for the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. and God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. so it was not you who sent me here, but God. he has made me a father to pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of egypt. [genesis 45:6-8]
so it was not you who sent me here, but God.
talk about an eternal perspective.
it can be tempting to see the current situation in front of you and fixate on it. you worry and fret, worshiping the problem. the earthly situation then grows bigger and blooms into an idol. it sits right in front of your face, and it becomes harder to see anyone or anything beyond it. it’s natural to then question God as to why the situation unfolded the way it did. you put God’s character on trial, questioning his presence, his power, his sovereignty, and his wisdom.
joseph probably had an abundance of questions. he may have felt extremely confused and frustrated. however, God protected joseph and gave him eyes to see God’s faithfulness. God gave joseph these desperate situations (i.e. the pit, prison, isolation, etc) as opportunities to trust God and ultimately provide for his family. God also gave joseph the strength to obey and abide in God along the way.
did joseph question God? probably. but the fruit of joseph’s obedience to God leads to the conclusion that joseph wasn’t consistently putting God’s character on trial. he may have been a curious follower. God welcomes our curiosity about how he is moving in our lives.
what does it look like for you to be curious about God’s hand without putting his character on trial?
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it involves first being curious about God’s character in scripture. who is God? why is he our authority? why does he rightfully deserve our trust?
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it involves dependent prayer, asking for God to open our eyes so we can recognize his faithfulness even if we do not understand the situation unfolding before us.
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it involves asking others how God is working in their lives… saturating yourself in conversations pointing to the Lord.
God gave joseph an answer regarding his intense situation. you may not. does this mean that God is less faithful towards you?
absolutely not!
the apostle paul writes to the corinthians, giving thanks for God’s faithfulness to them:
“so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” [1 corinthians 1:7-9]
even if you cannot see how God is working, Christ sustains you and makes you guiltless before our holy God. instead of waiting for the answer, let’s fix our eyes on waiting for Christ to return. this is easier said than done, but know that God is faithful and sovereign beyond what your eyes can see! let’s fellowship with his Son today, trusting him with the outcome of whatever we face.
~ jm