Problem Children

Please go and see if it is well with your brothers.

Genesis 37:14

Jacob was worried about his boys. They were strong-willed, immature “problem kids.” Even when they were absent, he was concerned. Sometimes they acted like a band of thugs. Their shenanigans caused Jacob endless heartache. In Genesis 37, they were shepherding their flocks in Shechem, and Jacob, perhaps sensing trouble, sent Joseph to find out if all was well. The brothers saw Joseph coming, seized him, stripped him, threw him into a pit, and sold him to a passing caravan as a slave.

The situation seemed hopeless. But fast-forward to the end of Genesis: Joseph is prime minister of Egypt, he and his brothers are reconciled, Jacob is happy and honored, and his twelve sons become the patriarchs of the Jewish nation.

Don’t give up on your children, even when they worry you, even when circumstances seem impossible. God can devise implausible solutions and do impossible things. Luke 18:27 says, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

Maybe it’s not your child—maybe it’s your spouse, your sibling, your neighbor, or your best friend. We can’t change another’s heart, but God can. Do your best and then let Him do the rest.