“Something terrible just happened… Where is God?”
“The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.” ~ Genesis 39:2 NLT
“But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.” ~ Genesis 39:21 NLT
Pause for a moment to consider what Joseph endured as a teenager and young adult:
He was sold into slavery by his jealous, half-brothers who hated him and wanted to kill him
He was forced to serve an Egyptian master and was legally considered his personal property
He was falsely accused of attempted rape (because he refused to have sex with a married woman) and was imprisoned
He spent over two years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit and was forgotten by the one person who had the ability to help him (and who Joseph accurately interpreted a dream for)
Joseph suffered an incredible amount of heartache, trauma, and bitter disappointment. Like the rest of you I have been harmed and caused harm, and yes – I still have the emotional scars to prove it. Our suffering is real, and it matters. But reading the story of Joseph forces me to stop and wonder how he could endure so much and keep his faith alive in God.
We get an important clue in this phrase: “the Lord was with Joseph”. The Lord was with Joseph in the home of his master, and because God was with him Joseph was given responsibility and freedom to manage the affairs of the entire household.
The Lord was also with Joseph in prison, which caused the warden to entrust to Joseph the care of the other prisoners. When God is with us in this way God causes us to succeed in what we do as he shows us his faithful love.
So, if you or a family member are in a season of suffering, don’t interpret that suffering as God’s punishment or abandonment. Instead, look for ways that God is bringing success (your character transformation, a new perspective, a growing relationship, or God’s provision from an unexpectant source). Look also for ways that God is demonstrating his faithful love to you (maybe through the encouragement of a loved one, the kind words of a friend, or the comfort of the Holy Spirit in a deeper way than you’ve ever experienced).
A dear friend of ours is in the final days and weeks of her mother’s life. She is walking through a season of suffering and loss. My prayer for her is that she will experience the Lord being “with her” every step of the way. When God is with us in this way, he doesn’t usually remove the suffering or fix the problem. He instead reveals to us the sufficiency of his grace expressed through the Body of Christ to carry those burdens that would certainly crush us if left to ourselves.
And often, like with Joseph, he is setting the stage for a redemptive act we lack the imagination for today.