Out of the Pit

“So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit.” Genesis 37:23-24

Joseph was seventeen when his brothers betrayed him and threw him into a pit. Their initial plan was to kill him out of their jealousy, as Joseph was clearly their father’s favorite child of the 12 brothers. Instead, they sold Joseph into slavery and he was taken to Egypt. In Egypt, Joseph had many ups and downs. He was put in control of his master’s house, but was wrongly accused of making unwanted advances toward the master’s wife. He was thrown into jail, only to be put in charge of the prison affairs. He interpreted the dreams of two cellmates, only to be forgotten by them when they were freed. Later, he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and was made ruler over the kingdom. A famine hit the land and Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt for food to save their families. Joseph had the power to kill his brothers for their evil works. Instead, he provided the food for them, not once but twice, thereby saving them.

Joseph later addressed his brothers and said, “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.” Joseph had a heavenly perspective on the events of his life. He knew that God is sovereign and can use evil intentions of a few people to bring about good for many people. Joseph persevered through the dramatic downtimes of his life, because he trusted God to bring about good.

We can go through times when we feel like we are in a pit. Despair may come knocking at our door. In those times, we must have confidence in the God who knows all things, even events far into the future. We can trust Him, knowing that He is good and able to do good, even when we can’t see it.