Are you familiar with Joseph’s story? He’s one of my favorites. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may remember reading a similar sentence last week. In fact, you’ve probably heard me talk about him a lot.  I love leading women’s retreats where we spend the weekend studying Joseph’s story together. Those are some of my favorite sessions because we all find places of connection within our stories and what God did in Joseph’s life.

Human Destruction

I think we all have our favorite Bible passages, the ones we find ourselves coming back to over and over again. For me, in addition to Joseph, it’s Nehemiah, Joshua, and Esther. I read them again because I want to remember the things God spoke to me before and search out additional meaning that I’ve missed. But in this season, it’s Joseph. Maybe you can relate? I imagine that Joseph’s motto could’ve been: “Nothing in your life going the way you planned? Just wait, it gets worse.” We all have those times, they feel endless, but it’s not the end of the story.

Joseph grew up as the youngest brother in a large sibling group (you’ll want to read the back story on that in Genesis 37). His father favored him; his brothers hated him. They despised him so much that they decided to sell him to a group of traders passing by the area where they were tending their sheep. And that wasn’t the worst part. His journey becomes increasingly hard, with new challenges at every turn.

Although Joseph made great choices and seemed to try to do the best he could with every situation, those around him continued to betray him. But the thing that gets me about Joseph is that he didn’t give up. He didn’t become bitter, and he did not stop pursuing a relationship with God. He lived for that relationship. **Spoiler alert** at the end of the story, Joseph says this to his brothers: “As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil, for he brought me to this high position I have today so that I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20 TLB). He couldn’t have said that unless he allowed God to bring healing to his brokenness. God’s redemption stories are majestic.

Majestic Redemption

And it’s within that reminder, that I find everything I need, no matter what season. Life isn’t always going to go the way I planned, and it’s the same for you. Most of the time we’re trying to control things, or people, that are completely outside of our control. However, that does not mean that we are outside the realm of God’s restoration. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to unpack some of these stories from Joseph’s life, in the hope that they continue to speak truth to our lives. Joseph’s story is amazing because God is amazing. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If he could take the broken pieces of Joseph’s life and craft something beautiful with them, then he can do the same for us!