“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20)
Joseph’s story is a roller-coaster ride through almost every imaginable scenario. Dysfunctional family dynamics, attempted fratricide, human trafficking, slavery, temptation, injustice, incarceration, conflicts, failures and successes. His personal catastrophes are all played out against a backdrop of forces far beyond his control: the rise and fall of superpowers, drought and famine, the desperation of tribes and nations to avoid starvation, ruthless politics. He weathers it all and ends up second-in-command of all Egypt. At the climax of his story, Joseph puts his finger on the key factor in him surviving and thriving with just two words… “but God.”
He might have died in a dry well, “but God” let passing slave traders appear at a critical moment. He might have been sold as en expendable living tool to some soulless master, “but God” placed him in the household of the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. He might have disappeared into despair in a cell, “but God” made the prison governor favourably disposed to him. He might have been forgotten for a lifetime rather than for a couple of years by Pharaoh’s reinstated cupbearer, “but God” brought him back to mind at an opportune moment. Time and again he found himself at a dead end and in a hopeless situation, “but God.” So, when the moment came to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, he simply and boldly and truthfully told Pharoah that he couldn’t do what was being asked, “but God” could.
Whatever we struggle with, whatever brick wall we find ourselves up against, whatever impossible fix we find ourselves in, when our own resources are gone, God can change the outcome. So, let go and let God.