and we are running full speed trying to get to the goal line and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, someone from the other team knocks us to the ground and the ball flies out of our hand. Or what’s worse several of the members of the other team tackle us. Then sometimes we actually run the ball all the way and make that touchdown. Life is a series of highs and lows.

In football it seems to be a game involving strategy, skill, speed, and strength. In life winning is all about being in close relationship with Jesus.

Our scripture passage comes at the end of the story of Joseph. This is not the Joseph that was married to Mary, Jesus’ mother. This is another Joseph. His story begins in Genesis 37 where Joseph is 17 years old and tends his father’s sheep. Joseph has it going on, you might say. His dad loved him more than he did Joseph’s brothers and made him this coat of many colors. Well, of course that sparked some jealousy. To make matters worse, Joseph had these dreams about his family bowing down to him. Perhaps he should not have shared that with his brothers, but he did. This added fuel to the fire. His brothers got so angry that they decided to sell him into slavery and he wound up in Egypt.

Now here Joseph was tackled, but he got back up. God saw to that. He was assigned to Potiphar’s house where he was put in charge of the entire household. He’s up and running for the goal again. But, Potiphar’s wife took a liking to him and because he was a Christian, he couldn’t give in to her. She became angry and made false accusations. He was put in jail, tackled again. He was put in charge of the prison and was released after a few years when the Pharaoh had a dream that he couldn’t understand. Joseph was brought to interpret his dream. Joseph was then made second in charge of all of Egypt. How awesome is that? Now he’s not just running a household or a prison, but an entire country, touchdown.

Now afterwards who comes needing food during this severe famine? You guessed it, his brothers. The same brothers that had captured him and sold him into slavery. When they figured out that it was their brother running things, they were afraid. But Joseph took good care of them and moved them, along with their father, to Egypt. When their father died, they feared the worst. They thought for sure that Joseph would treat them as horribly as they had treated him, but that’s not what Christians do, right? Joseph has long since understood that he had to go through the hardships he suffered to get to where he was that day. He had to go through these things so that he could take care of his brothers and his father. He was also able to save many other people from literally starving to death. He assures them that he means them no harm. He tries to make them understand that all the bad had to happen to get to the good.

We have to suffer some tackles and some fumbles before we make a touchdown in the game of life. But Romans 8:28 assures us that if we love the Lord and are called according to His purpose that all things will work out for our good. This means that we don’t have to worry in times of trouble, God’s got our back. He’s protecting us from being tackled. He will run beside us as we run for that touchdown. We only need to trust in Him and obey Him.

No matter what you are going through today, know that as long as you love the Lord and trust in Him and obey Him that your struggles will bring good things for you. Hang in there, He will get you safely to the goal he has set forth for you.

Have a great weekend!