Handiwork

Do you ever think that bad things sometimes happen for a reason?

Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. - Genesis 45:3-8

Joseph could no longer keep his secret.  He had to let his brothers know who he was, that their brother, the one they sold into slavery, was alive, standing before them.

He had had his fun with them, driving them crazy, making them think they would be held as slaves or or worse, and now it was time to fess up.

But instead of holding them accountable for all the bad things that had happened to him, he chose to look at his entire life and judge it differently, as a gift form God.

Is that how we see our lives?

Do we see God working through us and through the events in our lives that take us through good and bad times?

When we manage to turn the bad into good, do we see God's hand in it, or do we take the credit for ourselves?

It is always tempting to pat ourselves on the back when we find the wisdom and courage to do good, or when we complete a task we didn't think we could do.  But do we look back at the rough times and see how they influenced our decisions?

Joseph did.

And he gave the credit to God.

Maybe it was God's handiwork to change the plans of the brothers, having them sell Joseph into slavery rather than leave him for dead in the pit.

And maybe it was God who planted the dreams in Pharaoh's head.

Joseph still had to do the work of putting all the pieces together.  God just set the stage.

And so it may be with us.  We have the talents needed to do great things.  We just need the time and place to be right.

So, as Jesus tells us, stay awake.  Be aware and alert.  For God is busy planting the seeds we will sow.

More to come...