It's easy to trust God when things are good. But what happens when things AREN'T good? What happens when the worst ghosts from our past come back to haunt us? What happens when the pain we thought we left behind is staring us right in the face?
As we pick up Joseph's story this week in Genesis 42 things get interesting when that very thing happens to him. But now, the tables are turned. Now Joseph has all the power, and can do whatever he wants. Take revenge? Grant mercy? Joseph can do what he wants. The real question is, will Joseph continue doing what he's done to this point? Or will he take matters into his own hands. Either way, Joseph has some big decisions to make.
Read More
Joseph's life has been anything but a cakewalk. In reality, it was worse than most of us could possibly imagine. Betrayed by his brothers. Sold into slavery. Accused of crimes he didn't commit. Forgotten about in prison. It's a tragic story.
And yet, as we pick up Joseph's story this week in Genesis 41, things are looking up in some huge ways. It's a miraculous turnaround, but Joseph played a critical role in it. It can be so difficult to not let the betrayals and injustices in our lives consume us, and Joseph's life is a perfect case study in how to make sure that doesn't happen. If he could survive what he did, maybe we can learn a few things from it.
Read More
The beginning of Joseph's story was terrible. After being his father's favorite son, he was betrayed and sold into slavery by his brothers. It doesn't get much worse than that. But for Joseph, this was just the beginning of the roller coaster of his life.
As we pick back up this week in Genesis chapters 38 and 39, things get a lot better. Then a lot worse. Then a lot better. Then, well, you get the picture. It's a pattern we probably understand. Ups and downs. Highs and lows. Mountains and valleys. No matter what words you use the idea is the same, and the hard questions that come along with it are, too.
Read More