“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.” Genesis 50:20

 

Jacob had two wives Leah and Rachel. Rachel was the love of his life. She gave him two sons Joseph and Benjamin. Jacob favored Joseph more than his other sons. Joseph was younger and he annoyed his older brothers. Jacob gave him a special coat, a coat of many colors.

Joseph went to check on his brothers who were shepherds. The brothers saw him coming and devised a plan to rid themselves of Joseph. They sold him for thirty pieces of silver as a slave. They took the coat of many colors and killed a goat soaking the coat in blood. The plot thickened and ten men took the coat the Jacob and told their dad, his beloved son was killed. Jacob grieved the loss of his son.

The story does not end. Joseph’s life begins one that only God can orchestrate. Joseph life is a modern-day soap opera. He was a very good-looking man and he was in a trusted position. He was a man of integrity. The man he worked for trusted him implicitly but his wife propositioned Joseph. Joseph refused and so she lied that he tried to rape her. He was convicted and went to prison. He was finally able to get out of prison because he was able to explain the dreams. Joseph was so loved that he became a part of the solution for the famine that was occurring.

Fast forward the famine is so great that Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to get food. Joseph meets his brothers and they do not know who he is but he knows them. Through an elaborate scheme of events, Joseph reveals who he is to his brothers. Joseph reunites his family.

Today, as I light two candles, hope and forgiveness, I think about what God has done for me. He is my hope and he has forgiven me as far as east is from west. Have you suffered at the hands of a loved one?

Joseph loved God. God loved Joseph and never forgot Joseph. Jacob’s family is the line that Jesus came  from, God brings the Messiah.What man intended for harm, God intended it for good?

Ann shares that God’s arms have us, he is holding us safe. “God is never absent, never impotent, never distant, You can never be undone.”

Ann asks, “Who do you need to forgive today? Joseph forgave his brothers completely. God forgives us completely.

Joseph is a picture of Jesus. Do you know Jesus as your personal savior?  He is the Greatest Gift, the reason for the season.