Articles
He Chose
Determining how he would respond
He chose to be trustworthy on the job, even though it was not a job of his choosing. He chose to maintain his high moral standards when the boss’ wife kept seducing him. He chose to keep his faith in God in spite of being treated so unfairly by others.
Thirteen years after being forced out of his homeland, Joseph was elevated to second in command in Egypt. Even in this exalted position he kept on choosing.
He chose to remain humble and not let power go to his head. He chose to forgive his brothers when he had ample opportunity to take revenge.
How God worked through it all
Had he reacted as many would have in his situation, would we have the benefit of his story in Genesis?
God did not cause Joseph’s brothers to hate and mistreat him. God did not cause Potiphar’s wife to seduce Joseph and lie about him.
And yet God could use these trying circumstances to accomplish His purpose (Romans 8:28). As Joseph told his brothers, “. . . you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to . . . preserve many people alive” (Genesis 50:20).
But even before Joseph could see what God was doing, he kept trusting.
The greatest tragedy is not suffering. The greatest tragedy is to suffer and never find our place in God’s great plan. When we do discover our place, then God can really use us as He used Joseph.
It is then that our suffering bears its sweetest fruit.
