So I was reading my Bible this morning and I read part of the story of Joseph. It really brought me some perspective. I have recently been thinking a lot about the situation my little family is in...being separated yet again; Oh, how I was hoping we'd never have to do that again! I actually was pretty depressed about everything this week. Tuesday was probably the lowest point. Ryan had been gone for two weeks already and in the past (when we were going through this in the fall) he would be on his way home. Not this time...I have another two weeks without him. It really got to me. It really got me down. I don't know that I've ever felt so depressed in my entire life...it was rough. So, I kept reading my Bible. What a great comfort God's word has been for me! Anyway, I digress...back to Joseph....
To refresh you of the story of Joseph, he had several half brothers and Joseph was his father's favorite. This made his brothers extremely jealous. Also, Joseph had a dream where all the brothers' bundles of grain bowed down to his, which made them hate him even more. He had another similar dream which he shared with them and his father and it angered his father as well - but at the same time it made him wonder at the meaning of Joseph's dreams.
While the brothers were far away with the flocks, Joseph's father sent him to check on them. When his brothers saw him coming, they began plotting to kill him; Kill their own brother! Luckily one of Joseph's brothers, Reuben, convinced them to just throw Joseph into a pit to let him die and Reuben would later come back to save Joseph. Shortly thereafter, some traders on camels came by and the brothers decided to get greedy and sold Joseph to them. The brothers continued on with their lie that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal and their father was deeply saddened.
Now this was all part of God's plan for Joseph. He had to go through all this terrible betrayal by his brothers in order to become something spectacular. The traders sold Joseph to Potiphar, the captain of the Pharaoh's palace guard. Because Joseph was faithful to God, he prospered at everything he did for Potiphar and Potiphar took notice. He eventually made Joseph one of his personal attendants. Joseph was in charge of all of Potiphar's household and possessions. Unfortunately for Joseph, Potiphar's wife framed him for rape and he was put in prison. But even in prison, God was blessing Joseph's life.
To make a long story somewhat short, Joseph eventually interpreted several of the Pharaoh's dreams and saved the Egyptians from a famine (of course mentioning that these messages were sent by God). Joseph became a favorite of the Pharaoh saying, "Since God has revealed the meaning of dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are." So Pharaoh made Joseph second in command to himself. The only person ranking higher than Joseph was the Pharaoh himself!!
There's much more to the story, but this is the part that is relevant to me and my family. I tried to imagine how helpless and lost Joseph must have felt when he was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. How utterly sabotaged he felt when he was thrown into prison, wrongfully accused of rape. Through all of his trials he remained faithful to God. It would have been so easy for him to blame God for everything bad that was happening to him like Job did. But he didn't. And the outcome of his faithfulness was quite a mighty reward! It gives me hope that all of this mess we are currently in is for a greater purpose. If we remain faithful and grow through this experience we will reap the benefits. My hope is that whatever good comes of this situation, it is obvious to others that our blessings come from God and not anything that we ourselves have done. We are not perfect, but with God's help, we can do great things because God is good!
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