Daily Bible Reading Thoughts – Genesis 43-45
If you’ve ever been really sick and went to a doctor, part of your road to feeling good again may have been a medicine delivered through a very, very sharp needle. How did that feel? Even the best of shots normally sting a little, and the worst ones will make you wonder if the cure’s worse than the disease. But you let the doctor administer it because you knew there is a purpose behind the pain your were feeling, in this case to help you get better faster.
Sometimes we may not know why we’re suffering. We may be going through a trial that seems to have no purpose. But even though we don’t know the purpose, we can be confident that our sovereign God knows. And not only can we take comfort in knowing that God is in control of what we’re experiencing AND that there’s a purpose for it, we can have confidence that the purpose is ultimately good! “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 ESV)
Jospeh recognized this. His brothers faked his death and sold him into slavery. He was thrown into jail for doing the right thing. He did a favor for an inmate, asking only that the man mention him to pharaoh when he was freed, but no, Joseph was forgotten for a couple of years. Joseph’s life started out great, but went from bad to worse at breakneck speed. However, it was only because he had gone through all of these trials that Joseph was in the position to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, be set by Pharaoh over all of Egypt and eventually save his family and countless others during the famine. God sent him there, using the events as the vehicle to accomplish his purposes.
So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed 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 yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 45:4-8 ESV)
A few chapters later Joseph sums this up in one sentence: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20 ESV)
At the end of the day, no matter what has been done to us or what trials we face, we can be sure that God will ultimately bring good out of the situation and He will be glorified. Knowing that God is in control and has a purpose for what you’re experiencing makes getting through tough times much easier!