A Different Perspective
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“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.” (Genesis 45:8)
The story of Joseph reads like a string of good news, bad news scenarios. (You can read the whole story in Genesis chapters 37-50) Joseph, the favored son of Jacob, dreams that his brothers will all bow in submission to him. Jealous and angry, they throw him into an empty cistern while they determine his fate. They consider killing him, but sell him to a caravan of traders instead. Then they dip Joseph’s robe in goat’s blood, show it to their father and let him assume Joseph died in a wild animal attack.
Joseph ends up a slave in Egypt, but God blesses him and allows Joseph to gain the admiration of his owner. Potiphar places Joseph over everything he owns. There, Joseph prospers until Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses of him trying to rape her and Potiphar throws Joseph into prison.
God shows kindness to Joseph and his conduct pleases the warden, who puts him in charge of the other prisoners and the running of the prison. Joseph interprets a dream for a fellow prisoner and asks to be remembered when Pharaoh restores the man to his former position.
When Pharaoh has a dream two years later, the cupbearer remembers Joseph and advises the king to call for him. Because Joseph, through God’s power, interprets the dream for the king, Pharaoh makes him ruler over the entire country of Egypt to oversee the gathering and storing of grain during the years of plenty for the years of famine that will follow.
Don’t breeze through Joseph’s story assuming that “all’s well that ends well”. Joseph probably spent 15 years in slavery and prison before he came to Pharaoh’s attention. Mistreated, wrongly accused and forgotten, Joseph spent a decade and a half in the prime of his life waiting for God to rescue him.Yet, when his brothers finally bow down to him years later, Joseph sees himself not as a victim of misfortune but as a participant in God’s great plan.
“But Joseph said to [his brothers], ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.’” (Genesis 50:19-20)
It’s tough to trust God and wait in the middle of difficult circumstances, but Joseph’s story gives us a different perspective. Someone else may intend to harm you, but temporary trouble–even 15 years is temporary because it’s not eternal–doesn’t mean God is not at work. God’s purpose cannot be defeated.
God, give me Your perspective on my situation. Help me to trust in You and wait for You to rescue me. Amen
Questions: Why do you think Joseph was able to see his situation as God sending him to Egypt rather than his brothers? How can we see our circumstances through God’s perspective?
8 Responses to “A Different Perspective”
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So glad that you were encouraged by this devotional Jeanie!
Barbara, you are so right that Joseph did keep his dreams in mind through all that happened which must have helped. At the same time he also did not grow bitter or disillusioned in God’s timing which is an important thing to remember for us when it seems like God’s timing isn’t what we would like ours to be. What a blessing that you have been able to see your suffering from God’s point of view…that is huge!
I beleive Joseph was able to see his situation as God sending him to Egypt rather than his brothers because of the dream that Joseph had prior to such captivity. Joseph beleived in the dream that God had given to him and he clung to such through all those years. For many years I too have been held captive…but in an inner prison of darkness and despair…however…as I changed my perspective on such I was able to see the suffering from God’s point of view.
This devotional was so for me.
Hi Karen,
Thanks for pointing out something important. It is easy to assume we know what the Bible says instead of reading carefully and taking time to ponder what it actually says.
What difference does it make if Joseph thought Satan intended to harm him or if he thought his brothers intended to harm him?
Joseph might have thought his brothers were innocent pawns of Satan – they weren’t. Genesis 37:18 says “they plotted to kill him”.
The Bible teaches that all have sinned (Romans 3:23). People aren’t basically good, but Satan is out to get us. Because of Adam’s sin, we are all born with a sinful nature and need God’s forgiveness.
If only Satan was to blame Joseph wouldn’t need to forgive his brothers. The reality is people DO intend to harm us sometimes. In order to trust and follow God, Joseph needed to forgive his brothers – real people and real relationships, even though those relationships were severed for a time.
There’s also the truth of God’s sovereignty – that God is in control. It wasn’t that Joseph’s brothers did something evil and God had to figure out a way to make it positive. God was in control all along. In Genesis 45:8 Joseph says, “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.” It’s not easy to understand, but we need to wrestle with it.
Heavenly Father, please help us to read Your word carefully. Help us to understand it through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Reveal Your truth to us and change us. Show us where we need to forgive people, believe that You are in control and trust You. Amen.
Hi Suzanne! Thank you very much for this blog article. Indeed the story of Joseph is one of God’s humbling sovereignty. I often see in my own life that in really difficult situations, ‘humbling myself’ before God is dependent on my view of the situation instead of God’s view of the situation. That tendency to try to ‘fix’ things and then struggle with trusting God because my heart says His rescuing is ‘taking too long’. Oh but in those periods of life when the waters were high, life drastically changed due to death or failed plans, the sweetest moments are when I accept and see that God intended this for good, His purpose, the saving of many. It is a beautiful gift to know that His sovereignty is humbling, we can trust Him in all situations and our joy is complete in Him regardless of how long it make take for the situation to change.
I so needed this devotional today. I love the story of Joseph and how he never became bitter in his circumstances.
Thanks for the reminder of God’s hand of protection in our lives even in the things we don’t understand.
Thank you Suzanne for this timely study. I am waiting on the Lord and have had some similar circumstances to Joseph. I thank the Lord for his loving kindness, mercy and compassion.
Whenever I have read the verse before I thought it was that “satan meant it for evil, but God used it for good”……………is this different?