“But his bow remains steady, And his arms are made strong By the power of the Mighty God of Jacob, By the Shepherd, the Protector of Israel.” (Genesis 49:24)
Jacob blesses each one of his sons before his death. When he blesses Joseph, he mentions the difficulty Joseph had with his brothers who hated him, plotted to kill him but sold him into slavery. Joseph went through many trials and temptations wherever he went. They were brought on by satan because of Joseph’s faithfulness to God and his refusal to sin against God. (Genesis chapter 37, chapter 39-Genesis 49:23)
Joseph’s strength, in spirit and wisdom and knowledge, came from the Lord. It was God’s purpose to use Joseph to save Jacob’s family which would become the children of Israel and God’s favored people from dying in the famine that was widespread from Egypt to current day Turkey.
We can only think on the moment. We may remember a few years back and look forward a few years, but God sees the past from the beginning of time and didn’t forget His promises to Abraham. He sees the future, not years, not decades, not centuries, but to eternity. And God had a plan for Joseph even before he was born, giving Joseph dreams of what was to come when he was young and still in his father’s house. (Genesis 37:5-11)
Sometimes, through God’s providence, we are in a situation or a place that we didn’t intend to be. And years later, in hindsight, we see the reason God has brought us to that place or situation. Joseph realized this. He tells his brothers, “You plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good, in order to preserve the lives of many people who are alive today because of what happened. You have nothing to fear. I will take care of you and your children." So, he reassured them with kind words that touched their hearts.” (Genesis 50:20-21) We see many situations of God’s providence in the lives of people in the Bible. And God still works His providence for His purposes.
Joseph went through many hard trials. But he always trusted God. And God blessed him by showing His power in Joseph. In whatever situation he was in and no matter how hard the situation was, Joseph never failed to trust God, although at the time, he had no idea God would use him mightily to save his family. He never failed to act honestly and with integrity causing those who had charge over him to favor him and trust him.
How do we fare in the worse times, not knowing that perhaps God has a future purpose for our trouble or difficulty? Do we trust God? It’s very hard to do, but Joseph did. God reveals through Jacob’s blessing that it was Himself giving Joseph the strength to endure his sufferings for His purposes. “...and his arms are made strong By the power of the Mighty God of Jacob, By the Shepherd, the Protector of Israel.” (Genesis 49:25)
We have a promise from God that all things, any and everything God works for good, either for our benefit or for His good purpose. While in the midst of trouble and difficulty, we can never see the good in it. It’s always with hindsight. How can any tragic incident be for good? If a child dies (or any other tragic incident), in innocence he or she will be with the Lord and not suffer the hardships of this life here on earth. But God places the family in a place where there is no help but from Him. It causes them to turn to Him. Many in such situations, later turn to help others to alleviate their pain. We just see our moment pain, but the Lord sees to eternity. “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom He has called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) I don’t think that at that moment of grief and suffering we think in terms of eternity and God’s purposes. But God can turn the most horrendous of suffering for good.
I will share a little bit of what happened to me. In the spring of 2022, I was struck with a malady very similar to Gillain Barre Syndrome (GBS). All the doctors and experts say it wasn’t GBS, although the symptoms were the same, except for the fact that it was only on one side and GBS strikes both sides of the body. They thought it was stroke or a heart attack and all and every kind of exam and tests were done. My brain was good and normal. My heart was good and strong. Everything was normal, yet I had these symptoms. There was nothing that could be done medically so I was sent home in a wheelchair. But thank God for His healing touch and through physical therapy I was able to regain my normal life. In the barrage of examinations that were done, I had a chest x-ray. The x-ray that was taken revealed a tiny spot on my right lung. After a year of monitoring it, it was diagnosed as cancer. But it was so tiny that it hadn’t metastasized and the removal of the middle lobe of my right lung removed the spot, not requiring chemo. If I had not had the GBS symptoms, that spot would have never been discovered until it was too late and would have made certain death inevitable. At the time of the GBS symptoms, I had no idea I would be praising God for what happened. God knew and He worked it out so that I could continue here on earth. He worked it out for good.
God is good. If we can believe it, He will bring us to the other side of difficulty, tragedy and pain, with praise and glory for the Lord’s providence and goodness toward us.
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