Looking Back on It All

Genesis 44-45 Matthew 14:13-36 Psalm 18:37-50 Proverbs 4:11-13

And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. – Genesis 45:5 TNIV

Do you think Joseph ever imagined he would end up being in charge of Egypt after being sold as a slave or later when he was thrown in jail? What might he have said to God in his prayers? I’ve a good idea what I would be saying if I were in his place. In just a couple of chapters in the Bible, we see how the story ends. But this story represents years of Joseph’s life. I wonder how many times he thought back to those dreams he had where his family is bowing down to him. Did he ever begin to wonder if those dreams were not prophetic? Was he tempted to think that God had forgotten him?

In our lives today, we don’t have the luxury to read the next couple chapters to see how things will end up in our lives. We go through hard times and wonder why we are in the situation we are facing, wondering if God has forgotten us. Perhaps if we could read ahead, we would know that God is using this for good and everything will be alright and we would have a stronger faith. But we can’t read ahead. The good news is, we can look back on God’s people in the past and see that God will always use the His people’s lives for His good plan. This is a promise for us to hold on to. We may not have a happy ending in this life like Joseph. It may be more like John the Baptizer’s. But we can still look forward to the happy ending in the New Earth where we will live with Him in peace forever.

Father God, help us to remember that You do have a plan. A good plan to rescue as many people as want to be with You. Give us courage when we are going through hard times that seem they will never end. Help us to hold on to You when facing unhappy endings in this life. Remind us we have the next life with You to look forward to. Amen.