God had a Plan for Joseph

     Genesis 37+ 29-50. When Joseph was young, he had dreams of his family bowing down before him. His ten brothers all hated him and sold him into slavery. He, nevertheless, loved and obeyed God. He was sold as a slave to a man named Potiphar. Potiphar found that Joseph was trustworthy, and made him in charge of nearly everything he had.  39:5; From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.God bless Potiphar because of Joseph. Then, Potiphar's wife pestered Joseph day after day trying to get him to sleep with her, but he refused, for he was a righteous man. Potipar's wife, angry that she could not get her way, lied and had Joseph  thrown in prison, although he was innocent.
     Joseph stayed in prison for years. It would have been easy for him to be angry at God, but  he continued to trust God. Because of that, God blessed him. Genesis 39:21-23; The Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. In prison, some men told him their dreams, and God gave him the power to interpret the dreams. The interpretations came true, exactly like Joseph had said. 
     Pharaoh had two dreams many years later, and Joseph was called upon to interpret it. God told Joseph what the dreams meant. For seven years Egypt would prosper and there would be a famine all over for the following seven years. Genesis 41:41; So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”  Joseph was blessed because even through hard times he followed and trusted God. He waited for God's perfect timing. Later during the seven years of famine, Joseph's brothers that had sold him into slavery came to Egypt for food, since Joseph had had food stored up during the seven years that Egypt had been prosperous. Joseph was able to save him whole family from starvation because he had followed God. God also gave him the power to forgive his brothers for what they had done to him when he was younger, and he did forgive them. Genesis 50:19-21; Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

     I have certainly not been through anything like Joseph went through. I was not born into a family full of children from one dad and four women. I was not hated by my half siblings and sold into slavery. After working hard and proving myself trustworthy, I have never been thrown in prison.Yet, after he endured all of this, Joseph stuck to what God told him. This is such an amazing story because it proves that even through our hard times, God will never abandon us. Even in our hard times, if we do not abandon God, he will bless us and keep us safe. That does not mean that bad things do not  happen. They do. Just like I told you about my grandpa.  He worked really hard, but bad things happened. Yet, it was because of those bad things that good happened. Those bad things ended up saving his life. The bad that happened to Joseph not only saved his life, but his entire family. I know it is hard, but if you put your trust in Jesus Christ, and follow his word to the best of your ability, it will be the best decision you will ever make in your life.

~Daughter of the Light