Bible in a Year, Day 25: Why Joseph Matters

Today's reading

Today's reading is Genesis 37 and 39:20, where the story of Joseph begins, and Pastor Jack Graham connects it to a promise in the New Testament.

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.

(Romans 8:28, WEB)

Reflection

Joseph was 17, favored by his father and given dreams by God. His brothers burned with jealousy, tore the robe off his back, threw him into a pit, and sold him to be taken to Egypt as a slave. Pastor Jack Graham says it plainly: the dreams seemed to have turned into nightmares.

Yet he reads the story from a higher vantage point. As he put it, "The pit wasn't really punishment. It was preparation." The pit, then slavery, then prison were a crushing road, but that road shaped Joseph into the man who would rise to power and save a nation.

That changes how we read our own detours. Graham teaches that "God has a dream, a destiny for all of our lives," and that it does not always unfold the way we expect. We do not have to make things happen. God enables us to do his will and accomplish his purposes.

When God redirects us, Graham says, he is not being cruel. "He is a loving father who sees things that we can't see." Romans 8:28 holds the same truth: God works all things together for good for those who love him.

Graham also draws a line to Jesus. Joseph was betrayed for pieces of silver and stripped of his robe. Jesus was betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, stripped of his robe, nailed to a cross and laid in a grave. The pit was where Joseph's story seemed to end, and the grave looked like the end for Jesus, but Jesus came out of the grave.

So when a dream seems to die, remember what Graham says: what people mean for evil, God means for good. "He's writing a greater story than you can possibly see."

Take it with you

• Where do you feel stuck in a pit or a dead end right now? Ask God to show you whether he might be preparing you there.
• Are you trying to make things happen yourself? Consider what it would look like to trust God to enable you instead.
• Read Romans 8:28 slowly once today and thank God for one thing he has already worked for good.

Prayer

Father, you see what we cannot see. When our dreams seem crushed and the road turns dark, help us remember that you are still at work. Forgive us for trying to force our own plans. Teach us to trust your purpose for our lives, even in the pit, and to believe that you mean it for good. Thank you for Jesus, who rose from the grave. Write your greater story in us. Amen.