Joseph ran into a streak of bad luck. First his jealous brothers tossed him into a hole, then they sold him to a band of slavers headed to Egypt. One minute the favored son, the next a slave slopping chamber pots.

It took years for Joseph to see anything good come from his circumstances. But over the years a plan a emerged. After gaining a position of massive influence, and saving both Egyptians and his own people from famine, Joseph told his brothers, You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.

But Joseph couldn’t see any of this from the pit. He guessed nothing of the good to come. Trudging along in a slaver’s caravan, sold into the household of a craven woman, and imprisoned for being a man of principle took Joseph from bad to worse. Not until that day standing before Pharaoh did he glimpse the hand of the Lord behind his misfortunes.

I wonder where the hand of the Lord might be hidden behind actions I find troubling? What situations might God turn evil intentions into good results?

Joseph dealt with cruelty, maliciousness and abandonment. Prison brought hunger and cold and beatings. From the bottom of that pit nothing looked possible. But with God all things are possible. Hang on long enough, and his goodness might just appear.

Genesis 50:20

Photo by Nacho Díaz Latorre