God’s Plan For Good - Joseph

Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime. Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed.

Genesis 37:26-27

In the classic Western film Silverado, a drifter named Paden counts his blessings after his soon-to-be-friend Emmett rescues him from certain death in the desert. Paden says of the men who robbed him, stripped him, and left him alone to die of dehydration, “At least they didn’t kill me. That was right considerate, I thought.”

There’s something courageous about a character who sees simple survival as a blessing, especially in the face of undeserved abuse. Many believers see exactly that trait of courage in a young Hebrew named Joseph, who endured more than his share of unfair mistreatment.

Joseph didn’t suffer at the hands of brutal strangers but as the victim of his ten jealous brothers. Their father, Jacob, had never tried to hide his favoritism toward Joseph, and as a result, the brothers nurtured a smoldering hatred for their younger sibling. When they caught him walking alone in the desert one day, they sold him to a traveling band of Ishmaelite traders and told his father that a wild animal had killed him.

The stories of Paden and Joseph are parallel in a second way. In Silverado, Paden’s survival plays a major part in the outcome of the story. In a fiery conclusion, Paden liberates a fearful small town from the control of the unambiguously wicked Sheriff Cobb. Similarly, Joseph didn’t just survive his brothers’ terrible mistreatment; he determined to live for God regardless of his circumstances. That courageous choice made the difference between the survival and the death of his whole family.

The choice to live in a way that pleases and glorifies God doesn’t guarantee you problem-free days on earth. It does assure you that whatever happens, God will use your circumstances for your good and the good of God’s people.