God Was Behind It

Genesis 41-45

What can one person accomplish? A lot, actually. God sets Joseph up for the deliverance of Egypt and the surrounding nations from a terrible and prolonged famine. Pharaoh of Egypt appoints Joseph to oversee the collection of crops in the seven years of plenty so that there will be enough sustenance in the seven years of blight. God prepared Joseph over many years, through many difficulties. God was behind what Joseph accomplished.

We are reading about Israel's story, of how they ended up in Egypt. The Exodus story defines their identity - so the backstory is compelling and crucial. Joseph is the reason the tribe of Israel came to live in Egypt, in the region of Goshen. A famine forced Jacob and his family to trek out of southern Canaan to set up tents in the northeastern Nile region. Even though Canaan was the promised land, God had already told Abraham that his people would be in Egypt for a few hundred years. The promise would come true, but there were lots of preparations that God had to work on yet.

If we were in Joseph's shoes, wouldn't we have given up a lot sooner in the journey? Would we have despaired when thrown in the pit? Would we have sulked when sold to Potiphar? Would we have become embittered when thrown in jail? Would we have seeped hatred when we were forgotten in that dungeon? Would we have railed against the unfairness of God? Would we have perceived that God was behind it? And would we have raged against him? 

When it comes to God working in our world, he is bound by time and us. In order for God to work in us and through us, as brilliant and capable as he is, there are still the limitations that come with humanity. But oh the possibilities? We wonder why God doesn't accomplish more in the world? Maybe he is trying, but all the men and women he chooses to prepare (without their consent and without indication that it is for a really really big problem in the future) keep bailing on him. Maybe God is at work, but he takes hundreds of years to get things where they need to be, so the person he has prepared is ready.

Maybe we can't always tell whether God is behind what is going on in our life? How will we know if he was? The best evidence is when we keep on trusting, continue to do the next right thing in his eyes, and focus on overcoming. Joseph just didn't give up. And once he found himself prepared to help solve a really big problem, then he realized that God was behind it all. And that maybe when we realize it too.