Who Is Really In Control? - Joseph

God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you!

Genesis 45:7-8

When Frank hopped in his car one Monday morning and headed for work, he had no idea that another commuter would run a red light and broadside his car, sending him on an ambulance ride to the local emergency room. However, Frank’s injuries didn’t put his life in danger.

Instead, they saved his life.

When the ER staff checked Frank’s vital signs, they discovered that he had unusually high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, and other telltale symptoms of heart disease. Frank’s condition, though treatable with medication, could have taken his life if it hadn’t been detected in time. Frank felt sore and tired after his accident, but he thanked God for his discomfort. He firmly believed that the Lord had used the accident to save his life.

The patriarch Joseph would have smiled at Frank’s story.

When Joseph’s brothers saw him alive and well years after they had sold him into slavery, they quite naturally were stunned and frightened. They knew that he held their lives in his hands.

But long before, Joseph’s heart and mind had made peace with his treacherous brothers. He had no more animosity toward them. How could he when he firmly believed that the God who remains in control of all things had sent him to Egypt with a special calling in mind?

How do you respond when difficulties come your way? When you and your wife have a blowout argument, when one of your kids defies everything you say, when an important deal at work falls through, when you have some real questions about a new direction at church, how do you typically react? Do you allow negative emotions to rule the day, or do you take refuge in God, knowing without a doubt that he remains in control? If you follow Joseph’s example, you will know the joy of serving a God who uses all things for your good.

God has an amazing way of using even the worst circumstances for your good. Will he tell you what he’s up to in the middle of your difficulties? Not likely. We have no record that he ever told Joseph about his plans ahead of time. That means that Joseph had to move forward by faith—just as you do.