Setbacks

How do I keep going in the face of setbacks?

God’s Response

When the traders came by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver, and the Ishmaelite traders took him along to Egypt. Genesis 37:28

After hearing his wife’s story, Potiphar was furious! He took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held. Genesis 39:19-20

Pharaoh’s cup-bearer, however, promptly forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought. Genesis 40:23

Joseph experienced a series of heartbreaking setbacks —being sold into slavery by his brothers, being framed as a rapist by Potiphar’s wife, and being forgotten by the cupbearer whose dream Joseph had properly interpreted. While these bad experiences were not sent by God, Joseph understood that God would use them to prepare him for an important assignment later on. Looking at setbacks from that perspective keeps you alert to what you can learn from them and helps you endure them.

God’s Promise

As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil. Genesis 50:20