How to Survive the Storms of LifeSample

Joseph: Innocently Enduring the Storm

“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)

Joseph endured a lot in his younger years. He grew up with eleven brothers. Being the darling of his father Jacob, he aroused irritation and jealousy, and when Joseph was 17 years old, his brothers sold him as a slave to Egypt, far away from his family. There he worked hard and was given a privileged position, but when his master's wife falsely accused him of attempted rape, he was thrown into jail. For years he was innocently imprisoned there, until God intervened and miraculously made him viceroy of Egypt. The Bible says in several places that God was “with Joseph” in all of this, yet he must have often wondered why he was facing so much calamity.

It is not until years later, when Joseph has met his father and brothers again and has been able to provide them with food in the face of a severe famine, that he can see God's guidance in his life. All the events that seemed so unfair and wrong at first, helped to keep all of Joseph's relatives — and countless others — alive.

Do you believe that God is leading your life and that He has a purpose in doing so, even if you can't see it — yet?