“I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.  For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.  God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.  Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”  Genesis 45:4-8

When trials hit, our lives are often turned upside down.  What once was, is no more.  We mourn our loss, we wonder how we can continue, and we are anxious about both the present and our future.  In our frustration, we often focus on survival and the disruption of our plans rather than godliness.  We think that knowing what God knows will help…that somehow our small finite minds can adequately evaluate the vast, all knowing mind of God.    In the end, if we are honest, acceptance is really about giving up control.  We must relinquish our sense of control and yield willingly to God’s plan for us.  Our willingness (or lack thereof) is often a good indication of our relationship with God, our perspective, how much information we think we need and how much we actually trust our God.  As these are all intertwined, I’d like to take a look at them through the stories of Joseph, Mary and our Savior.  I’ve attempted this a few times as a single post, but quickly realized that it would be too long and broad.  Consequently, I’m breaking it down into four more limited posts.  For this post, let’s take a look at Joseph the son of Jacob (Israel).

At seventeen, Joseph was given two dreams that hinted at God’s plan for him to become a great and powerful man, but as far as we know from scripture, the information was very limited.  At that point it seems that God’s gift of interpreting dreams had not yet been fully realized.  Further, any sense of grandeur must have quickly subsided as his brothers stripped him of his robe, through him into a pit and subsequently sold him into slavery.  In a very brief period of time he went from beloved son to slave property of another.  His place in the world and his freedom were ripped from him by his jealous brothers.  As God blessed his work, he rose to overseer of his master’s household only to be falsely accused and thrown into prison.  In prison, he again was blessed by God but he was still in prison.  After thirteen years of uncertainty and frustration he was elevated to second in command over the land of Egypt.  As quickly as he was ripped away from his family, he was raised from prisoner to ruler.  While the story has a great ending as God’s plan for Joseph were uniquely fabulous, I would like to focus on the thirteen years of uncertainty that Joseph endured and how he handled it.

God did not give Joseph much to go on.  He was not privy to God’s plan for him nor God’s timeline.  Honestly, from a human perspective would it have helped?  On day one as a young teenager, would knowing he would have to endure slavery and prison until he was thirty years old have been terribly helpful.  Would it have made him angry and bitter or hopeful?  Would Joseph have served Potiphar as well knowing that despite his loyalty, Potiphar would have him imprisoned due to a false accusation by Potiphar’s wife?  And what of prison, would it have helped to know that the cupbearer would forget about him?  Culturally, we are told that bitterness, anger and spite would be acceptable in these circumstances.  However, that is not God’s perspective.  The point is, that having all the facts laid out is not necessarily helpful.  It has as much potential to provide anger and resentment as it does peace of mind.  Further, with that information we a prone to do a cost benefit analysis and second guess God’s plan for us.   Is that a sin we really want to add to our list?  Clearly we do not, therefore we should willingly accept God’s judgment in what He does and does not reveal to us.

Another consideration is Joseph’s relationship to God.  He did not have the benefit of scripture that he could turn to for encouragement, but clearly he desired to serve God faithfully and had an eternal perspective.  While this is not explicitly stated, we see it clearly in a few snapshots.  When Potiphar’s wife attempts to seduce him, any temptation is overruled by his integrity.  His response speaks volumes “Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”  (Genesis 39:8-9)  Further this was not a single event but we’re told that it was “day after day”.  The second is when Joseph is brought before Pharaoh.  Before he interprets the dream, Joseph makes it very clear that God is providing the interpretation.  His relationship with God does not allow him to even consider taking any of the praise for himself.  Rather, he says “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”  (Genesis 41:16)  Finally, in Genesis 45:4-8 when revealing himself to his brothers and again in Genesis 50:20 Joseph readily forgives his brothers looking beyond their evil act to God’s plan to preserve their family.  He could not have recognized God’s hand at work had he not sought to serve God faithfully and been looking to see God at work.  These events tell us that Joseph’s relationship with God guided His behavior.

Again, while not clearly laid out for us, we can infer from what we are told something of Joseph’s attitude.  To be sure there were likely the normal responses of anger, fear and frustration as evidenced in Joseph’s plea to the cupbearer stating that he was kidnapped from his home and placed in prison without a legitimate complaint.  However, despite any frustration he may have felt, his general response was one of obedience and service.  Had he allowed bitterness, resentment and anger reign, he would not have been able to serve Potiphar well.  Clearly, he was faithful in his duties.  Further, after he was cruelly imprisoned, he once again faithfully served in the prison.  And where was God…“the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand.”  God gave him the necessary skills to succeed and blessed his work.  In fact, God blessed him so much that Potiphar, the chief jailer and Pharaoh all recognized God’s blessing and improved Joseph’s circumstances as a result: he was not just any slave, but oversaw Potiphar’s household; the chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge and Pharaoh immediately made him second in command.  While Joseph did not have the benefit of this passage, he clearly experienced God’s promise given in Isaiah 41:10:  “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Because of His desire to please God, Joseph did not allow negative attitudes to impact his service to God and man and God was with him and blessed him.

From Joseph, we learn several things.  First, rather than focusing on our plans, our loyalty and service to God should be our preeminent thought.  Having an eternal focus and looking for God to be at work around us, open our heart to accept God’s plans and allow us to exhibit godliness in forms such as integrity, obedient service, and forgiveness.  Second, information is a double-edged sword; it has as much potential to create anxiety as it does to alleviate it.  Finally, God is always with us.  He upholds us, comforts us and provides what we need when we look to Him, knowing that He will be faithful to His promises.